D-Orbit
D-Orbit and Stellar Project Sign Hosted Payload Agreement
Fino Mornasco, Italy, June 17th, 2021: Space logistics company D-Orbit signed a launch service contract with Stellar Project, an Italian satellite component developer and manufacturer, for the launch and operations of Stellar Project’s LaserCube payload on D-Orbit’s upcoming ION Satellite Carrier’s mission.
Stellar Project’s LaserCube is a patented miniature low power high-performance laser communication terminal specifically designed for small satellites including CubeSats. With its independent pointing capability which allows throughput performance more than 10 times higher than traditional radio devices, it will enable innovative business opportunities in fields like Earth imagery, weather forecasting, global telecommunications, and internet services.
LaserCube, as the optical telecommunication highway for small satellites, will deliver an unprecedented increase in data volume, communication security, and speed: another step towards accessible and affordable space technology for all.
ION Satellite Carrier is an orbital transportation vehicle designed, manufactured, and operated by D-Orbit capable of precisely deploying small satellites into their operational orbital slot and of operating multiple third-party payloads during the same mission.
“We are excited to test Stellar Project’s innovative technology,” said Matteo Andreas Lorenzoni, D-Orbit’s Launch Strategy Manager. “As a company that has begun their journey in Italy, we are proud to collaborate with an Italian startup that aims at revolutionizing the New Space industry and becoming a leader in its field.”
“We are very happy about the collaboration with D-Orbit to carry out the first mission of our “LaserCube” - said Alessandro Francesconi, Stellar Project’s Co-founder and Managing Director - We look forward to exploring the potential of our technology as a first step towards the enablement of optical communication in space for small satellites.”
According to the agreement, D-Orbit integrated the LaserCube payload onboard ION, arranged ground transportation from the integration site to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, and overviewed the integration onboard the launch vehicle until launch to the target orbit. D-Orbit will then initiate the in-orbit demonstration (IOD) phase of the mission, operating the payload on board according to a plan of operations agreed with Stellar Project, and downlink all the relevant data.
The mission, named WILD RIDE, is scheduled for launch in June 2021.
Stellar Project - Bright Ideas for Light Satellites
Stellar Project is a space technology startup created as a spin-off of the University of Padova, Italy, offering game-changing solutions for light satellites with a high degree of care to space environmental sustainability.
Stellar Project aims to fill the gap in performances and capabilities between small satellites and large spacecraft, providing original and proprietary technology: LaserCube is the first step towards this goal, opening the optical communication highway to the smallsats world.
Stellar Project is also working in consortiums within the H2020 program on Quantum Communication and started to expand its activities on data analytics both for terrestrial applications and the space environment providing tools for Space Debris Analysis and monitoring.
Stellar Project flies towards the new global space democratization, bringing together the best talented minds to develop bright ideas to fit great capabilities into small and light space systems: Stellar Project – Bright & Light
Please come and join us on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stellarproject/
or contact us at: info@stellaproject.space
About D-Orbit
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.
The company successfully delivered 44 commercial payloads into space while developing advanced products and services for the needs of tomorrow.
D-Orbit is a space infrastructure pioneer with offices in Italy, Portugal, 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.
For more information, do not hesitate to reach out to:
Caterina Cazzola – Head of Communications
+39 340 2840 792
Elena Sanfilippo Ceraso – Media Manager
Patrizia Tammaro Silva - Investor Relations
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Facebook: facebook.com/deorbitaldevices/
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Caricato il 17/06/2021
