{"id":17429,"date":"2022-01-25T23:33:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T15:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/xplore-makes-a-deal-to-use-orbastros-satellite-platforms-for-space-missions\/"},"modified":"2022-01-25T23:33:27","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T15:33:27","slug":"xplore-makes-a-deal-to-use-orbastros-satellite-platforms-for-space-missions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/xplore-makes-a-deal-to-use-orbastros-satellite-platforms-for-space-missions\/","title":{"rendered":"Xplore makes a deal to use OrbAstro\u2019s satellite platforms for space missions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An artist\u2019s conception shows Xplore\u2019s first satellite, which will use Orbital Astronautics\u2019 ORB-6 platform for Earth observation and astronomical research. (OrbAstro Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd. to use its standardized satellite platform for a variety of missions, starting with a space imaging mission that\u2019s due for launch as early as this year.<\/p>\n

The debut mission will fly hyperspectral and high-resolution video payloads built by Xplore. \u201cThis mission will provide two of our services: data as a service, and sensors as a service,\u201d Lisa Rich, Xplore\u2019s founder and chief operating officer, told GeekWire in an email.<\/p>\n

Rich said the onboard imagers will make Earth observations as well as astronomical observations from low Earth orbit. She said Xplore has procured a launch reservation but isn\u2019t yet ready to identify the launch provider.<\/p>\n

In a news release issued today, Rich focused on the deal with Orbital Astronautics, a space technology company that\u2019s based in Britain and New Zealand.<\/p>\n

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Lisa Rich is Xplore\u2019s founder and chief operating officer. (Xplore Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are excited to have our first flight underway, and it is wonderful to work with OrbAstro \u2014 a collaborative and high-quality supplier helping reduce time and cost in our mission development,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

OrbAstro CEO Ash Dove-Jay said \u201cXplore is a highly innovative company that likes to move fast, which is what OrbAstro is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough working very closely with the Xplore team, we were able to quickly create an affordable solution for highly demanding mission parameters,\u201d Dove-Jay said.<\/p>\n

In addition to using OrbAstro\u2019s satellite platform (also known as a satellite bus), Xplore is developing its own platform, known as Xcraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cXcraft development is proceeding rapidly,\u201d Rich told GeekWire. \u201cThis first mission using OrbAstro\u2019s bus is flying some instruments for testing and software development purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

OrbAstro\u2019s ORB-6 platform will serve as the foundation for the first mission. Xplore said the platform was selected because it meets the company\u2019s requirement to fly multiple instruments on a single mission. ORB-class platforms feature Ultrascale+ and LPDDR4-based onboard computing, electric propulsion, a full-scale attitude determination and control system with dual star-trackers, an S-band transceiver and an optical communications system.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrbAstro\u2019s turnkey solution enables Xplore to run missions that prove out operations, data acquisition capabilities and customer integration functions,\u201d Rich said. \u201cWe embrace suppliers and partners capable of moving at the speed of business, as they accelerate our ability to rapidly deliver high-value data to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xplore\u2019s \u201cSpace as a Service\u201d business model offers a variety of options for commercial and government customers, targeting destinations that range from low Earth orbit to the moon, Mars, Venus and asteroids. <\/p>\n

In September, the five-year-old venture reported receiving a $2 million contract from National Security Innovation Capital, a hardware development accelerator within the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Innovation Unit, to speed up work on the Xcraft platform.<\/p>\n

Rich made clear that the deal with OrbAstro won\u2019t eliminate the need for Xcraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Xcraft and OrbAstro buses both are used to sell data as a service and sensors as a surface,\u201d she said in her emailed response to questions. \u201cThe Xcraft also offers the ability to provide satellite as a service, and host payloads for our customers.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An artist\u2019s conception shows Xplore\u2019s first satellite, which will use Orbital Astronautics\u2019 ORB-6 platform for Earth observation and astronomical research. (OrbAstro Illustration) Redmond, Wash.-based Xplore has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd. to use its standardized satellite platform for a variety of missions, starting with a space imaging mission that\u2019s due for launch as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4670,20,442,4426],"class_list":["post-17429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-orbastro","tag-satellite","tag-satellites","tag-xplore"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}