The StriX-? satellite onboard this mission will be the first of a series of spacecraft deployments for Synspectives planned constellation of more than 30 SAR small satellites.
Satellite launch provider Rocket Lab has announced Japanese earth-imaging company Synspective as the customer for its 17th Electron launch, and its seventh mission of the year.
The dedicated mission for Synspective is scheduled for lift-off during a 14-day launch window opening on December 12 and will launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealands M?hia Peninsula to a targetted 500km circular low earth orbit.
The mission is named The Owls Night Begins in a nod to Synspectives StriX family of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft developed to be able to image millimetre-level changes to the earths surface from space, independent of weather conditions on earth and at any time of the day or night. Strix is also the genus of owls.
The StriX-? satellite onboard this mission will be the first of a series of spacecraft deployments for Synspectives planned constellation of more than 30 SAR small satellites to collate data of metropolitan centres across Asia on a daily basis that can be used for urban development planning, construction and infrastructure monitoring, and disaster response.
For this mission, Rocket Lab will utilise a custom expanded fairing to encompass Synspectives wide-body satellite the first use of the expanded fairing options that Rocket Lab recently introduced alongside a suite of vehicle performance improvements, including advances in battery technology which enable an improved payload lift capacity up to 300 kg (660 lbs).
Rocket Lab will also perform an advanced mid-mission manoeuvre with its Kick Stage space tug that will shield the StriX-? satellite from the sun to reduce radiation exposure ahead of payload deployment.
Commenting on the launch, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck, said: Were honoured to be providing the ride to orbit for Synspective and playing a pivotal role in deploying the first satellite of their constellation. By flying as a dedicated mission on Electron, the Synspective team have complete control over their orbit and launch schedule, giving them a degree of certainty over a crucial time in their business development.
Synspective founder and CEO Motoyuki Arai remarked: We are so happy to share this commemorable launch of our first satellite, the StriX-?, together with Rocket Lab. This is just the start of a 30 SAR satellites constellation. We are very excited to begin the scaling of our business, which includes both SAR satellites and downstream solutions.
