| Today at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah, Firefly Aerospace announced a multi-launch contract, PLD Space announced upcoming launch site construction, Dcubed raised money for in-orbit manufacturing, and more. SpaceNews will be here reporting all week to bring you daily highlights. For full coverage, visit SpaceNews.com. | | By Jeff Foust, August 7, 2024
L3Harris has signed a contract for up to 20 Firefly Alpha launches over a five year period.
Contract Details
The deal includes two to four launches annually from 2027 through 2031, in addition to three Alpha launches already scheduled for 2026. The companies didn't disclose what satellites L3Harris would be launching.
Racking them up: The new L3Harris agreement is just the latest of several recent contracts for its Alpha rocket, which has flown five times to date.
NASA: Firefly placed a set of NASA-sponsored cubesats ito sun-synchronous orbits on a July 4 launch.
Lockheed Martin: Firefly announced June 5 a contract for 15 to 25 launches through 2029.
National Reconnaissance Office: Firefly will conduct a responsive space demonstration mission using its Elytra tug. | |  | By Jason Rainbow, August 7, 2024
Indra, one of Spain's largest defense contractors, announced the acquisition as part of its plan to become a major player in the Spanish and broader European space industry. Deimos, which provides satellite integration, subsystem and ground system technologies, has a team of over 500 employees across Europe and the United Kingdom. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals expected by the end of this year, and financial details have not yet been disclosed. | | | By Jason Rainbow, August 7, 2024
After decades of dormancy, the Diamant site at Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana may soon see launch activity, with PLD Space announcing plans to use the site for its Miura 5 rocket. The Spanish company said it plans to begin construction on a new launch facility at the Diamant site this October. The company announced a 10 million euro ($11 million) investment in the site, and is joining Isar Aerospace and other European companies to convert Diamant into a multi-use facility. | | | By Debra Werner, August 6, 2024
The German startup plans to use the $4.8 million raised during its Series A to expand production, demonstrate in-space manufacturing of its solar arrays, and open up an office in the United States, DCubed CEO and founder Thomas Sinn told SpaceNews. Dcubed will use SpaceX rideshare launches to demonstrate its in-space manufacturing, and has partnered with Exotrail on its first mission to deploy a solar blanket in space and manufacture support structures for a 100-watt solar array. | | | By Jeff Foust, August 7, 2024
In a presentation at a side meeting during the Small Satellite Conference Aug. 7, Gabriel Deville, senior consultant at Novaspace, said his company was forecasting 14,500 smallsats would launch in the next decade. That number is down from the 23,000 forecasted a year ago by Euroconsult. Deville noted that the drop is largely due to the increased mass of "V2 mini" Starlink satellites, which at 750 kilograms are above the cutoff of Novaspace's study, adding that the industry as a whole is trending towards larger satellites. | | | By Debra Werner, August 7, 2024
The U.K. company released images showing its Yagi very high frequency, high gain antenna deploy on the Ymir-1 maritime communications satellite. The antenna, which is designed to track ships and enhance communications, is the result of a collaboration with AAC Clyde Space, Saab and Orbcomm.
"This achievement not only demonstrates our expertise in deployable antenna technology but also highlights the importance of collaboration in advancing global maritime communication," Oxford Space Systems CEO Sean Sutcliffe said in a statement. | | | | |
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