Even if private space flight is not something new, it is still new and becomes more and more commercial. Be such a exciting perspective, Space marketing should bring the whole spatial industry from the hands of governments to private companies and make it self -sufficient. For a very long time, companies have worked with NASA for the design of separate components, but the first object of space, which was entirely built by a private company was a communication satelliteLaunched in orbit in 1962. Today, satellites are mainly used for land imagery and television broadcasting, as well as to allow telecommunications and navigation systems. With the rapid progress of technology, however, pioneer companies are now those that shape the next era of spatial exploration and marketing.
The Bulgarian endurosat that engineers, build and operate nanosates, and Momentus, a space startup based in the United States for the construction of space transport and infrastructure technology combine their efforts to allow the marketing of space. THey announced in June 2020 the signing of Service agreements for the supply of transport of two cubesats – 6U and 1U cubesats which will be launched on the flight SpaceX Falcon 9s next year. Both The projects are now going to the following phases.
Accelerate spatial innovation and marketing
Recently, Endurosat has also announced its partnership with South African Technologies Hypertup engineering start-up in an agreement to pilot the startup’s first electric propellant on its satellite mission shared in the fourth quarter / 2021, the Cubesat 6U will carry useful commercial charges in orbit without any modification at the level of the satellite platform. This type of service offers commercial, scientific and exploration actors to quickly access space operations and data services and a fraction of the current cost – a nanosatellite can be built and launched In orbit for around € 500,000, while the cost of launching a conventional satellite can reach 500 million euros. The service includes everything, of integration, validation and tests, thanks to the launch and operations of the nanosatellite and useful charges, to transmit the data of the useful charges directly to the Cloud.
Spartan is the name of the first shared satellite mission planned and its launch will be a significant step not only for the endurosat team but also for the future development of space missions. “For us, as a team, this launch is the culmination of a huge amount of effort. From the market point of view, the launch will demonstrate our service in rationalized orbit in action and will open a space for customers to an order of magnitude of better performance / price. This service is an acceleration of spatial innovation for visionary, scientific and technological teams around the world, ”shares Raycho Raychev, founder of endurosat.
Raychev explains that each satellite today, just like each satellite sixty years ago, is built and designed for a single mission, which means that the satellite bus works well in a particular mission, but a year later, the platform must be re-embellished for a new mission. “The objective of Endurosat is to simplify this by providing a flexible, robust satellite platform defined by software which can manage several useful charges on the same mission. With the launch of Spartan, we hope to demonstrate a new paradigm in the design of satellite missions, ”explains Raychev.
The impact on space startups in the shared satellite service
According to Raychev, the space is really difficult and works in orbit, most space companies need between three and five years, and even then, the costs and risks are always high. The satellite value chain is complex and involves engineering and assembly of satellites, integration of the payload, construction or rental of a field segment, launch qualification and tests, launch, orbit operations and many additional activities, including heavy administrative challenges. This has slowed down innovation in space and many teams are not lucky enough to learn by making mistakes, because they are still too expensive. The shared satellite service allows companies to reach orbit quickly and without traditional legal, logistical and technical complexity. “We are proud to work with customers and help them deploy their revolutionary orbit commercial and technological programs. Hypernova is an excellent example of a real innovator on the final border. The company has designed a new generation thruster and plans to demonstrate its full orbit performance via the service, ”shares Raychev.
In the short term, Endurosat plans to help space companies to considerably improve their own services and products by providing them with easy and quick access to orbit. While in the long term, the Bulgarian space startup aims to provide a space infrastructure that allows SMEs and research teams to easily reach space missions and become space players. “We want to see many startups succeed on the final border and we put our best efforts to do so. Our customers and partners are superheroes and we are just there to support their efforts, ”shares Raychev.
The current state of the space sector and the future of endurosat
Raychev stresses that today the space sector are seeing a new wave of consolidations and mergers. As young SMEs, most players face a challenge to prove the commercial value behind their programs – the time it takes to prove that a technology in space is long and the management costs of a space company are high. In addition, Raychev stresses that sustainability becomes more and more important. On the right side, according to him, the costs of launch and the costs of satellite systems are decreasing, which should allow a new wave of innovation.
With regard to endurosat, Raychev shares that at present, they are also focusing on the launch of the QMR-KWT Cubesat mission, working in partnership with Orbital Space, a Kuwaitian company for the promotion of space education and technologies. “The QMR-KWT has successfully completed all of its environmental tests, but there are always more tests that can be carried out so that we continue our automated tests until the launch delivery to ensure the stability of the satellite,” explains Raychev. In the meantime, the Bulgarian space startup works hard with its orbital space partners to provide additional value to water by extending their services and products in the region. Looking towards the future, Endurosat plans to extend its shared satellite service, to develop its commercial operations and will soon announce new developments.
+++ Startup nanosatellite Bulgarian Enduosat presented in the tip of NASA +++