Gilmour to provide bus for LatConnect 60’s planned emissions-tracking mission
Gilmour Space Technologies has announced that it will provide a bus that will be part of an upcoming earth imaging satellite to be launched from India.
In a statement on Thursday from Gilmour – best known as a launch services provider and rocket builder – it said its ElaraSat bus will be part of a prototype satellite in a mission led by LatConnect 60. A bus is the satellite’s main body.
LatConnect 60’s Short-Wave Infrared Imagery Satellite (SWIR) will also feature sensors and an edge computer built by Spiral Blue, with the satellite to be integrated at Gilmour Space’s Australian Space Manufacturing Network (ASMN) facility in Queensland.
“SWIRSAT will generate critical insights from very high spatial resolution Earth observation data in the short wave infrared range,” said Venkat Pillay, CEO and Founder of LatConnect 60.
“It will pinpoint and quantify source-level carbon emissions at a high accuracy, filling a key data gap in the market from Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
The launch provider for the mission will be India’s Skyroot Aerospace. A date was not listed in the statement, but LatConnect 60’s website mentions an ambition to launch SWIR in 2016.
Mark Grimminck, Head of Satellites at Gilmour, added that “This 100-kilogram prototype satellite will be a key milestone in LatConnect 60’s vision to deploy a LEO constellation that will deliver vital Earth observation data and insights, starting with carbon emissions monitoring, to both government and commercial customers.”
The launch will be part of the Australian Space Agency’s International Space Investment India Projects program.
ASA funding worth $18 million was announced for three projects (including the SWIR satellite) in April, under the International Space Investment India Projects initiative.
LatConnect 60 was awarded “almost $5.8 million to develop and build a Low Earth Orbit satellite in Australia to collect information on carbon emissions at a very high resolution” according to a statement from industry minister Ed Husic at the time.
Skykraft was also awarded $3.7 million “to propose and validate a new Position, Navigation and Timing system”, and Space Machines Company $8.5 million for a mission to “demonstrate progress towards space debris management and a sustainable space future.”
Picture: Adam Gilmour, CEO and Co-founder of Gilmour Space, with Venkat Pillay, CEO and Founder of LatConnect 60 (supplied)
Further reading
Gilmour Space completes wet dress rehearsal ahead of planned launch
Gilmour Space to launch Malya thermal imaging camera
Gilmour Space raises $55m, Eris rocket heads for space
@aumanufacturing Sections
Analysis and Commentary Awards Defence Manufacturing News Podcast Technology Videos