HEO’s Holmes space camera to fly on upcoming Australian-Indian mission
HEO – which launched an Australian-made, world-first commercial camera dedicated to non-Earth imaging (NEI) in 2023 – has announced that it will support the Space Machines Company-led Space-MAITRI mission, scheduled for launch in late-2026.
HEO said in a statement on Thursday that it will provide a second generation of its NEI camera, billed the Holmes Mk2, for Space Machines Company’s Australian-built Rapid Response Vehicle, Optimus Viper.
SMC heads the Australian-Indian Space MAITRI mission, which was announced in April 2024 and has been assisted by an $8.5 million grant from the Australian Space Agency.
According to the announcement at that time, the mission is concerned with the problem of increasing levels of space debris around Earth, and will see SMC’s vehicle “integrated and launched from India on an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket”, showcasing the prowess of the two nations’ R&D and supply chains.
Holmes Mk2 “builds on its successful predecessor, Holmes Imager,” HEO said, “with enhanced resolution while maintaining its compact design, enabling superior imagery of space objects and better data for space debris monitoring and mitigation efforts.”
(The original Holmes camera saw HEO named among this title’s Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers in 2024.)
“Adding HEO’s NEI camera to Space Machines Company’s Optimus Viper provides another proof point for the demand of high-quality in-orbit insights on dangerous space debris,” said Will Crowe, Co-Founder & CEO of HEO, on Thursday.
“We’re excited to partner on this mission and work towards our shared vision of a more sustainable space environment.”
Rajat Kulshrestha, Space Machines Company CEO and Founder, added that the two companies’ collaboration was going “from strength to strength” and that local collaboration and innovation is “integral to the future of the local space ecosystem”.
Kulshrestha added: The integration of HEO’s NEI Camera and advanced imagery capabilities will play a critical role in Space MAITRI’s mission of safeguarding on-orbit assets and advancing sustainable space exploration.”
SMC’s goal is to be an “in-space servicing firm” providing “Roadside Assistance in Space” for satellites, repairing, refuelling, refurbishing, recycling them, and removing them at the end of their mission.
Space MAITRI (मैत्री in Sanskrit) is short for “Mission for Australia-India’s Technology, Research and Innovation”.
Picture: supplied
Further reading
Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers for 2024 announced
HEO Robotics attracts seed funding to support satellite inspection service
Space Machines, Adelaide University and others developing new robotics testbed
Space Machines Company, NewSpace India sign launch agreement at Indian Space Congress
Space Machines hires engineering boss
World-first non-Earth imaging camera “manufactured entirely in Australia” gets launched
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