An example of a thumbnail from the ICEYE Public Archive. This radar image of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand, was acquired on 9th of August 2020, in Spotlight High imaging mode, with an ICEYE SAR satellite. (Credit: ICEYE)
ICEYE offers public access to the rapidly growing archive of radar satellite imagery acquired with the company’s SAR satellite constellation.
HELSINKI, Finland (ICEYE PR) – Finnish New Space leader ICEYE has announced access to ICEYE’s Public Archive, containing nearly 18,000 images from ICEYE satellites. The ICEYE Public Archive includes radar imagery in various imaging modes taken with ICEYE’s SAR satellite constellation between mid-2019 and now. The ICEYE Public Archive consists of preview images from around the world, which are released under CC BY-NC 4.0 license, allowing for non-commercial use.
Helsinki, FINLAND – September 22, 2020 –ICEYE, a World-leading SAR data provider, today announced the closing of a larger than planned $87M Series C funding, led by return investor True Ventures, with a significant additional investment by OTB Ventures.
ICEYE has so far successfully launched 5 satellite missions, starting with the first ever small SAR satellite launched in January 2018. The company is launching 4 additional SAR satellites this year and is on course to launch at least an additional 8 in 2021. This will grow the existing operational constellation into a capability that is unique in the World. To date, ICEYE has raised a total of $152M in financing.
Newly launched space investment program supports $87m series C funding round for ICEYE
Builds on OTB Ventures alliance with Draper Venture Network
AMSTERDAM, 22 September 2020 – OTB Ventures, a leading venture capital firm specialized in investments in technology companies originating in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), today announces the launch of a dedicated investment vehicle to support Europe’s leading space technologies – OTB Space Program I – backed by the European Investment Fund and the European Commission through the InnovFin for Equity programme.
Electron lifts off with Capella Space synthetic aperture radar satellite on Aug. 31, 2020. (Credit: Rocket Lab webcast)
Rocket Lab’s Electron booster made a successful return to flight on Monday by launching a commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite for Capella Space.
The rocket lifted off on time at 3:05 p.m. from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. Electron’s kick stage deployed the 100 kg SAR satellite one hour after launch.
Rocket Lab’s 14th Electron launch comes less than two months after the failure of an Electron booster on July 4. Six satellites were lost as the booster’s second stage failed, sending it plunging into the atmosphere.
Rocket Lab blamed the loss on the failure of an electrical connection that resulted in a loss of power to the stage.
The Electron has successfully launched 12 times. The other failure came on the booster’s maiden flight.
BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 24, 2020 (PredaSAR PR) — PredaSAR Corporation has successfully completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) to begin fabrication, testing and launch of its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) spacecraft, in partnership with Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc.
PredaSAR is building and will operate the world’s largest and most advanced constellation of SAR satellites. The successful CDR completion marks another major milestone in PredaSAR’s journey and follows its recent announcement of a rideshare partnership with SpaceX to launch its first satellite aboard the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity’s first-ever mission into a part of the Sun’s atmosphere called the corona. Here it will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth. (Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Bored beyond tears due to the lockdown? Got nothing to do and nowhere to go? Only reruns on the tube?
Stay home, grab some beers, and fire up that computer. There’s a whole bunch of launches on the schedule over the next four days. ULA, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, Astra and Arianespace are all back in action with six launches from three countries.
SpaceX will attempt two launches on the same day from Florida on Sunday. The company might also attempt a hop of its sixth Starship prototype this weekend. The timing for that is uncertain.
Remember: launches are subject to change without notice. And wagering is strictly prohibited.
August 29
UPDATE: The booster performed an abort at T minus 3 seconds. United Launch Alliance says it will be at least seven days before they can attempt another launch.
Launch Vehicle: Delta IV Heavy Payload: NROL-44 Launch Time: 2:04 a.m. EDT (0612 GMT) Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Webcast: www.ulalaunch.com/
An United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch the classified NROL-44 satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
August 29/30
UPDATE: New Electron launch date is Aug. 30/31 with the same launch window.
Launch Vehicle: Electron Mission Name: “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical” Payload: Sequoia Launch Window: 11:05 p.m.-3:05 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29/30 (0305-0705 GMT on Aug. 29) Launch Site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand Webcast:www.rocketlabusa.com
Rocket Lab is back in action after the failure of its 13th launch on July 4. Electron will carry the Capella Space’s Sequoia synthetic aperture radar satellite on a dedicated mission.
August 30
UPDATE: Launch scrubbed due to weather. Next possible launch window is on Tuesday.
SpaceX will launch the SAOCOM 1B environmental satellite for Argentina’s space agency, CONAE. The mission includes the first polar orbit launch from Cape Canaveral since February 1969. The Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a relatively rare return to land instead of touching down on an offshore drone ship.
August 30/31
UPDATE: Astra has postponed the launch to Sept. 10 from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. EDT (7-9:30 p.m. PDT)
Launch Vehicle: Rocket 3.1 Payloads: None Launch Window: 10:00 p.m.-12:30 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30/31 (0200-0430 GMT on Aug. 31 Launch Site: Pacific Spaceport Complex — Alaska Webcast: none
Astra Space will attempt the first orbital flight of its inexpensive launch vehicle.
September 1/2
Launch Vehicle: Vega Mission Name: Small Spacecraft Mission Service Proof of Concept (SSMS POF) Payloads: 53 small satellites Launch Time: 9:51:10 p.m. EDT on Sept. 1 (0151:10 GMT on Sept. 2) Launch Site: Kourou, French Guiana Webcast:Arianespace YouTube channel
Arianespace will attempt the first rideshare mission of its Vega booster. The window for the long delayed launch extends until Sept. 4.
The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. (Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Are you ready for some launches?
Scattered shouts
I SAID, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME LAUNCHES?!
Crowd goes crazy
That’s better. As Doc Brown once said, starting Thursday you’re going see some serious s***.
August 27
Launch Vehicle: Delta 4 Heavy Payload: NROL-44 Launch Time: 2:12 a.m. EDT (0612 GMT) Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Webcast: www.ulalaunch.com/
An United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch the classified NROL-44 satellite for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
SpaceX will launch the SAOCOM 1B environmental satellite for Argentina’s space agency, CONAE. The mission includes the first polar orbit launch from Cape Canaveral since February 1969. The Falcon 9 first stage will attempt a relatively rare return to land instead of touching down on an offshore drone ship.
August 28/29
Launch Vehicle: Electron Mission Name: “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Optical” Payload: Sequoia Launch Time: 11:05 p.m. EDT on Aug. 28/29 (0305 GMT on Aug. 29) Launch Site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand Webcast:www.rocketlabusa.com
Rocket Lab is back in action after the failure of its 13th launch on July 4. Electron will carry the Capella Space’s Sequoia synthetic aperture radar satellite on a dedicated mission.
BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 4, 2020 (PredaSAR Corporation PR) — PredaSAR Corporation, today announced that its first of 48 advanced commercial Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc. is the launch integration provider in addition to manufacturer of the spacecraft.
As part of the agreement, PredaSAR, Tyvak, and SpaceX will be working together to optimize the deployment plan for the remainder of PredaSAR’s groundbreaking constellation – the world’s largest and most advanced commercial SAR satellite constellation.
SAN FRANCISCO (Capella Space PR) –Capella Space, an aerospace and information services company providing Earth observation data on demand, today announced it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).
The CRADA gives Capella access to NGA researchers for deeper insight into problems and in return NGA gains access to Capella Space’s SAR data and analytics services and signifies NGA’s first research partnership with an American commercial small satellite SAR data company, in an effort to expand its research capabilities.
New radar satellite imaging source for the International Disaster Charter helps during and after major disasters. ICEYE’s first imagery for the Charter was already shared in response to recent flooding in Somalia.
Helsinki, FINLAND, June 25, 2020 (ICEYE PR) – The Finnish New Space company ICEYE is now providing radar imaging data from its commercial synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation to the International Charter Space and Major Disasters for use in monitoring and response activities.
ICEYE provides these images at no cost to the Charter’s Authorised Users to enable wider and more timely information access for disaster events worldwide.
NASA has decided to add Airbus Defence and Space GEO Inc. to its growing list of companies from which the space agency will purchase commercial optical and radar satellite imagery.
NASA published a public notice earlier this month that it plans to acquire Airbus imagery as part of its Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program (CSDAP). The commercial imagery complements data collected by NASA’s satellites.
Helsinki, FINLAND, May 6, 2020 (ICEYE PR) – Finnish New Space leader ICEYE is the first in the world to demonstrate interferometric capabilities from synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) satellites under 100kg (220 pounds) in mass. With an actively maintained 18-day ground track revisit cycle, ICEYE is now able to produce a further capability that was previously only available from larger, conventional SAR satellites. Interferometry is made available to ICEYE customers later in 2020.
Electron rocket lifts off on Jan. 31, 2020. (Credit: Rocket Lab)
Long Beach, California. 14 April 2020 (Rocket Lab PR) – Rocket Lab, a space technology company and global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has signed a deal with Japanese satellite company Synspective to launch a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite in late 2020.
Synspective’s StriX-α satellite will be launched on an Electron launch vehicle as a dedicated mission from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has issued a Letter of Interest (LOI) for seven priority technologies the agency wants industry to develop under its Space Technology Development Program.
The technologies include: improved wide-field astronomical imaging; exoplanet search; advanced planetary exploration instruments; improvements in synthetic aperture radar imaging; and the use block chain with Earth observation data.
Below is a table summarizing the seven technologies.
HELSINKI, March 26th, 2020 (ICEYE PR) – Finnish New Space leader ICEYE unveiled today its latest capability of 25 cm resolution imaging with synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) small satellites, utilizing the company’s current commercial SAR satellite constellation in-orbit. With this very high resolution imaging capability, ICEYE SAR data achieves the same resolution class provided by larger, conventional commercial SAR satellites operating at their highest performance.
ICEYE successfully launched its first SAR satellite in January 2018, ICEYE-X1, which achieved 10×10 meter resolution data capabilities, while also becoming the World’s first SAR satellite mission under 100 kilograms (220 pounds) in launch mass. With the company’s latest development of 25 cm imaging from its current commercial SAR satellite constellation of 3 spacecraft, ICEYE data achieves the finest classification of resolution in the commercial SAR market.
