Page 68 - SAMENA Trends - August 2019

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Astranis’ First Satellite to Launch via a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

Journalist Darrell Etherington at the TechCrunch infosite is time starting in the fourth quarter of next year. Astranis aims to
reporting that Y Combinator-backed startup Astranis is now set address the market of people who don’t currently have broadband
to launch its first commercial telecommunication satellite aboard internet access, which is still a huge number globally, and they
a Falcon 9 rocket, with a launch time frame currently set for some hope to do so using low-cost satellites that massively undercut
the price of existing global telecommunications hardware, which
can be built and launched much faster than existing spacecraft,
too. Astranis satellites are much more cost-efficient because
they’re smaller and easier to make, which changes the economics
of deployment for potential carrier and connectivity provider
partners. Its approach has already attracted the partnership of
Microcom subsidiary Pacific Dataport, an Anchorage company
that was formed to expand satellite broadband access in Alaska.
This will be the goal of the company’s first launch with SpaceX, to
deliver a single satellite to geostationary orbit that will add more
than 7.5 Gbps of capacity to the internet provider’s network in
Alaska, tripling capacity and potentially reducing costs by “up to
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching to space. Photo: SpaceX three times,” according to Astranis.

Raytheon will Build NASA’s First GEO Hyperspectral Imager

Raytheon has been contracted by The University of New
Hampshire to build the Geostationary Littoral Imaging and
Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) sensor that will serve as NASA’s
first hyperspectral imager in geostationary orbit, the company
announced August 26. NASA and the University of New Hampshire
will use the hyper spectral imagery to obtain a highly detailed view
of physical and biological conditions in coastal waters, which
will be made available to scientists, researchers and educators
around the world. The University of New Hampshire is serving
as NASA’s prime for the contract. GLIMR will launch aboard its
host spacecraft (tbd) in either 2026 or 2027. “The instrument
will provide high-sensitivity, high-spatial and high-temporal
resolution measurements of coastal and ocean ecosystems in the
Gulf of Mexico, parts of the southeastern U.S. coastline and the
Amazon River plume,” Jeff Puschell, GLIMR instrument scientist
and principal engineering fellow at Raytheon Space Systems, such as harmful algae blooms and oil spills. It will also help
said in a statement. “Decision-makers will use the GLIMR data to improve the coastal ecosystem’s sustainability and resource
respond rapidly to natural and manmade coastal water disasters, management.”

MITRE Joins Space ISAC Cybersecurity Initiative

MITRE has becoming the latest founding announced the launch of Space ISAC on dedicated ISAC and is made possible
member of a major space cybersecurity April 8, 2019. MITRE will become the Space through the investment by its board and
initiative – Space ISAC. This follows on ISAC’s newest founding member, joining founding members. MITRE joins as an
from a key announcement in April when the Kratos Defense & Security Solutions integral player with significant expertise
Space Information Sharing and Analysis and Booz Allen Hamilton. Scott Kordella, in safety, security, and reliability of space
Center (ISAC) and National Cybersecurity MITRE’s Executive Director for Space, will systems, with a focus on information
Center (NCC), a national non-profit serve on the Space ISAC board of directors. management and decision support for
for cybersecurity influencers jointly The Space ISAC is the only space- both government and commercial assets.

68 AUGUST 2019