SPINNING AROUND, ALBA ORBITAL & HYDRA SPACE
SIGN INAUGURAL LAUNCH AGREEMENT TO SEND POCKET-SIZED TECH DEMONSTRATOR NANOSATELLITE - SpinnyONE - INTO LOW EARTH ORBIT

SpinnyONE is Spinning Around’s flagship PocketQube satellite, and marks the first step in their roadmap toward delivering tailor-made gravitational environments for life science experimentation in space.

Alba Orbital, a global leader in PocketQube launch services, announces today that Spinning Around, the Edinburgh-based start-up developing tailor-made gravitational environments for life science, is Alba’s latest client for their upcoming February 2026 SpaceX launch. 

Alba Orbital will deploy Spinning Around’s in-orbit tech demonstrator, via their own AlbaPod deployer, on board a 2P PocketQube developed by Madrid-based pico-satellite manufacturer, Hydra Space Systems S.L. The satellite will also be open to the amateur radio community and operation will be done by AMSAT-EA. Website: amsat-ea.org

This tech demonstrator proves the foundational operational architecture in Spinning Around’s roadmap towards delivering a critical, accessible & affordable platform for the orbital life science industry, previously largely inaccessible due to cost and logistical constraints. 

POCKETQUBES

PocketQubes are standardised-size nanosatellites which have become a core part of the satellite industry and a platform for exponential life science opportunities.

This tiny class of satellites can be launched to orbit for as little as 25,000 Euro. Measuring at just 5cm3 per unit (or ‘P’), these tiny ‘Rubik’s-cube-sized' satellites offer affordable access to space, making them the ideal platform for researchers and organisations looking to deploy valuable experiments in space with reduced financial mission risk.

POCKET-SIZED TECH DEMONSTRATOR

SpinnyONE’s main onboard components consist of bespoke microcircuitry designed and tested in-house, running camera and lighting modules. The camera will capture images of the deployed payload and radio-transmit those images back to base throughout its mission. 

Ahead of Spinning Around opening up for its first round of seed funding, SpinnyONE will prove the viability of the software and microcircuitry components for future scalable & stackable CubeSat launches housing life science experiments, as well as proving the logistical and financial viability of the inter-European satellite manufacture pipeline - working across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Madrid and all the way into space. 

SpinnyONE delivers the backbone of Spinning Around’s orbital microlabs which will record and transmit experiment data & images in-orbit to ground bases, information accessible to all the life scientists that book their experiments on future missions. 

ACCESSIBLE AND AFFORDABLE LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTATION IN-ORBIT

At the moment life science experimentation in Low Earth Orbit is possible on the International Space Station (ISS) but largely inaccessible, unaffordable, with long waiting times and restricted opportunities, creating an obstacle to frequent research at scale. 

Partnering with Alba Orbital and Hydra Space, as well as creating components in house, means Spinning Around can remove the costly barrier to experimentation in space, positioning themselves as an end-to-end service, from consultation on experiment design tailored for our orbital microlabs, through to the safe delivery of data from orbit and end-of-life satellite management. 

BENEFITS OF TAILOR-MADE GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS

The benefits of tailor-made gravity environments for the life sciences are immense.  

This can include experimentation in immunology, pharmaceutical applications, nutritional science, ecology, plant physiology, marine biology, lignification, kinematics, molecular growth & metabolic processes, tissue and cell engineering - and also regarding how human biology adapts to existence in low & variable gravity, which can address resource optimisation and sustainability for life on both earth and in space.

Upgrading gravity from a restrictive force on earth into a controllable variable allows for processes impossible to observe on earth, including non-restrictive growth vectors, which has huge implications for manufacturing and biological 3D printing, as well as variable effects on convection, emulsification, diffusion, drainage, crystallisation, capillary forces, friction, metals, alloys, foams - and much more.

ALBA ORBITAL

“We’re excited to work with Spinning Around on their first PocketQube mission,”  said Tom Walkinshaw, Founder and CEO of Alba Orbital. “This mission demonstrates how new companies can quickly and cheaply deploy PocketQubes as a first step towards ambitious space technology roadmaps.” 

Alba Orbital is the world’s leading PocketQube company that has delivered 53  pico-satellites into orbit to date with launch partners such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab. Their upcoming 10th launch later  this year will see the 100th PocketQube launched.  Alba is a vertically integrated NewSpace company ‘democratising access to space’, providing turnkey solutions from advanced pico-satellite platforms, low-cost launch opportunities, in house testing services and ground station services. Alba has worked with over 30 customers across the globe, including prestigious clients such as Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University and TU Delft.

Contact: contact@albaorbital.com

Website: albaorbital.com

SPINNING AROUND

Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, Spinning Around is led by software engineer Alastair Broom, bringing 30 years of experience in software and entrepreneurship to the space industry to create affordable and accessible tailor-made gravitational environments for life science experimentation in space. 

Alastair Broom, CEO of Spinning Around says: “We’re proud to work with a fellow Scottish company, Alba Orbital, on our flagship mission as well as the flight-proven Hydra Space to form an inter-European partnership.”

“Accessible in-orbit experimentation is essential for the next generation of experimentation and manufacturing in life science, pharmaceuticals and more. SpinnyONE marks the beginning of a new level of accessibility to low-earth orbit to the life sciences, and we look forward to working with scientists around the world to transport their experiments to tailor-made gravity environments in space.”

Spinning Around is a team of engineers, designers and scientists with backgrounds in electrical engineering, software, life science and operations - in partnership with scientists and space-manufacturing veterans with proven records of orbital missions in space, including close collaboration with Dr. Gilles Bailet PhD FRAeS at the James Watt School of Engineering at Glasgow University, who has taken on an engineering lead role in the satellite manufacture. 

Contact: hello@spinningaround.space & Press Enquiries: press@spinningaround.space

Website: spinningaround.space

HYDRA SPACE SYSTEMS S.L.

Hydra Space, based in Madrid, Spain, is providing the satellite bus, mission design, integration and operations for SpinnyONE. Building on its flight-proven GENESIS PocketQube platform, Hydra has developed the spacecraft that houses Spinning Around’s payload, ensuring seamless integration and leading the full qualification campaign before launch. The company will also commission and operate the satellite in orbit, securing reliable mission performance. 

Hydra specializes in narrowband, low-power, Satellite Communications for sectors such as defense, critical infrastructure monitoring, maritime tracking and ocean monitoring, and has already launched more than 12 communication satellites, also integrating customer payloads for In-Orbit demo projects. Supported by the European Space Agency – Business Incubation Centre in Madrid (ESA-BIC), CASSINI, CDTI-Neotec and ENISA, and as a member of Spain’s New Space clusters, Hydra prioritises affordable and sustainable access to space while aligning with the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Contact: contacto@hydra-space.com

Website: hydra-space.com