AAC CLYDE SPACE SHARE EXCITING NEW DEVELOPMENTS

In challenging times it’s great to announce positive news! Niki Lonsdale shares the latest new developments from our resident AAC Clyde Space team that is reaching for the stars.

Since we last caught up with Skyline, we have acquired yet another new space company, announced our very first constellation and were selected to design the first satellite for in-space production – what a few months it has been!

>> Acquisition of SpaceQuest

Following on from our Hyperion Technologies acquisition we did not stop there, the acquisition of the US based company SpaceQuest was announced in October and then finalised in December. The acquisition will extend our product offering, improve access to the US market and SpaceQuest AIS data delivery infrastructure, as well as expand our space in service capabilities. We are thrilled to have so many new members on board of our ever-expanding team and we can’t wait to see what the year has in store for our powerhouse new space company.

>> New Constellation Service Launch

We were delighted to announce AAC Clyde Space’s very first innovation constellation service, is named xSPANCION. We will be embarking on a 3-year project in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency including the manufacturing of 10 spacecraft here in Skypark.

Each of the small satellites will be built as part of a new three-year project to create an innovative satellite constellation that businesses can use for a wide range of applications and services including satellite communications, Earth observation, and remote sensing. The benefit to the customer in developing this constellation is that their space-data needs will be met with a one-stop-shop, data will be provided from a single point of contact, cutting out the need to carry out any space activity themselves whilst simultaneously enabling them to capitalise on the low-cost high-volume nature of the service.

xSPANCION will revolutionise the mechanism by which we deliver products and services to our customers. This will enable more effective access to space for Proof of Concept (PoC) missions, efficient commercial delivery of satellite constellations, as well as the generation of a new ‘Space-as-aService’ offering.

The capability established as part of xSPANCION will also enable AAC Clyde Space to respond to the growing demand to deliver low-cost constellation services at scale in reasonable timeframes and offer compelling constellation delivery to the market. This is a massive milestone for AAC Clyde Space, and we cannot wait to see what exciting challenges the project will bring our team however as always, we know they will smash it out the park (or more specifically the Skypark).

>> First Design for Earth Returning Satellite

In December we finished off 2020 with the exciting announcement that we have been selected by Space Forge to design the first satellite for in-space production that shall return to Earth. The programme is funded by the UK Space Agency under their NSIP initiative. We will be developing the satellite based on our current standard platform and then then adjusting it for reentry into the atmosphere and landing on Earth. We are very proud to be part of such a cutting-edge project as we will be helping space-based production to become a reality alongside Space Forge.

We kicked off the conference year with our team attending the SmallSat Symposium virtual conference. Despite not being able to travel, we were excited for the chance to chat to customers from around the world and stay connected during this time. We cannot wait to hopefully get back out on the road and meet our customers face-to-face at some point over the next year.