ORLANDO, FL, April 27, 2022 – SKYTRAC Systems Ltd. (SKYTRAC), a global leader in satellite communications (Satcom) and intelligent connectivity solutions, today announced The Exploration Company, a European developer, manufacturer, and operator of modular and reusable orbital vehicles, has selected SKYTRAC’s Iridium Certus midband Satcom terminal for data transmission from their space capsule to the ground.
Nyx, The Exploration Company’s space capsule, is a modular, reusable, and in-orbit refuellable orbital vehicle that carries cargo and, in the future, potentially even humans. Nyx is designed for missions such as orbiting the Earth for three to six months and landing on the Moon with re-entry capability.
A subscale re-entry demonstrator of Nyx will be launched into space on the maiden flight of the new Ariane 6 rocket later this year. Once in orbit, the space capsule will detach and begin re-entry back towards Earth.
The Exploration Company has selected SKYTRAC’s DLS-100, cutting-edge data link transceivers, to be installed onboard this capsule demonstrator. Capable of real-time command and control, telemetry streaming, and photo/video transmission the DLS-100 will enable 22 Kbps uplink speeds through the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation.
“Starting at an altitude of 360 miles, the space capsule will collect a large amount of data from systems and sensors which will be transmitted over the Iridium satellite network to the ground from SKYTRAC’s DLS-100,” says Thomas Nussmann, Lead Avionics and Power at The Exploration Company. “SKYTRAC’s ruggedized data link will provide the low latency, global, and reliable satellite connectivity the capsule requires to conduct this demonstration successfully.”
The ruggedized DLS-100 is optimized for Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) and weighs only 26.2 oz (742.8 g), making it the ideal data link system for a suite of platforms, including a space capsule. As the space capsule is an unrecoverable technology demonstrator, upon collecting and transmitting data, the capsule will impact the ocean.
“SKYTRAC is excited to be part of The Exploration Company’s mission to democratize space exploration with their innovative Nyx space capsule,” says Jeff Sherwood, Director of Business Development at SKYTRAC. “We are proud that our DLS-100 can extend beyond traditional aviation applications to provide these global connectivity services to space-based applications.”
For more information on SKYTRAC products and capabilities, please visit SKYTRAC at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2022 at Booth 1346 from April 25 to April 28, contact sales@skytrac.ca or visit SKYTRAC.ca.
About The Exploration Company
The mission of the French-German company is to democratize space exploration for space & non space industries. To realize this mission, The Exploration Company develops, manufactures, and operates Nyx, a modular and reusable orbital vehicle which can eventually be refuelled in orbit. Nyx carries cargo in its first version, with the potential to carry humans in its second version. It provides a wide scope of missions ranging from 6 months around the Earth (and re-entry) to landing on the Moon (and coming back) or performing 100km hopping on the Moon. Nyx can resupply space stations and large space infrastructures.
The technical bricks of Nyx are built with open interfaces: they are available on a Space Store to enable space & non-space companies to use them and develop new applications. The Exploration Company was founded in 2021 by experienced engineers and has raised one of the biggest Seed Series in Europe backed by tier-ones investors (Promus Ventures, Cherry, Vsquared).
About SKYTRAC Systems Ltd.
SKYTRAC is aviation’s full-service, data-driven solutions provider serving the fixed-wing, rotorcraft, and unmanned aviation markets. Since 1986, SKYTRAC has pioneered the development, evolution and commercialization of flight following, flight data and communications technology. Today, with systems certified on over 900 airframes and an online data management portal that is the go-to tool for over 7,500 global users, SKYTRAC is truly the partner of choice for data-guided business insights. From performance trending and operations reporting to real-time asset tracking and situational awareness – SKYTRAC offers a one-stop response to meeting more of your company’s needs. For more information, visit www.SKYTRAC.ca.
