ASX-listed Kleos Space (ASX: KSS) has confirmed its second satellite cluster, the Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1), has successfully completed a hardware critical design review milestone and is on track for a mid-2021 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
Conducted in the Netherlands by satellite developer ISISPACE, the milestone ensures that Kleos’ Polar Vigilance Mission satellites can enter the assembly and verification phase – a stage that leads to final integration, testing and delivery of the satellites for launch.
The KSF1 Polar Vigilance Mission satellites are scheduled to launch in mid-2021 onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, under a rideshare contract with Spaceflight Inc. The KSF1 satellites will be launched into a 500-600km Sun Synchronous Orbit, complementing the 37-degree orbit of Kleos’ initial Scouting Mission satellites, which successfully launched in early November 2020. The Scouting Mission satellites are in the commissioning and testing phase.
Kleos’ satellites will detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to improve the detection of illegal maritime activity, including drug and people smuggling, piracy, illegal fishing and border challenges. Kleos’ global activity-based data enhances the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of governments and commercial entities when tracking systems are defeated, imagery unclear or targets out of patrol range.
Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer said: “We are excited to be progressing our second satellite cluster with ISISPACE – a leader in the small satellite market. Entering the assembly and verification phase of the satellites is a crucial developmental milestone and ensures we are on schedule to launch in mid-2021. The KSF1 satellite cluster will complement our Scouting Mission satellites, improving the value of our geolocation maritime intelligence data.”
ISISPACE’s CEO Jeroen Rotteveel states: “We are pleased to design and build this second satellite cluster for Kleos, to be completed on a fast-track schedule made possible by building on our extensive nanosatellite expertise and heritage. Despite the challenging timeline given the current global situation, we are keen to enter this next crucial phase of satellite assembly and validation and bringing our design to reality.”
As a strategic partner, ISISPACE further supports Kleos with its knowledge and experience to provide review and inputs for Kleos’ future needs and capabilities.
