SFL Missions has announced the successful launch and deployment of four small satellites across two missions. SFL Missions developed the AISSat-4 maritime ship tracking microsatellite for the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA) and delivered units for the three-satellite HawkEye 360 Cluster 14 radio frequency (RF) detection spacecraft for integration by HawkEye 360 under the SFL Missions Flex Production Program. AISSat-4 and HawkEye 360 Cluster 14 were launched aboard the SpaceX Transporter-16 Rideshare from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. All four small satellites are communicating with ground control.
“This launch demonstrates SFL Missions’ unmatched ability to deliver small satellites for diverse applications at price points that are cost-effective for commercial and government customers,” said SFL Missions Director, Dr. Robert E. Zee. “SFL Missions is a unique microspace provider that offers a complete suite of nano-, micro- and small satellites developed at our Toronto facility or a client location.”
SFL Missions developed AISSat-4 in less than a year on its SPARTAN 6U nanosatellite platform. It carries a single payload – a miniaturised Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver built by Kongsberg Seatex of Trondheim, Norway. The ninth AIS satellite, built on an SFL bus for Norway, AISSat-4 was developed on a fast turnaround to expand NOSA’s maritime situational awareness network.
Norway launched the first ship-tracking satellite of its operational AISSat series in 2010 and then funded a parallel series of larger NorSat microsatellites. While the smaller AISSat nanosatellites each carry a single payload focused solely on the collection of AIS signals, the NorSats each operate a ship-tracking device along with one or more technology demonstration payloads. AISSat-4 has the capacity to capture 1.5 million unique AIS signals every day, even in crowded shipping lanes. HawkEye 360 Cluster 14 was integrated at HawkEye 360’s Herndon, Virginia, plant under the SFL Missions Flex Production Program. SFL Missions provided the spacecraft bus units and subsystems based on its space-proven 30-kg DEFIANT platform, designed in Toronto specifically for HawkEye 360. These components were then shipped to HawkEye 360’s facility for full assembly, integration, and testing.
HawkEye 360 is the global leader in signals intelligence and the first to use formation-flying microsatellites for maritime and terrestrial RF signal detection. This data is analysed for many sectors, including maritime situational awareness, emergency response, national security, and spectrum mapping. Common defence applications include Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT). Attitude control and formation flying by multiple spacecraft in orbit are a necessity for accurate RF signal geolocation, a primary consideration in HawkEye 360’s selection of spacecraft developer.
SFL Missions is building on a 27-year heritage that has now produced 98 operationally successful missions and 435+ cumulative years in orbit. The firm is developing nano-, micro-, and small satellites and constellations using space-proven bus designs from 3 to 500 kilograms for Earth observation, communications, environmental monitoring, maritime situational awareness, space astronomy, scientific research and more. Currently expanding its satellite manufacturing facilities, SFL Missions has 32 satellites under development or awaiting launch.
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