Later this year, a brand-new research satellite from Rhea Group, an international engineering corporation, will be launched from the UK.
Open Cosmos manufactured the satellite in Oxfordshire.
The “DOVER” pathfinder satellite will be launched by Virgin Orbit from Spaceport Cornwall.
Engineers at RHEA created a brand-new signal that will be transmitted by the satellite in order to deliver information from space that can be used on Earth to determine a position or an accurate time.
In order to assess the effectiveness of these new signals as part of the research effort, it will broadcast them.
The line-up for the UK’s first launch, which also includes satellites from companies including Space Forge, the Satellite Applications Catapult, and Horizon Technologies as well as the Prometheus-2 research demonstration satellites, is now complete with the addition of this new satellite.
As part of a partnership between the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and international partners, like as the US National Reconnaissance Office, Prometheus-2 was co-funded, co-designed, and built by In-Space Missions.
One of the main goals of the UK Government’s National Space Strategy is for the UK to launch satellites into orbit from home soil this year, making it the first European nation to do so.
150 new employment will be created in the neighbourhood thanks to Spaceport Cornwall, which is at the centre of a developing aerospace and space industry.
The creation of a commercial launch capability will grant the UK access to the expanding global launch market, giving the booming space and satellite industry—which now supports more than 47,000 jobs nationwide and billions of pounds in additional economic activity—an additional boost.
UK Space Agency CEO Dr. Paul Bate said:
With a full complement of satellites confirmed by Virgin Orbit, the first satellite launch from Spaceport Cornwall is just days away.
This launch is expected to represent a turning point for our burgeoning space industry.
It’s wonderful that the DOVER satellite from RHEA Group will participate in the launch, showcasing both our domestic satellite production capabilities and the global interest in the UK as a launch location.
The capacity to launch satellites from British territory will help us in our efforts to spur investment in the space industry, provide new capabilities, and promote the extraordinary contribution that space makes to improving life on Earth.
The UK Space Agency invested in the European Space Agency’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme to co-finance the RHEA Group’s Dover satellite, the company’s first (NAVISP).
It is called after the Dover Strait because this is a significant place for testing new positioning, navigation, and timing methods and technologies.
The Dover Strait is where the English Channel is narrowest and busiest (PNT).
The satellite is a prime example of UK PNT technical capability, which is the backbone of a substantial portion of the country’s economic activity.
Open Cosmos constructed the satellite at the Harwell Space Cluster in Oxfordshire.
RHEA’s UK Business Director, Emma Jones, stated:
This is a significant occasion for RHEA.
As we commemorate our 30th anniversary this year, the launch of our first satellite in the same year is a significant achievement.
It is exciting to have a RHEA satellite on board the first launch to leave UK territory given that the UK is in the highly desired position of developing a number of spaceports.
Vice President of Institutional Partnerships & Future Missions of Open Cosmos, Florian Deconinck, stated:
DOVER is a fantastic illustration of Open Cosmos’ capacity to design, produce, launch, and operate satellites quickly.
The mission’s timetable is impressively aggressive: from the point of initial contact with RHEA to the placement of a functioning satellite in orbit, it will take just eight months.
This is due to the close collaboration between Open Cosmos and RHEA, the quick response from the UK Space Agency and the ESA-NAVISP teams, and the ability to deliver all phases from the UK.
The takeoff
A Virgin Orbit 747 carrying a rocket beneath its wing will take off from Spaceport Cornwall’s runway during the launch mission.
Before launching the rocket into space and placing satellites in orbit around the Earth, the plane will fly out over the ocean.
Squadron Leader Mathew “Stanny” Stannard, an RAF Test Pilot serving as one of Virgin Orbit’s pilots on industrial placement, will be in the cockpit.
This will be Virgin Orbit’s first mission outside of the US as well as the first satellite launch from UK soil.
It comes after the fruitful “Straight Up” mission, which launched seven satellites into orbit from Mojave, California, on July 2nd.
Virgin Orbit’s CEO, Dan Hart, said:
We are honoured that RHEA Group has chosen us to launch its first satellite. The DOVER satellite, which was developed in Belgium, constructed in the UK, received funding from the European Space Agency, and will soon be launched from Cornwall, is a remarkable illustration of the strength that results from the global infusion of space collaboration.
Reliable navigation affects all of us and can be essential for anything from environmentally friendly shipping to national security, thanks to the work RHEA will conduct with its DOVER satellite.
Head of Spaceport Cornwall Melissa Thorpe stated:
We are ecstatic that “DOVER” will round out the lineup of satellites on Virgin Orbit’s initial launch from Cornwall.
Each payload demonstrates the innovation taking place in the small satellite sector and how it might improve human lives while also highlighting the expanding partnership between UK Space and foreign partners.
Another exciting phase of the countdown to the launch from Cornwall is this one.
British space flight programme
The UK Space Agency is working with a number of partners, including Spaceport Cornwall and Virgin Orbit, Space Hub Sutherland and Orbex, SaxaVord Spaceport, Lockheed Martin, and ABL Space Systems, to support the development of commercial and sustainable satellite launch operations across the UK with funding that was first announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2018.
With more than 1,700 satellites launched globally in 2021 alone, the space industry has demonstrated incredible endurance in the face of societal difficulties like the pandemic.
These provide essential technology, like communications, Earth observation, and navigation services, that are utilised daily by individuals and enterprises.
Although the UK possesses unmatched experience in satellite design, manufacture, data, and applications, it has not yet been able to launch satellites from its own territory.