Upcoming Bandwagon Mission will Include Two LizzieSats
Upcoming Bandwagon Mission will Include Two LizzieSats
Additional Sensors and Expanded Field of View Will Increase Both Payload and Data Revenue
Two LizzieSats will fly on the upcoming SpaceX Bandwagon mission, Sidus Space has confirmed. The updated LizzieSat constellation configuration will advance cutting-edge LEP data collection and provide enhanced orbital flexibility for government and commercial customers.
"We made the decision to capitalize on SpaceX’s recent announcement to launch Bandwagon missions after evaluating the potential increased revenue opportunity tied to placing multiple LizzieSats in dissimilar orbits."
Carol Craig, Sidus Space
While initially planning to launch its first LizzieSat on Transporter-9 in Q4 2023, the Company has adjusted its launch manifest to take advantage of the opportunity to cover more populated areas and increase data revenue. The updated schedule targets a first launch in Q1 2024 followed by two LizzieSats on a Bandwagon mission in Q2 2024.
“The Bandwagon mission is exciting because it gives us the ability to place multiple LizzieSats in dissimilar orbits, enabling us to capture higher revenue generating data while increasing our payload and data customers,” commented Carol Craig, Sidus’ Founder and CEO. “This, when combined with the inclusion of additional sensors and enhanced AI capabilities on our initial flight, adds value as we get closer to initiating these launches and developing new, high-margin business lines.”
The Company continues to be manifested for the launch of a single LizzieSat with SpaceX on Transporter-10 in Q1 2024 and two additional LizzieSats on Transporter-11 in Q2 2024, which will result in an expected five LizzieSats on orbit in the Company’s constellation by the end of the third quarter of 2024. The LizzieSats deployed on Bandwagon will operate in synergy with those on Transporter missions as the complementary orbits increase both the value and the amount of data that can be collected for sale by the Company.
"The convergence of our orbit inclination, advanced payloads, and EdgeAI capabilities enables us to provide an unparalleled data service to our customers," said John Curry, Chief Mission Operations Officer. "Our capability to address a critical void through wide area spectral data imaging greatly enhances LizzieSat’s overall potential."
In a letter to shareholders, Craig explained the impact on the company in greater detail. "We made the decision to capitalize on SpaceX’s recent announcement to launch Bandwagon missions after evaluating the potential increased revenue opportunity tied to placing multiple LizzieSats in dissimilar orbits. This change will enable us to capture higher revenue generating data by covering more populated areas while also increasing our payload and data customers. We believe that, in combination with the inclusion of additional sensors and enhanced AI capabilities, the new orbits add value as we get closer to initiating these launches and developing new, high-margin business lines.
"Our integration of FeatherEdge AI into our LizzieSats will enable real-time data processing, image analysis, anomaly detection, data compression, and automated decision making while increasing privacy, security, and customization," Craig said in the letter. "Both LizzieSat Bandwagon missions will include sensors utilizing co-incident or simultaneous data collection to capture still images, hyperspectral and multispectral images, AIS, and wide-area-spectral imaging. This imaging capability expands our potential customer base for data collected by our LizzieSats as images collected by this suite of sensors can be utilized in multiple industries including government, military, oil and gas, maritime, forestry, and agriculture.
Also in the letter, Craig addressed the company's plan to regain compliance on the Nasdaq Capital Market. "In March of 2023 we received notification that the Company was out of compliance with the requirements to remain listed on Nasdaq due to our failure to meet the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement. We were given 180 days, culminating on September 11, 2023, to satisfy all Nasdaq listing requirements, including the minimum bid. While we are currently in compliance on all other areas with the Nasdaq, including meeting the minimum shareholder equity requirement, our share price remains below $1.00," she said.
"In early September, we requested, and have now been granted, an additional 180-day extension to the period allowed to regain compliance. This extension will give us until March 11, 2024 to increase our share price above $1.00, and therefore regain compliance.
"It is our belief and intention that the daily work we are doing to build shareholder value will soon be realized in our share price. Specifically, we are excited about the launch of our maiden LizzieSat, scheduled for February 2024, and a total of five LizzieSats scheduled for launch before the end of the third quarter of 2024," Craig said.