ALBA ORBITAL: NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
Alba orbital announces Multi-launch contract with hello space! (27/02/2024)
Following the success of their previous mission ‘Istanbul’, Hello Space have once again decided to partner with Alba Orbital to launch four 3p PocketQubes into orbit!
alba orbital recieves first photo from orbit! (25/12/2023)
On Christmas Day we received our first image from our satellites, check it out below!
alba orbital’s final lauch of the year is successful! (01/12/2023)
Our final launch of the of 2023 was successful and transported 4 PocketQubes to LEO! Aboard the Falcon 9 ‘Korea 425 Mission’ were 3 unicorns from Alba Orbital and ‘MDQUBESAT-2’ from Argentinian organisation Innova Space.
alba orbital successfully launch 6 pocketqubes on board spacex’s ‘transporter-9’ (11/11/2023)
We are delighted to announce another successful launch campagin aboard ‘Transpoter-9’. ‘Transporter-9’ marks our 6th orbital launch campaign, carrying 6 PocketQube satellites to LEO for Alba Orbital customers around the globe including clients from Malaysia, Romania, Spain and the USA!
University of Luxembourg’s SnT signs rideshare for first PocketQube mission
SnT, of the University of Luxembourg have agreed to rideshare with Alba Orbital for their first ever PocketQube in 2024! We are delighted that ‘POQUITO’ is the latest addition to our busy flight schedule with SpaceX.
hydra space to launch additional two satellies with alba orbital
Hydra Space have partnered with us for a further 2 flights in 2024! We have already partnered with Hydra Space twice before and are very excited to work with them once again.
Alba orbital move into new pocketqube factory (04/10/2023)
Alba Orbital have moved into our first (and the world’s first) PocketQube Factory! The new facility is located in the largest industrial estate in Scotland, Hillington Industrial Estate.
all 10 pocketqubes for q4 launches ready for shipment (20/09/2023)
In preparation for our upcoming launches, all PocketQubes due to be onboard our Albapods have now been integrated and shipped! All 10 Pico-satellites will be launched on 2 SpaceX flights in Q4 2023; ‘Transporter-8’ & ‘Korea 425 Mission’.
Innova space’s Pocketqube successfully integrated (31/08/2023)
We are delighted to announce that Innova Space’s ‘MDQUBESAT-2’ has been successfully integrated to our Albapod. The PocketQube developed by the Argentinian organisation is designed to serve Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
Alba orbital attened smallsat conference (10/08/2023)
Alba Orbital attended the SmallSat conference out in Salt Lake City, Utah. We had a blast, meeting many members of the community and even making it onto Fox News during their coverage of the event!
Malaysia’s first ever pocketqube successfully integrated (11/07/2023)
Malaysia’s first Picosat is now integrated and ready for flight! Developed by SpaceIn, ‘SpaceANT-D’ is a tiny ‘Rubiks cube-sized’ satellite specialising in Internet of Things (IoT) services.
alba orbital successfully launch 6 pocketqubes onboard Spacex rocket ‘transporter-8’ (12/06/2023)
Alba Orbital successfully launched 6 satellites into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On this launch there were PocketQubes from six different organisations, including a high school team are flying Romania’s first ever PocketQube!
SpaceIn Signs Rideshare Agreement with Alba Orbital to Launch IoT Picosatellite Mission in Q4 2023 (30/05/2023)
Alba Orbital, today announced that SpaceIn Sdn Bhd, a spin-off company of Universiti Sains Malaysia specializing in satellite IoT services has signed a launch services agreement to launch to an in-orbit tech demonstration mission for an IoT picosatellite constellation. Space ANT-D is the first Malaysian PocketQube and will be flying on board SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket in Q4 2023.
Alba Orbital to launch pocket-sized satellite built by Romanian High School Students with SpaceX in Q1 2023 (15/08/2022)
Alba Orbital and RomSpace from the International Computing High School of Bucharest today announced a rideshare agreement to launch ‘ROM-2’, Romania’s first PocketQube satellite, aboard the upcoming ‘Alba Cluster 7’ mission via SpaceX in Q1 2023.
Nicknamed ‘Space Sparrow’, ROM-2 is a PocketQube satellite that measures at 5x5x5cm and weighs only 250g!
ACME’S POCKET-SIZED SATELLITES TAKING IMAGES FROM SPACE FOR POPULAR ‘MYRADAR’ WEATHER APP
Alba Orbital Launches Pocket-sized Spacecraft for creators of popular weather app on board Rocket Lab’s ‘There and Back Again’ mission. Those tiny Spacecrafts have now returned images from Orbit…
Hello Space signs rideshare agreement with Alba Orbital to launch IoT Pico-satellite constellation via SpaceX in Q1 2023
Turkish New-Space start up team up with world leading PocketQube launch broker, Alba Orbital, to launch tiny Pocket-sized Satellites dedicated to Global Internet Of Things services…
Alba Orbital secures contract to develop ‘AlbaPod V3’, the next generation of pico-satellite deployers
Glasgow-Based space start up has been awarded a £100,000 ‘Smart:Scotland’ contract by Scottish enterprise to enhance Alba’s current line of Satellite Deployers know as the ‘AlbaPod’
SUCCESSFUL VIBRATION TEST CONDUCTED WITH FELLOW SCOTTISH SPACE FIRM, CRAFT PROSPECT, AT ALBA ORBITAL’S NEW TESTHOUSE (15/07/2022)
Completion of Vibration Test for fellow Scottish space firm, Craft Prospect, Cube Satellite at Alba Orbital’s newly commissioned test house…
US GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT TO USE ALBA ORBITAL’S ‘NIGHT-TIME’ SATELLITE OPTICAL IMAGERY TO MONITOR LIGHT POLLUTION (22/07/2022)
US Government Department signs up with Uk space firm Alba Orbital to procure high resolution ‘Night-Lights’ Satellite imagery…
ALBA CLuster X MISSION SUCCESS 🚀(02/05/2022)
Alba Orbital successfully launched the Alba Cluster X mission from New Zealand onboard Rocket Lab’s 26th Electron flight (‘There and Back Again’) on 2nd May 2022. This mission served as Alba Orbital’s third successful orbital flight, deploying four PocketQube satellites, for a total of 23 PocketQubes delivered to space by the company to date - more than any organisation worldwide.
AMSAT-EA PARTNERS WITH ALBA ORBITAL FOR SECOND SPACEX LAUNCH OF 2022 (15/02/2022)
Following the mission success of Alba Cluster 3 & 4, Alba Orbital and AMSAT-EA today announced a rideshare agreement to launch URESAT-1 on-board Alba Cluster 6 in Q4 2022, a project managed by AMSAT-EA, a non-profit amateur radio association, on behalf of Union de Radioaficionados Españoles (URE), the Spanish Radio League Association. The mission is scheduled to fly via SpaceX using Alba Orbital’s flight-proven AlbaPod to deploy the pico-satellites in Low Earth Orbit.
Rocket Lab to Launch 4 PocketQube Satellites for Alba Orbital (18/08/2021)
The four pico-satellites in Alba Orbital’s cluster will fly as part of a rideshare mission on Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle, lifting-off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula in Q4, 2021. The cluster includes Alba Orbital’s own Unicorn-2 PocketQube satellites, as well as the TRSI-2, TRSI-3, and MyRadar-1 satellites for Alba Orbital’s customers…
Alba Orbital and Exolaunch announce launch of sixteen PocketQube satellites via SpaceX Falcon 9 in Q4 2021 (11/08/2021)
Alba Orbital and Exolaunch, announced a services agreement to launch sixteen PocketQube satellites onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle at the end of 2021.
This mission will be the largest PocketQube deployment in history to date, with satellites manifested for launch from a total of eight different countries…
Alba Orbital’s mission to image the Earth every 15 minutes brings in $3.4M seed round (13/05/2021)
Orbital imagery is in demand, and if you think having daily images of everywhere on Earth is going to be enough in a few years, you need a lesson in ambition. Alba Orbital is here to provide it with its intention to provide Earth observation at intervals of 15 minutes rather than hours or days — and it just raised $3.4 million to get its next set of satellites into orbit…
Alba Orbital & PION Labs to Launch Brazil’s First PocketQube Satellite to Orbit via SpaceX in Q4 2021 (28/04/2021)
Alba Orbital Inc and PION Labs today announced a rideshare agreement to launch Brazil’s first PocketQube satellite, PION-BR1, aboard the upcoming ‘Alba Cluster 4’ mission. The mission is scheduled to launch via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket using Alba Orbital’s flight proven AlbaPod to deploy the satellites in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO)…
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Alba Orbital becomes first scottish company to take investment from prestigious ‘Y Combinator’ start-up accelerator (14/04/2021)
We are pleased to announce that Alba Orbital has become the 1st Scottish company to take investment from Y Combinator.
YC is famous for being an early investor in Airbnb, Dropbox, Twitch, Stripe, Reddit and many more billion dollar start-ups and is seen as the top global program for early stage start-ups on the planet…
Carnegie Mellon University & Alba Orbital to launch world’s first ‘Orbital Edge Computing’ PocketQube via SpaceX in q4 2021 (24/03/2021)
Alba Orbital and Carnegie Mellon University today announced a rideshare agreement to launch the world’s first ‘Orbital Edge Computing’ PocketQube aboard Alba Cluster 4.
Carnegie Mellon University becomes the latest academic institution to join ‘Alba Cluster 4’ which is scheduled to launch at the end of 2021…
Innova Space enters rideshare agreement with Alba Orbital to launch 1st of 100 IoT PocketQube satellites in Q4 2021 (19/03/2021)
Latin-American new-space start-up team up with Alba Orbital to launch a pico-satellite designed to provide greater Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to Latin America’s growing Agriculture, Mining and Oil & Gas sectors…
Alba Orbital announces ‘Night Lights Early Access Program’ for users to pre-order imagery from Alba’s upcoming night time EO Satellite constellation (10/03/2021)
Alba Orbital is creating the world’s highest resolution dataset of the earth at night, starting in June 2021 with the launch of Unicorn-2A & Unicorn-2D - Alba’s first Night Lights satellites…
Alba Orbital announces new spacecraft licensing service for satellite Operators (24/02/2021)
Licensing your satellite can be a frustrating and time consuming challenge. Alba Orbital can help you consolidate and streamline the licensing process, reducing risk and minimising the administrative burden on your team…
Alba Orbital, SpaceChain & Addvalue Receive Grant from EUREKA GlobalStars-Singapore Call to Jointly Develop Decentralised Satellite Infrastructure Using Blockchain Satellite (10/12/2020)
EUREKA, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore and Innovate UK, has awarded GBP 440,000 in funding together with access to research and development facilities and resources to Alba Orbital and consortium partners SpaceChain UK Limited (SpaceChain) and Addvalue Innovation Pte Ltd (“Addvalue”)…
‘AlbaPod: the most advanced space-proven PocketQube deployer’ - European Space agency (ESA) Case Study (30/11/2020)
The AlbaPod is the first flight-proven six unit (6P) ‘PocketQube’ or pico-sat satellite deployer, whose successful demonstration was performed under the ARTES Competitiveness & Growth Programme. During the project the Alba Orbital/ARTES team were not only able to successfully demonstrate the AlbaPod 6p (6 units) through the deployment of PocketQubes in orbit…
Alba Orbital announces successful integration of 9 PocketQube satellites ahead of Alba Cluster 3 SpaceX Launch in Q2 2021 (04/11/2020)
Alba Orbital Ltd today announced the successful integration of nine PocketQube satellites ahead of their upcoming Alba Cluster 3 mission, ‘That time of year’, which will be the largest PocketQube launch in history to date.
The launch includes satellites from TU Delft (Netherlands), Ariel University (Israel) and Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University (Turkey), as well as Alba Orbital’s new Earth imaging satellites…
A PocketQube Startup Story with Alba Orbital’s Tom Walkinshaw (Podcast) (17/08/2020)
Tom Walkinshaw is the founder and CEO of Alba Orbital, a startup specializing in building pocketqubes — small satellites that only measures 5 cm across. He started the company with prototypes in 2012, and now his satellites are set to fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch…
Budapest University of Technology & Economics (BME) celebrates mission success of Hungary’s first PocketQube satellites following Alba Cluster Two Launch (14/08/2020)
On the 6th of December 2019, Alba Orbital made history as they broke the world record for most PocketQube satellites deployed in-orbit. Included in this historic launch was Hungary’s first picosatellites, SMOG-P & ATL-1, developed by faculty and students at the Budapest University of Technology & Economics (BME) - the leading technological university in Hungary…
Unicorn-2C (NOOR 1B) Success On-orbit (10/04/2020)
We are pleased to announce the end of the mission and re-entry of Unicorn-2C (NOOR 1B), Alba’s first Unicorn spacecraft to make orbit. The spacecraft successfully deployed its quadruple deployable solar panel and the customer operator confirmed reception of spacecraft signal. This is a great first step in space, moving the system to TRL-9…
Alba Orbital successfully deploys six Pocketqube satellites in-orbit from new zealand via Rocket lab’s ‘electron’ launch vehicle (06/12/2019)
Mission Overview: Onboard this rideshare mission were six spacecraft comprised of 5cm PocketQube pico-satellites from Scottish satellite manufacturer and mission management provider Alba Orbital…
Tom walkinshaw, Founder & Ceo of Alba Orbital, named Glasgow caledonian university’s alumni of the year (2019)
“It's a huge honour to be awarded the GCU Alumnus of the Year. I would like to thank the University for the award and to my team/customers/supporters at Alba Orbital for making this happen. Alba is the world leader in spacecraft under 1kg and our historic Cluster 2 launch will put six spacecrafts into orbit."
Alba Orbital sell first two Unicorn satellites to Stealth startup Stara Space (15/01/2019)
Alba Orbital Limited, a Glasgow based pioneer of miniaturized satellites, today announced the sale of the first two Unicorn-2 PocketQube spacecraft platforms to US-based stealth mode startup, Stara Space. Stara plan to use these two satellites as a proof of concept for an eventual constellation to service other space users with high speed real-time data connection, storage, and computation…