D-Orbit, the space logistics and orbital transportation company, announced today the upcoming launch of SPACELUST, the fifth mission using the Company’s proprietary ION Satellite Carrier (ION), a flexible and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) spacecraft designed both to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads in orbit.
ION will lift off from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida, aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-4 mission. The launch is scheduled for April 2022.
During the mission, which will start in a 500 kilometer sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), ION will deploy four satellites from Kleos Space S.A. (ASX:KSS, Frankfurt:KS1, Kleos), a space-powered radio frequency reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, and three satellites, PlantSat, SUCHAI 2 and SUCHAI 3, developed at the Space Exploration Laboratory (SPEL) of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Mathematics (FCFM) at the University of Chile in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Chile.
The launch of Kleos’ Patrol Mission (KSF2) will increase its reconnaissance capability by adding an additional four to the existing constellation of eight satellites, each expanding Kleos’ data collection capability by up to an additional 119 million kilometers² per day. In addition, the launch will increase the average daily revisit rate over a 15-degree latitude area of interest to around five times a day.
The twelve-satellite constellation will detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to within 300 meters, improving the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities, uncovering data points to expose illegal activity on land and sea.
PlantSat is a 3U CubeSat that will study the growth of a suitable plant in low Earth orbit, replicating the conditions that life will experience on the surface of Mars. The Satellite of the University of Chile for Aerospace Investigation (SUCHAI) has two nanosats named SUCHAI 2 and SUCHAI 3, which will be launched into orbit to perform basic science research funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the basic research technical directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Multidisciplinary teams will undertake cutting edge research for scientific exploration and technological development.
Finally, ION will host a payload from Upmosphere, an Italian start-up offering the opportunity to value one’s memories by placing them in special wooden boxes, which will travel around the Earth for a few years aboard D-Orbit’s satellites. The payload consists of a wooden UP-box containing mementos from four different clients.
Renato Panesi, Ph.D., D-Orbit’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“We are looking forward to this new mission. Our fifth ION mission represents an opportunity to collect additional data and continue to push the envelope of our spacecraft. We look forward to continuing to expand our capabilities in space, helping our customers deliver their satellites in orbit just that much faster.”
SPACELUST is ION’s fifth mission in less than two years and the second of 2022. D-Orbit launched its first ION in September 2020 aboard an Arianespace VEGA launcher, then three further missions in January 2021, June 2021, and January 2022 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-1, Transporter-2, and Transporter-3 missions, respectively. With this mission, the Company will have launched to space more than 70 payloads collectively.
While preparing for this mission, the Company is also planning for an additional mission, which is currently scheduled for June 2022.
A note about the name of the satellite carrier
The name of the satellite carrier is “ION SCV005 Almighty Alexius”, a combination of the acronym “ION”, which stands for “InOrbit NOW”, the acronym “SCV,” which stands for “Space Carrier Vessel,” and the satellite’s first name. This format follows the naming conventions of naval vessels used in navies around the World. The name “Alexius” was drawn at random from a bowl containing the names of all D-Orbit’s employees. The company will continue to follow this procedure in the future to honor the skills, energy, passion, and commitment of its people.
About D-Orbit and Its Proposed Business Combination With Breeze Holdings
D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions.
Founded in 2011, before the dawn of the New Space market, D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit.
D-Orbit is a space infrastructure pioneer with offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.
As previously announced on January 27, 2022, D-Orbit has entered into a business combination agreement among Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (“Breeze Holdings”) (NASDAQ: BREZ), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, D-Orbit and a newly formed joint stock company (société anonyme) governed by the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (“Holdco”) pursuant to which Holdco will become the publicly traded parent company of Breeze Holdings and D-Orbit upon the closing of the transactions. The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including certain governmental approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Breeze Holdings and the contribution of the D-Orbit shares by the D-Orbit shareholders.
About Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp.
Breeze Holdings is a blank check company organized for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities.
Courtesy of D-Orbit
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