Scottish rocket company Skyrora and consortium partners have secured a European Space Agency (ESA) contract to demonstrate a launch relay system that could benefit the global industry.
Skyrora, US-based Viasat, and global IT consultant CGI have been awarded the contract under the Commercial Space Transportation Services programme to demonstrate InRange, which allows continuous transmission of telemetry data during rocket flight from launch to payload deployment. The collaboration will focus on Skyrora’s suborbital Skylark L launch vehicle, demonstrating InRange connectivity over Viasat’s satellite communication networks.
The initial stage of the project will include Viasat conducting ground testing of the InRange solution with Skyrora’s launch vehicle system. CGI will undertake a market study and analysis of ground stations to determine the commercial potential of InRange within the wider launch service provider market.
The project is an extension of Skyrora’s existing contract with the ESA through its Boost! commercial space transportation and support programme. Through this Skyrora received €3 million (£2.6m) to support development of orbital XL, its three-stage light class launch vehicle.
“This partnership between Skyrora, Viasat and CGI is a testament to the critical relationships and collaboration between space tech companies that ensures safe access to and activity in space," Skyrora founder and chief executive Volodymyr Levykin said.
"With the development of the InRange telemetry system it is much less likely that the challenges around recording and transmitting the readings of launch vehicles will occur. This will save companies millions of pounds, in addition to reducing the amount of space junk, which not only clogs space and disrupts our skyline, but can also fall to Earth and cause both human and infrastructural damage.”
Traditional ground stations are limited in connecting with a launch vehicle beyond the horizon line. The InRange solution uses geostationary satellites in space to enable continuous data transmission between the launch vehicle and the service provider during flight.
“To make the UK Europe’s leading provider of small satellite launch by 2030, it’s essential that we continue to support new technologies that will enhance our launch capabilities and provide satellite companies around the world with innovative solutions that will attract them to the UK," saidMatt Archer, director of launch at the UK Space Agency.
READ MORE: Skyrora to launch Shetland rockets
“Enabled by the government's investment of £12m into the first phase of the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme, this exciting collaboration between UK-based Skyrora, Inmarsat and CGI will drive forward the development of Skyrora and the market’s ability to launch from Scotland.”
Gary Lay, vice president of Viasat’s strategic programmes, added: “InRange is ideally suited to providing launch operators around the world with greater flexibility and reliability for their launch telemetry, and this connectivity is critical in the rapidly growing launch sector.
"Launch is a major UK strategic initiative, and we are proud to see InRange becoming an indispensable cog in this launch capability.”
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