NorthStar Space Situational Awareness Services Launching in 2023
A unique space-based monitoring system from NorthStar Earth & Space will be launched in 2023 to deliver transformational Space Situational Awareness services to improve sustainability in space and preserve essential services from critical satellite infrastructure.
“NorthStar is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the peaceful and sustainable use of space."
Stewart Bain, CEO & Founder of NorthStar.
The first three of Northstar's constellation of 24 satellites dedicated to commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) will be among the payloads carried by Spire Global’s satellites to be launched by Virgin Orbit.
Space Situational Awareness System will Monitor All Near-Earth Orbits
NorthStar will be the first to monitor all near-Earth orbits from space delivering a radically enhanced level of space situational awareness services to the global satellite community, with timely and precise information for resident space object detection, tracking, orbit determination, collision avoidance, navigation and proximity alerts.
“NorthStar is proud to join forces with both Spire Global and Virgin Orbit for this historic first launch, as part of a vibrant community committed to advancing innovation in the service of space sustainability and the secure growth of the space economy,” said Stewart Bain, CEO & Founder of NorthStar Earth & Space.
“Virgin Orbit is delighted to play a role in this ground-breaking mission,” said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart. “The proliferation of space debris and emerging threats in orbit necessitate responsive space domain awareness via space-based platforms. By working with NorthStar and Spire to deploy this innovative technology to a precise, targeted orbit via our proven LauncherOne system, we are fulfilling Virgin Orbit’s role as an affordable responsive space provider. “
“We’re proud that NorthStar is leveraging our Space Services model and established space, ground, and web infrastructure to rapidly deploy its constellation, which is critical to tackling the pressing issue of space debris and delivering fundamental information for satellite operators,” added Joel Spark, Co-Founder and General Manager, Space Services, Spire.
“NorthStar is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the peaceful and sustainable use of space. We deliver valuable information that enhances the detection and precision tracking of space objects across all near-Earth orbits to support sustainability, greater safety, and confidence in space operations.” Bain said.
(Source: Northstar Earth and Space news release. Courtesy images)