New York, NY, USA and Mumbai, India, November 29, 2023 – Tata Advanced Systems Limited (“TASL”), India’s leading private sector player for aerospace and defense solutions, and Satellogic Inc. (NASDAQ: SATL), a leader in sub-meter resolution Earth Observation (“EO”) data collection, today announced their collaboration for establishing and developing local space technology capabilities in India. This collaboration is a first step in TASL’s satellite strategy and a significant milestone for Satellogic as it enters the fast-growing Indian defense and commercial market.

The project will commence with comprehensive training, knowledge transfer, and local assembly of optical sub-meter resolution EO satellites, the first of which is planned to be launched as TSAT-1A. The focus will be on manufacturing satellites and developing imagery in India for national defense and commercial applications, toward which TASL is commissioning a satellite AIT plant at its Vemagal facility in Karnataka.

Sukaran Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TASL, said, “Space is important to TASL not just as a business but also due to its culture of precision that will help other activities in TASL. We are pleased to announce our collaboration with Satellogic, a company with best-in-class technology and an entrepreneurial mindset. Additionally, TASL will also work with local SMEs for payloads and other technologies to bolster India content.”

TASL and Satellogic will collaborate on the development of a new satellite design and work together to integrate multiple payloads on a single satellite that will generate a diverse range of data over India.

“One of our core values at Satellogic is accessibility. This collaboration will accelerate space capacity building for one of the largest nations in the world with the goal of enabling the advancement of commercial space capabilities and greater access to critical information for a range of applications such as security, sustainability, and energy,” stated Emiliano Kargieman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Satellogic. “It’s a great example of what’s possible via the Satellogic Space Systems program,” he added.

This contract marks Satellogic’s second Space Systems customer, following an agreement with an international space agency.

About Tata Advanced Systems Limited

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is a significant player for aerospace and defense solutions in India. TASL offers a full range of integrated solutions across: Aerostructures & Aeroengines, Airborne Platforms & Systems, Defense & Security, Land Mobility. TASL has a strong portfolio of partnerships and joint ventures with leading global aerospace and defense firms, making it an integral partner in the international supply chain and in some instances, a global single source provider for leading defense OEMs. With the requisite capabilities, resources and scale, TASL is equipped to deliver end-to-end innovative solutions throughout the entire aerospace value chain from design to full aircraft assembly, and is well positioned in areas that include missiles, radars, unmanned aerial systems, artillery guns, command and control systems, optronics, homeland security and land systems.

About Satellogic

Founded in 2010 by Emiliano Kargieman and Gerardo Richarte, Satellogic (NASDAQ: SATL) is the first vertically integrated geospatial company, driving real outcomes with planetary-scale insights. Satellogic is creating and continuously enhancing the first scalable, fully automated EO platform with the ability to remap the entire planet at both high-frequency and high-resolution, providing accessible and affordable solutions for customers. Satellogic’s mission is to democratize access to geospatial data through its information platform of high-resolution images to help solve the world’s most pressing problems including climate change, energy supply, and food security. Using its patented Earth imaging technology, Satellogic unlocks the power of EO to deliver high-quality, planetary insights at the lowest cost in the industry. With more than a decade of experience in space, Satellogic has proven technology and a strong track record of delivering satellites to orbit and high-resolution data to customers at the right price point.

Source: Satellogic

Beyond Gravity, a leading international space supplier, is at the forefront of innovation and tackles the challenges of high costs with a focus on reusability. An innovative payload fairing (PLF) concept promises to disrupt space launches by allowing the payload fairing to close again – after the payload and the second stage are released – and return to Earth together with the first stage of the launcher.

Pushing the boundaries of what is technically feasible through innovation is one of the core promises of Beyond Gravity. In a world where space exploration continues to inspire and amaze with its boundless possibilities and breathtaking discoveries, the industry also faces major challenges, including affordability and contribution towards a greener future. The company is now taking a step toward addressing these challenges by launching a major research and innovation project. The Launcher Innovation Team at Beyond Gravity is working on a disruptive Payload Fairing (PLF) concept for reusable launchers. Instead of the half-shells being completely separated from the second stage, as is the case today, the two half-shells will open, release the payload, and then close again while remaining attached to the first stage of the launcher. Unlike traditional fairings, the PLF remains attached to the first stage throughout the entire flight and re-enters the atmosphere with the first stage for a soft landing. This novel approach would represent a major step forward in the reusability, schedule flexibility and cost reduction of launch systems and payload fairings.

Paul Horstink, Executive VP at Beyond Gravity’s Launcher Division explains: “This new approach is set to address the evolving market's needs while staying true to Beyond Gravity's commitment to sustainability, innovation, and dedication to a 100% mission success. In addition, the cost savings associated with reusable rockets could make the launch systems more accessible to a wider range of companies and organizations, supporting more frequent launches.” The concept is initially being developed with medium launch vehicles in mind, which can be with ongoing research scaled up to large vehicles, refining the system architecture and subsystems. Paul Horstink sees great entrepreneurial opportunity for this novel approach: “We envisions future collaborations with launcher primes to develop reusable launchers and the potential to introduce novel subsystem solutions beneficial for a range of products. We are working closely together with our current customer base as well as new players in the commercial space market to develop this concept further.”

Extensive Experience in Building Worldclass Payload Fairings

Beyond Gravity has four decades of experience in the production of payload fairings and has been a key contributor to the evolution of ArianeGroup’s and ULA’s launch vehicles, particularly in the development of advanced lightweight structures. From the launch of the first Ariane rocket in 1979, the company's involvement in the aerospace industry has played a pivotal role in advancing the technology and design of payload fairings. Paul Horstink: “Beyond Gravity’s innovations have been crucial in the continued evolution of payload fairings. Our semi-automated industrial processes without the use of an autoclave helped reduce launch costs, improve launch schedule flexibility, and enhance the overall performance of launch vehicles.”

Collaborations with Innovative Startups in Space Industry

Next to reusable payload fairings, Beyond Gravity is fostering partnerships in innovation and research by cooperating with innovative startups and upcoming players in the international space ecosystem. The company’s own startup program, “Launchpad”, has successfully established collaborations with several startups. For instance, Beyond Gravity is working with RevoAI on an ESA project to assess the use of artificial intelligence in the development of future structures. Another startup, Gate Space, is developing a sustainable solution for satellite propulsion with refueling capability. Beyond Gravity is in ongoing exchange with them, and they recently got accepted into the prestigious Techstars Space Accelerator program in the US. Ethereal X, another startup in Beyond Gravity’s startup ecosystem, is working on a 100% reusable rocket, to name just a few examples.

Beyond Gravity recognized within the Swiss Innovation Award

Reflecting Beyond Gravity's deep-rooted dedication to innovation, the company has recently been recognized as one of the top 150 most innovative companies in Switzerland in the "Top Innovative Companies 2024" ranking. This prestigious list, compiled by Swiss Business Magazines Bilanz and PME in collaboration with the research firm Statista, involved a comprehensive evaluation of thousands of Swiss companies. The assessment focused on various aspects of innovation, including the overall innovativeness, product breakthroughs, and the culture of innovation within each company.

Source: Beyond Gravity

European launch service company Isar Aerospace has established a partnership with Andøya Spaceport to launch small satellites from Andøya using Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle. Isar Aerospace is supported through ‘Boost!’ - ESA's programme to support the development, deployment and use of commercial space transportation services in Europe.

On 1 November ESA and Isar Aerospace, supported by Andøya Spaceport, signed a contract extension to develop an efficient new flight tracking and safety system for future rocket launches with Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum launch vehicle from Andøya.

The purpose of the autonomous flight tracking system is to precisely and reliably keeping track of the Spectrum launch vehicle’s position, speed and direction of travel as it ascends to orbit, which is important to guarantee Andøya Spaceport’s flight safety requirements. The objective is to further evaluate the use of the system in enabling automated flight termination functionality for launches by Andøya Spaceport’s ground system, autonomously triggering an abort of the mission if ever operational parameters of the launch vehicle are out of bounds.

Isar Aerospace

The Munich-based launch service company Isar Aerospace was founded in 2018 and has raised €310 million from private investors. The company has been supported by ESA’s Business Incubation Centre and Boost! contracts in 2020 and 2021. Isar Aerospace’s two-stage launch vehicle Spectrum will be around 28 m tall, 2 m in diameter and its ten engines will launch payloads of up to 1000 kg to low Earth orbit. Isar Aerospace is in the final stages of preparation towards its first test flight of Spectrum: having completed the system designs of its launch vehicle, it is now in the production phase of all parts of the rocket, including the flight engines.

Andøya Spaceport

Andøya Spaceport, located at Nordmela on the Norwegian island of Andøya, has finished construction of the first step of building: initial operation capability. The first launch from the new spaceport will be Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum for which the launch pad, payload integration facilities and launch- and mission control have been finalised. Andøya Space group has a long history in providing infrastructure for suborbital launches. Since 1962, around 1200 sounding rockets and high-altitude balloons have launched from here. With the recent opening, Andøya Spaceport is getting closer to becoming an operational orbital spaceport in continental Europe.

Source: ESA

Space launch provider Southern Launch will welcome innovative German rocket manufacturer HyImpulse to launch into space from the Koonibba Test Range near Ceduna in South Australia in 2024. HyImpulse is bringing their SR75 sounding rocket to Australia for a sub-orbital launch. The SR75 is powered by HyImpulse’s unique, green hybrid propulsion technology.

Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp says, ‘HyImpulse are leading the way in the development of hybrid rocket technology. We are proud that our Koonibba Test Range provides this leading company with the opportunity to test their launch vehicle and recover it from our overland range.’

The ability to recover the rocket and understand what happened after launch is a key reason for HyImpulse travelling to Australia to launch. The Koonibba Test Range is one of the largest commercial overland rocket testing ranges in the world and provides rocket companies with a unique opportunity to recover their rocket - something not possible with an overwater launch.

HyImpulse CEO Mario Kobald says, ‘Our mission is to develop a launch vehicle that uses our unique hybrid propulsion technology. Launching our first suborbital rocket from the Koonibba Test Range is a huge milestone for our company and we are looking forward to the learnings that this launch will provide our team.’

Co-CEO Christian Schmierer adds, ‘Launching HyImpulse’s first rocket from the other side of the globe, shows Southern Launch’s and HyImpulse’s capability of serving a global market in a rapid, efficient and responsive cooperation from anywhere around the world.’

Southern Launch is managing most aspects of the launch campaign preparation on behalf of HyImpulse including regulatory approvals and the import of the launch vehicle to Australia. HyImpulse CTO Ulrich Fischer says, ‘Having Southern Launch manage the launch for us means we can focus on the vehicle and use our expertise in the best way possible.’

Lloyd says, ‘Southern Launch exists to provide launch services so our industry can keep moving forward at pace. HyImpulse are leaders in their field and we are incredibly excited to play a role in helping them develop their unique launch vehicle that will help our industry continue to evolve and improve.’

The Koonibba Test Range is jointly operated by the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation and Southern Launch. The suborbital SR75 mission is set to lift off from the Koonibba Test Range in Q1 of 2024 subject to regulatory approval. Source: Southern Launch