Session
Technical Session II: From 0 to 7.5 km/s
Abstract
With the significant increase in small satellite activities and projects in Europe, the US, Asia, and other parts of the world, the availability of regular, affordable access to space for small satellites becomes even more critical than before. Obviously, there are many complicating factors in ‘arranging a ride’ for your small satellite. These can be technical and programmatic mismatches between the available launch opportunity and the small satellite mission objectives and planning. But (more) often these complicating factors also relate to export restrictions, political considerations, lack of standardization or a mismatch in requirements and expectations between the small satellite developer and the launch provider or primary customer. Considering the number of rocket launches per year, one might expect sufficient excess capacity on board these launch vehicles to easily accommodate a large number of small satellites as auxiliary or piggyback payloads, In practice it is actually quite difficult to find an available, affordable launch opportunity for a small satellite. And when one is found, lead times to launch can be quite long, as many small satellite developers in the US are currently experiencing. To address these challenges and provide a global network for the launch of small and secondary payloads, Spaceflight and ISILaunch have teamed and currently offer spaceflight services on a variety of orbital and suborbital vehicles for small and secondary payloads, with operations centered in the United States (US) and Europe respectively. Under this joint marketing agreement Spaceflight and ISILaunch will provide a global spaceflight service for the launch of small and secondary payloads by jointly marketing a combined set of products and services to prospective customers. Through these cross-Atlantic connections and agreements, launch opportunities become accessible for a broader range of foreign payloads, improving access to space for small satellites. The end goal of this is to be able to offer a ‘ticket to space’ for every nanosatellite mission and provide a global launch service.
Ticket To Space - How to Get your Small Satellite from the Cleanroom to Orbit
With the significant increase in small satellite activities and projects in Europe, the US, Asia, and other parts of the world, the availability of regular, affordable access to space for small satellites becomes even more critical than before. Obviously, there are many complicating factors in ‘arranging a ride’ for your small satellite. These can be technical and programmatic mismatches between the available launch opportunity and the small satellite mission objectives and planning. But (more) often these complicating factors also relate to export restrictions, political considerations, lack of standardization or a mismatch in requirements and expectations between the small satellite developer and the launch provider or primary customer. Considering the number of rocket launches per year, one might expect sufficient excess capacity on board these launch vehicles to easily accommodate a large number of small satellites as auxiliary or piggyback payloads, In practice it is actually quite difficult to find an available, affordable launch opportunity for a small satellite. And when one is found, lead times to launch can be quite long, as many small satellite developers in the US are currently experiencing. To address these challenges and provide a global network for the launch of small and secondary payloads, Spaceflight and ISILaunch have teamed and currently offer spaceflight services on a variety of orbital and suborbital vehicles for small and secondary payloads, with operations centered in the United States (US) and Europe respectively. Under this joint marketing agreement Spaceflight and ISILaunch will provide a global spaceflight service for the launch of small and secondary payloads by jointly marketing a combined set of products and services to prospective customers. Through these cross-Atlantic connections and agreements, launch opportunities become accessible for a broader range of foreign payloads, improving access to space for small satellites. The end goal of this is to be able to offer a ‘ticket to space’ for every nanosatellite mission and provide a global launch service.
