{"id":8474,"date":"2023-06-16T01:50:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T17:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/exolaunch-and-aerospacelab-announced-the-successful-launch-of-gregoire-satellite-on-spacexs-falcon-9-rocket\/"},"modified":"2023-06-16T01:50:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T17:50:54","slug":"exolaunch-and-aerospacelab-announced-the-successful-launch-of-gregoire-satellite-on-spacexs-falcon-9-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/exolaunch-and-aerospacelab-announced-the-successful-launch-of-gregoire-satellite-on-spacexs-falcon-9-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Exolaunch and Aerospacelab Announced the Successful Launch of Gr\u00e9goire Satellite on SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 Rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Exolaunch<\/p>\n

Aerospacelab, the fast-growing small satellite Belgian manufacturer, and Exolaunch, the German-US global supplier of mission management and integration services, have announced the launch of Aerospacelab\u2019s Gr\u00e9goire satellite, the company\u2019s second private small satellite to travel into space. Aerospacelab has sent its second satellite into orbit with mission management and integration services provider, Exolaunch, aboard SpaceX\u2019s Transporter-8 mission on a Falcon 9 rocket. <\/p>\n

Two years after Aerospacelab\u2019s first satellite mission (Arthur-1) flew into space on SpaceX’s second dedicated small satellite rideshare mission (Transporter-2), Gr\u00e9goire lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States on June 12th, 2023.<\/p>\n

With this launch, the two European companies initiate their cooperation under a Multi-Launch Agreement that will, through 2023 and 2024, enable the launch of seven of Aerospacelab\u2019s innovative Versatile Satellite Platforms (VSP) via SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 and further strengthen their relationship. Aerospacelab and Exolaunch are members of the Young European Enterprises Syndicate for Space (YEESS), an association dedicated to boosting competitiveness and promoting innovations emerging from the space sector in Europe.<\/p>\n

While primarily focused on demonstrating Aerospacelab\u2019s Versatile Satellite Platform (VSP) capabilities in terms of attitude control, data handling, and payload interfaces, to only name a few, Gr\u00e9goire further makes the case for Aerospacelab\u2019s laser communication operating between the satellite and its ground station thanks to a Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) embarked terminal. In addition to illustrating Aerospacelab\u2019s expertise in design, structure building, and vertical manufacturing integration, Gr\u00e9goire represents the maiden flight of Aerospacelab\u2019s Versatile Satellite Platform which, on one hand, aims to provide private and public stakeholders with standardized building blocks capable of accommodating various missions and, on the other hand, ensures progress towards the company\u2019s project to build a constellation of satellites in the upcoming years.<\/p>\n

The Versatile Satellite Platform (VSP) is a key component of Aerospacelab\u2019s plan to provide a European answer to the expected upsurge in global small satellite demand. Indeed, after securing 40\u20ac million in Series B financing in 2022, the company is about to start the construction of its satellite mega-factory which will become Europe\u2019s largest manufacturing factory with an expected production capacity of 500 satellites per year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For Benoit Deper, CEO and founder of Aerospacelab, \u201cthe launch of Gr\u00e9goire, our second small satellite to reach orbit, is not only a key milestone that highlights Aerospacelab as a global player in the aerospace industry, it is also the opportunity for us to assert our expertise and showcase that we\u2019re able to internally design and manufacture most of the satellite\u2019s components while remaining competitively priced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExolaunch is proud to be awarded a series of launch contracts from Aerospacelab to safely deliver their seven VSP satellites into orbit,\u201d said Jeanne Allarie, VP of Launch at Exolaunch. \u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasure to work with Aerospacelab\u2019s highly professional team over successive launch campaigns to perform a rapid VSP satellite constellation deployment in a matter of months. Having just launched Gr\u00e9goire on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, we look forward to many more successful launches together with Aerospacelab and SpaceX!\u201d<\/p>\n

Aerospacelab chose Exolaunch as a mission management and integration services provider due to its outstanding record on Falcon 9 and its flight heritage spanning over 20 missions. In addition to overseeing Gr\u00e9goire and its follow-on satellite launches with end-to-end mission management, Exolaunch will provide Aerospacelab with its industry-leading CarboNIX separation system to ensure reliable separation of the satellites. With a flight record of 65 microsatellites deployed across 13 missions, CarboNIX will guarantee low-shock and smooth separations to safely deliver the satellites into their target orbits.<\/p>\n

Dorian Lasnet, Project Manager at Aerospacelab, comments: \u201cIn projects of this scope, agility, and adaptability are crucial turning points that define the \u201cmake it\u201d or \u201cbreak it\u201d moment. Thanks to the talent and commitment of our collaborators, we were able to have a satellite ready for launch only a few years after the design started from scratch. Not only was it possible to design and build this brand-new platform in-house, but this asset allows now to speed up the follow-up missions with already 5 more satellites in their AIT phase right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gr\u00e9goire satellite\u2019s key features: Built upon the heritage of Aerospacelab\u2019s previous mission (Arthur\u00ad1) and integrating new avionic designs targeting higher performances, Gr\u00e9goire is a part of the VSP Vanilla mission which will bring in-orbit validation for a series of new units designed and manufactured in-house such as:<\/p>\n