D-Orbit Signs Contract with OneWeb in the Frame of ESA Project Sunrise

October 29, 2019, Fino Mornasco (CO) Italy: OneWeb has awarded a subcontract to D-Orbit SpA for the development of an Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission in the frame of European Space Agency (ESA) Project Sunrise.

Project Sunrise is a public-private partnership (PPP) between OneWeb, currently developing a worldwide communications network based on a proprietary satellite constellation, and the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme (ESA/ARTES), an ESA initiative to help private partners pursue valuable research and development connected to their businesses that will benefit the industry as a whole.

As part of this PPP, OneWeb will research space and satellite-related key to support the integration and deployment of their first-generation telecommunications satellite system and to enable the development and operations of the next generation.

One of the key technologies to study and define is a low Earth orbit ADR solution that meets the operational and regulatory demands of current and future OneWeb systems. D-Orbit, with the support of Politecnico di Milano, will develop the Phase A feasibility study for an ADR solution based on proprietary technology and heritage.

“Active debris removal has always been a priority in our roadmap,” says Renato Panesi, D-Orbt’s CCO. “This contract will enable us to deliver solutions based on years of research we have conducted internally while developing our decommissioning technologies.”

The work related to the contract will start by the end of October, to be completed by May 2020.

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D-Orbit

dorbit.space

D-Orbit is a New Space company with solutions covering the entire lifecycle of a space mission, including mission analysis and design, engineering, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch, and end-of-life decommissioning.

The company’s competitive advantage is the versatility of its launch and deployment services that can be tailored to the customer’s needs, from the launch procurement of a single spacecraft using standard deployment strategies to the precise deployment of a full constellation with ION Satellite Carrier, a CubeSat dispenser developed and operated by D-Orbit.

Committed to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, D-Orbit is the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.

Headquartered in Como, Italy, D-Orbit has subsidiaries in Lisbon, Portugal, London, UK, and Washington DC, USA.

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For more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with:

Elena Sanfilippo Ceraso – Media Manager

elena.sanfilippo@dorbit.space

+39 340 532 3870

Caterina Cazzola – Head of Communications

caterina.cazzola@dorbit.space

+39 340 2840 792

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/d-orbit

Facebook: facebook.com/deorbitaldevices/

Twitter: twitter.com/D_Orbit