CLYDE SPACE, the manufacturer of
miniature satellites, has said a contract
won with a leading Silicon Valley space technology business validated the work it had already achieved.
The Glasgow-based company will
collaborate with Stanford University
spin-out Audacy to deliver wi-fi communication to spacecraft in orbit, which will help meet the growing demand for real-time data in the space industry.
“[Audacy did] an exhaustive review of our market and got quotes from everyone, they were very specific about what they needed and we won it,” said Clyde Space chief executive Craig Clark.
“It was a nice bit of validation for us,” he added. “You’ve got your head to the grindstone most of the time trying to get things out the door, to develop the business, and to get a bit of validation you’re doing the right thing and that you’re performing better than your competitors is welcome.”
The latest deal for the business, which employs more than 80 people, follows the successful commissioning of a ground station on the roof of its Glasgow head-
quarters. This allows Clyde Space to control and operate satellites once they have been launched into space, through radio wave communications.
Built with the aid of a £92,000 Scottish Enterprise SMART grant, it allows Clyde Space to offer a turnkey solution to its customers.
The company has also commissioned ground stations in San Jose, California, and in Qatar.
Clyde Space designs and manufactures CubeSats, small satellites about the size
of a whisky gift box. These satellites are used by the commercial, military, private and academic sectors to map, observe, or
photograph aspects of Earth, among many mission objectives.
The deal with Audacy will see Clyde Space provide spacecraft solutions for the demonstration mission,
This mission will eventually lead to the launch of relay satellites which provide uninterrupted space connectivity, allowing satellite operators to continuously access and monitor their assets in space.
They will be able to access more data on the operation of their satellites at significantly reduced costs.
The company says such a service can only be delivered through relays in low Earth orbit, where there is 100 per cent line-of-sight coverage.
“They are an interesting start-up in Silicon Valley who want to bring wi-fi to space
for other satellites to use,” said Mr Clark. “They are early on, but they are quite well-regarded.”
Sam Avery, co-founder and head of spacecraft integration at Audacy, said: “Clyde Space’s wealth of experience with small
satellites and strong engineering support are a huge help.”
The technology works in a similar way to NASA’s tracking and data relay satellite system, which was designed to replace a network of ground stations, enabling
spacecraft to be in communications with the ground for more time, and increase the amount of data that could be transferred from spacecraft back to the ground.
“Audacy is capitalising on a gap in the space market which will benefit organisations the world over,” said Mr Clark. “This is an exciting project and one helping to innovate the space industry.”
The location of the ground station provides an unobstructed sky view which will maximise monitoring of satellite pass times.
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