The Satellite Applications Catapult (“the Catapult”) and Virgin Orbit, a leading launch provider, have announced an agreement to launch the latest satellite in the Catapult’s In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) programme into space from the United Kingdom later this year.
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The satellite, called Amber-1, is a partnership between the Catapult and Horizon Technologies. Built by AAC Clyde Space in Scotland, it will be launched by Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne on its historic flight from Spaceport Cornwall this year – a mission that is expected to mark the first ever orbital launch from a United Kingdom spaceport.
The objective of the mission is to demonstrate for the first time how launch from the United Kingdom can benefit the rapidly growing UK space sector and can enable organisations to rapidly deploy new technologies to orbit, with a complete end-to-end capability coordinated from UK soil.
Amber-1 is expected to be the first of 20+ planned Amber™ satellites to provide Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) data to users. Using unique, patented technology, the system will geolocate and demodulate radio frequency (RF) data from ships around the world. Horizon Technologies’ data will be used by governments to provide information on the tracking and prevention of illegal fishing, smuggling, trafficking, piracy, and terrorism. Information collected through the programme will be provided to the United Kingdom’s Joint Maritime Security Centre (JMSC).
“We are delighted to work with the Catapult and Horizon to launch Amber-1 on this planned historic flight, the first to bring domestic launch capability to the United Kingdom. We believe tracking shipping from space is vital to keeping the seas safe and that Amber-1 is a key technology that will aid this endeavour. This important technology, and Virgin Orbit’s collaboration with the Catapult are the latest signs of the growth we are seeing across the UK space economy. This is galvanized by our planned capability to launch straight from the United Kingdom to orbit,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart.
Lucy Edge, COO of the Satellite Applications Catapult said: “This launch is a huge milestone for the space sector in the UK. This summer, the UK completes its end-to-end ecosystem enabling companies to design, build, launch and operate their spacecraft all from one place.
“The impact for the UK Space Economy is uncapped, and we look forward to supporting this vibrant sector in demonstrating major advances in agile access to space.”
John Beckner, CEO of Horizon Technologies said: “The launch of Amber-1 has been a long time in coming, and we are thrilled to be part of our partner, Virgin Orbit’s planned launch this summer. Amber™ will revolutionize maritime RF detection from space using single CubeSats (as opposed to expensive clusters). We believe Amber™ is a glowing example of a successful partnership between a growing UK SME and the Satellite Applications Catapult.”