Arianespace launches satellites for OneWeb: Arianespace announced it has successfully launched its 13th flight for OneWeb and first launch of 2022 aboard Soyuz Flight VS27 and put 34 additional satellites into a near-polar orbit. In the course of 2022, Arianespace will continue to deploy OneWeb’s satellite network, which now comprises 428 satellites in low Earth orbit. Flight VS27 was the first Arianespace’s mission of 2022 and the 340th launch overall for the Arianespace family of launchers Ariane, Soyuz and Vega. Performed on Thursday, 10 February at 15:09 p.m., the mission orbited 34 OneWeb satellites bringing the size of the fleet in orbit to 428. The OneWeb constellation will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity to a wide range of customer sectors, including aviation, maritime, backhaul services, and for governments, emergency response services and more. Central to its purpose, OneWeb seeks to bring connectivity to every place where fibre cannot reach, and thereby bridge the digital divide. Once deployed, the OneWeb constellation will work with user terminals that are capable of offering 3G, LTE, 5G and Wi-Fi coverage, providing high-speed access globally by air, sea and land. The satellite prime contractor is OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture of OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space. The OneWeb satellites are the 531st to 564th Airbus Defence and Space satellites to be orbited by Arianespace.
Spire and Exolaunch sign multi-launch agreement: Spire Global, a provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, and Exolaunch, a provider of launch, in-space logistics and deployment services, have closed a new contract for a multi-launch agreement (MLA). Through this MLA, Spire gains fast and regular access to space for its own satellite constellation as well as for all of its customers to enhance Spire’s “space-as-a-service” offerings. The first Spire satellites deployed as part of this agreement are already manifested on SpaceX’s Transporter missions this year under Exolaunch’s long-term launch arrangements with SpaceX. Exolaunch will also be providing Spire with deployment and integration services on small launchers. In addition to Exolaunch’s turnkey launch solutions, the contract also includes the EXOpod Nova, the next generation EXOpod deployer based on Spire specifications for an expanded-envelope 3U cubesat. This deployer will enable Spire to build larger, heavier, and more capable cubesats while keeping their launch costs low. Nova is designed to deploy batches of Spire’s satellites for its constellation. The EXOpod Nova increases the allowable satellite mass by up to 30 percent and the available side panel volume by a factor of four compared to traditional cubesat deployers. Exolaunch aims to further use the EXOpod Nova on its Reliant orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) next year to provide launch flexibility to cubesat constellations.
Singapore to invest in space R&D: The government of Singapore announced on 9 February that it will invest S$150 million in research and development (R&D) of space capabilities. The announcement was made by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong. The flagship Space Technology Development Programme (STDP), started by the Office for Space Technology and Industry (OSTIn) and the National Research Foundation, will fund researchers in Singapore. The investment aims to encourage local space innovation for nationally important sectors, like aviation and maritime, and also everyday applications such as global positioning systems. The minister made the announcement at the 14th Global Space and Technology Convention. Singapore will also focus on building international partnerships and continuing to nurture local space-tech firms as part of its space strategy, Gan said. National space office OSTIn, which was created in 2013, has been supporting Singaporean companies in developing internationally competitive capabilities. Among them is SpeQtral, which will launch a satellite into space to test a new secure communications technology that prevents third parties from stealing data transmitted over fibre optics. OSTIn also signed an agreement with the European Space Agency last October to collaborate on space-tech applications and services in telecommunications and related fields. On Wednesday, it renewed a space-tech cooperation agreement with the French Space Agency that was first signed in 2015.
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