Kongsberg NanoAvionics

Watching a #satellite learn to spread its wings - one of the most critical parts of its mission once in space - is always spectacular. But what goes into its "wing" design? In short - simplicity. Because: Simple design = Cost-effective + Easy to manufacture and assemble We embrace modularity so that our standard small satellite buses can be easily configured with single, double, or triple deployable solar panels, all sharing the same PCBs, honeycomb structures, and Hold Down Release Mechanisms, requiring minimal mechanical changes. This also streamlines assembly, reducing production time and costs so our customers can get their Earth observation, communication, or other missions to orbit cost-effectively and quickly. And as this video shows, testing also becomes faster when the panels are strong enough to support themselves under gravity and do not require elaborate deployment jigs, even if they span up to 1,5m each in triple-deployable configurations. Learn more about our standard microsatellite buses: https://lnkd.in/enY-dUUJ #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats

Another week, another satellite bus delivered to one of our customers. 🛰️ Most of the time, we take care of the entire satellite mission from design to manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing, and operations. But this is one of those cases where the customer will integrate the payload into our satellite bus for an in-orbit demonstration mission themselves, with support from our engineering. We help our customers prove their technologies and business cases or deploy their constellations in space in multiple ways. Follow the link in the comments below to learn how we cater our services to demo missions and constellations alike. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats

Next stop: SpaceX Launch Site. 🛰️🚀 Two more satellites we built for our customers are about to change the way we see Earth from space: SkyBee-1, based on our MP42 microsatellite bus, will kick-start constellr's HiVE constellation to bring unprecedented precision, resolution, and frequency to crop stress monitoring, aiming to save billions of tons of water globally. By seeing the world through its long-wave infrared (LWIR) and visible and near-infrared (VNIR) cameras, SkyBee-1 will measure land surface temperature and detect plant heat stress early on, helping farmers save water, costs and increase crop yield. GESat "GEN1", based on our 16U nanosatellite bus, is a demonstration satellite for Absolut Sensing's planned GESat constellation, set to be the world's most sophisticated local greenhouse gas measurement system. This demonstration satellite will allow Absolut Sensing to validate its instrument measurement concept and ground processing chain. Nearly 20 customers worldwide use our nano and microsatellite buses for their Earth observation missions, ranging from visible, multispectral, and hyperspectral imaging to RF sensing and synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Try our online satellite configurator below to see if our standard platforms meet your mission needs, or contact us with your tailored mission requirements. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats #Transporter12 *The High-resolution VEgetation (HiVE) constellation was co-funded by the European Space Agency's #InCubed program, but the views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

Nice to be back, Bremen! Come say "Guten Tag" to our team at booth D30. Our most popular microsatellite bus, MP42, is on display, so is our customer mission wall, AND we have a keynote tomorrow: 🛰️ Hear our Director of Product and Mission Development, Arnoldas Pečiukevičius' presentation on Racing to Align with Industry Requirements this Wednesday at noon at the Smallsats Conference stage. We'd love to talk about your smallsat mission needs. Book a convenient time in the comments below. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats #SpaceTechExpo #SpaceTechExpo2024

Hear our Director of Product and Mission Development, Arnoldas Pečiukevičius' presentation on Racing to Align with Industry Requirements this Wednesday at noon at the Smallsats Conference stage at #SpaceTechExpo. Also, don't hesitate to visit our booth, D30, to meet our team and get up-close with our smallsat hardware, starting tomorrow. Reach out to Julius Ašmonas to set up a meeting. See you soon in Bremen! #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats #SpaceTechExpo2024

Two SkyBees are better than one! 🐝🐝 SkyBee-2 is getting ready for its environmental test campaign, while SkyBee-1 will head out for launch to kick-start constellr's HiVE constellation, which aims to: 🛰️ Deliver high precision (1.5 K) land surface temperature measurements at 10 m resolution. 🛰️ Prevent crop loss by detecting heat stress in plants early on. 🛰️ Help save megatons of water and CO2 used for irrigation. 🛰️ Generate billions of Euros in gross benefits for farmers. We are proud that our satellite buses can support Constellr's constellation and help achieve these sustainability goals along with ESA. Learn more about the High-Resolution VEgetation (HiVE) constellation in our blog linked below and stay tuned for launch updates. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats The HiVE constellation was co-funded by the European Space Agency's #InCubed program, but the views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Space Agency.

NanoAvionics, the European Space Agency - ESA, and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace will develop a satellite precursor of the Arctic Ocean Surveillance (AOS) project for the Norwegian Government. The AOS mission, initiated by the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), is part of the Arctic Surveillance Program initiative from NOSA, the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), and the Coastal Administration. It will be the precursor to a series of satellites for space-based maritime surveillance.  When completed, the first part of the AOS program will provide real-time satellite-based surveillance services to support and secure Norwegian national interests and sovereignty at sea.  Our MP42H microsatellite bus will integrate Automatic Identification System (AIS) and passive radar detector payloads, developed by FFI and delivered by Kongsberg Discovery, as well as the EIDEL Nanosatellite Crypto Unit with Secure Satellite Link. The satellite will be launched from Andøya Spaceport as one of the first orbital launches from continental Europe. You can read the full press release in the comments below. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats

Looking for smallsats that bridge the gap between NewSpace agility and OldSpace reliability? Then visit our booth, D30, at the #SpaceTechExpo in Bremen in two weeks! Reach out to Julius Ašmonas to set up a meeting. And come hear our Director of Product and Mission Development, Arnoldas Pečiukevičius' presentation on Racing to Align with Industry Requirements on November 20 at noon at the Smallsats Conference stage. Our schedules are filling up fast, so we hope to see you soon! #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats #SpaceTechExpoEurope #SpaceTechExpo2024

TIME's magazine listed NASA's ACS3 solar sail spacecraft as one of the Best Inventions of 2024. Huge congratulations to the entire NASA Ames Research Center team we had the pleasure of working with! The Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) is a microwave-sized satellite using our 12U nanosatellite bus, which unfurled an 80 square meter (860 sqft) solar sail this August in orbit 1000 km above us. To quote Times: "Instead of using chemical engines to maneuver and accelerate, it uses a solar sail—a large metallic film that catches photons from the sun much the way a cloth sail catches wind." This technology could enable new forms of interplanetary space exploration, using lighter spacecraft that don't need to carry propellant. If you want to learn more about the ACS3 mission, we have a blog post about it linked in the comments below. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats

This space debris or micrometeoroid impact would have been left unnoticed if not for MP42's selfie camera. But two questions still remain unanswered: When the impact occurred and what caused it. As you can see from the solar panel telemetry comparison, the impact didn't affect MP42's power generation, making it hard to tell when it was struck. The first time we noticed this chickpea-sized crater was in a photo taken in mid-October 2024. And the last time MP42 took a selfie before then was in April of 2023, so the incident happened sometime during that 1.5-year timeframe. As for what caused it, we obviously cannot exclude the possibility of an alien satellitepecker, but our best bets are on a piece of space debris or a micrometeoroid. So, what are the odds for either of those? According to ESA, nearly 3 million kg of man-made objects orbit within 2000 km of Earth, whereas only 200 kg of meteoroid mass is present within 2000 km of Earth's surface at any given moment. NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), which spent nearly 6 years in LEO and was brought back down to Earth for inspection, showed that 23% of the impact craters on LDEF were of meteoritic origin, with 51% classified as space debris and 26% as unknown. Either way, the collision highlights the need for responsible space operations in orbit. As signatories of ESA's Zero Debris Charter, we're committed to the charter's ambitious goal of achieving zero debris by 2030. To learn more about the impact, their frequency, what we do to minimize our space debris footprint, and how satellite design can improve resilience to space debris or micrometeoroid impacts, you can read our blog in the comments below. #NewSpace #nanosatellites #smallsats