SpaceIn and Alba Orbital partner up to launch ‘SpaceANT-D’: Malaysia’s first PocketQube satellite dedicated to IoT connectivity
SPACEIN SIGNS RIDESHARE AGREEMENT WITH ALBA ORBITAL TO LAUNCH AN IOT PICO-SATELLITE TECH DEMO MISSION VIA SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET IN Q1 2023
Render of SpaceIn’s ‘SpaceANT-D’ 1P PocketQube satellite orbiting earth.
XXth February 2022 - Alba Orbital, the leading PocketQube launch provider, today announced it has signed a rideshare agreement with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) spin-off company, SpaceIn Sdn Bhd, to deploy Malaysia’s first PocketQube satellite on-orbit in Q1 2023.
SpaceIn’s PocketQube is manifested on board Alba Orbital’s ‘Cluster 7’ rideshare mission, scheduled to fly via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket in Q1 2023. The pico-satellite named ‘SpaceANT-D’ will be deployed in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using Alba Orbital’s flight-proven AlbaPod deployer, which successfully achieved space heritage on Rocket Lab’s 2019 ‘Running out of fingers’ mission and more recently, SpaceX’s ‘Transporter-3’ launch in January 2022.
The SpaceIn SDN BHD team, who are launching an IoT pico-satellite in partnership with Alba Orbital in Q1 2023.
The satellite’s namesake, ‘SpaceANT’ stands for “Space Advance Network Technology”, in which the name itself is a remark for its cutting-edge technology in terms of its size and capability. By having a small dimension of 5 x 5 x 5 cm and a weight of no more than 250g, SpaceIn’s ‘SpaceANT’ is a truly cutting-edge innovation, as this pico-satellite platform is capable of disrupting the Internet of Thing (IoT) market by offering a remarkable low-cost solution for space applications in the IoT domain.
The wide and remote area need connection for loT application. The cost to build the gateway facilities is high and not logistically efficient. The small satellite with LoRaWAN technologies will help to collect data using low powered sensors.
“SpaceIn aspires to spearhead the space exploration activity in Malaysia”, said SpaceIn Founder and Chief Executive, Dr. Norilmi Amilia Ismail. “We believe in the liberty of space discovery through low cost and commercially accessible technologies like PocketQubes, that are lowering the barriers to entry for those who wish to access space.”
SpaceANT’s primary mission is to store and forward sensor data using LoRa technology for IoT monitoring systems in Southeast Asia. The launch in Q1 2023 is set to be a technology demonstration of this concept, with SpaceIn planning to launch more pico-satellites for IoT in the future ; “SpaceANT could enhance its capacity by adding more pico-satellites to the constellation, mimicking a colony of ants”.
“We’re excited to work with SpaceIn on the upcoming Alba Cluster 7 mission, and pleased to play a part in Malaysia’s growing space ecosystem” said Tom Walkinshaw, CEO and Founder of Alba Orbital. “Dr. Ismail and her team share our vision to leverage low cost space technologies like PocketQubes, to deliver tangible insights to improve life on earth and we are thrilled to work alongside them.”
Image of SpaceIn’s flagship educational products ‘CAKED’, a fully functional satellite kit that allows students to learn how to develop their engineering skills. Data collected from the mission and the integrated board of CAKED can be used for various other Analytics and IoT projects.
Image of one of SpaceIn’s Engineers working on satellite hardware.
Alba Orbital was founded in Glasgow (2012) and a decade later, the company has now launched more pico-satellites than any other organisation worldwide. After raising an impressive $3.4m seed round via the prestigious Y Combinator business accelerator program and having delivered a total of 19 PocketQubes to orbit, Alba Orbital has no plans of slowing down. The company is significantly ramping production on their Unicorn-2 picosatellite platforms to deliver near real-time earth observation imagery, with four launches scheduled for 2022 and more planned for 2023.
If you are thinking of sending your own payload to orbit, get in touch with Alba Orbital’s launch team at contact@albaorbital.com 🚀
ABOUT ALBA ORBITAL
Alba Orbital (UK, USA, Germany) is the world’s leading PocketQube company that has launched 19 pico-satellites on-orbit to date. Alba is a vertically integrated NewSpace company ‘democratising access to space’, providing turnkey solutions from advanced pico-satellite platforms, low-cost launch opportunities, and ground station services. Alba has worked with over 30 customers across three continents, including prestigious clients such as Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University and TU Delft.
For more information, visit www.albaorbital.com or get in touch at contact@albaorbital.com.
ABOUT SPACEIN SDN BHD
Previously, SpaceIn was an enterprise company owned by a group of three Postgraduate Students in the USM Space System Lab (USSL) and advised by the lecturer/researcher at the lab. In August 2020, SpaceIn was selected by Universiti Sains Malaysia was selected as one of its spin-off companies and named as SpaceIn Sdn Bhd and now led by Dr Norilmi Amilia Ismail and the other pioneers of SpaceIn Enterprise.
SpaceIn started with a picosatellite product, CanSat Kit for Education utilizes the technological know-how in satellite to teach the public. SpaceIn is also the only company in Malaysia that provide near-space platform services through High Altitude Balloon
For more information, visit https://spacein.com.my/ or get in touch at maya@spacein.com.my