SpaceX Transporter-8 to Carry Six Satellites Manufactured by Kongsberg NanoAvionics into Orbit
Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics), a leading smallsat bus manufacturer and mission integrator, has announced that six of its manufactured satellites are going into orbit aboard SpaceX's upcoming Transporter-8 mission.
One of them, Tiger-4, belonging to telecoms operator OQ Technology, will expand the world’s first and largest 5G Narrowband-IoT constellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). The 6U nanosatellite is the fourth satellite manufactured for OQ Technology by NanoAvionics.
The second one, a 16U optical Earth observation satellite named “GEI-SAT” is owned by Satlantis, a Spain based developer and manufacturer of “Earth & Universe Observation” payloads for small satellites. The satellite is a precursor of a Satlantis' remote sensing constellation intended to perform atmospheric CH4 measurements with high spatio-temporal resolution and simultaneous geolocation of source emitters. It will be used for the monitorisation and quantification of methane emissions in the oil & gas industry. NanoAvionics supplied the mission with its M16P satellite bus and mission integration services.
The other four satellites ordered by three unnamed companies include one nanosatellite for remote sensing mission using radio frequencies, two technology demonstration satellites, and an MP42H microsatellite for an orbital reconnaissance demonstration. The latter will take highly accurate measurements of spacecraft and objects in orbit to reduce the threat of collisions.
All satellites were manufactured at NanoAvionics’s MAIT (manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing) facility in Vilnius, Lithuania, setup to meet the demands for serial small satellite production for constellations by commercial, civil, and governmental organisations.
Vytenis J. Buzas, founder and CEO of NanoAvionics, said: “The SpaceX Transporter-8 mission marks our 12th manufactured satellite to launch this year alone. Most of these satellites are from existing customers, highlighting their satisfaction and continued trust in our services and capabilities to quickly build high-quality and cost-efficient nano- and microsatellites.
“We are also working on delivering and readying for launch over a dozen more satellites for our customers, including this year’s first assembled 100+ kg microsatellite, by the end of the year.”