It’s no secret that Canada’s leading small satellite manufacturer is Space Flight Laboratory. For over 20 years they’ve been innovating in the small satellite marketplace and this past Sunday they marked a record 12 satellites launched on the SpaceX Transporter-1 mission.
That 12 Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) satellites launched on one flight is extraordinary. Of course, the whole SpaceX Transporter-1 mission was extraordinary including the fact that 143 satellites were manifested.
The 12 satellites launched were based on the NEMO, SPARTAN and DEFIANT platforms.
SFL used the NEMO platform for Montreal based GHGSat and their GHGSat-C2 (Hugo) satellite. The 15-kg NEMO platform was used in part for “the precise attitude control and target tracking capability” the platform affords. Last November SFL was awarded another contract by GHGSat for an additional three microsatellites.
SFL used the SPARTAN platform for 10 Kepler Communication satellites, of which eight were launched on this mission and two were launched last September. SFL also has helped Kepler design and build their downtown Toronto small satellite manufacturing facility. Kepler is also using the SFL’s Jaeger platform for their next-generation larger satellites.
The third SFL platform launched on the Transporter-1 mission was DEFIANT platform. Three DEFIANT based satellites were built for Virginia based HawkEye 360. The larger DEFIANT platform was selected “due to the importance of formation flying by multiple satellites for successful RF geolocation and analysis used in maritime situational awareness, national security operations, and many other applications.”
SFL said “this week’s deployment of the DEFIANT microsatellites also marked the third entirely new microspace platform developed by SFL to reach orbit in just the past five months. SFL’s SPARTAN bus was introduced for the first time on September 28, 2020, with the launch of two communications (Kepler) CubeSats. And SFL’s NAUTILUS microsatellite platform made its debut on September 2, 2020, with the launch of the NEMO-HD Earth observation mission for Slovenia.”
SFL Director, Dr. Robert E. Zee stated “these launches demonstrate SFL’s unmatched ability to innovate and deliver quality at any size on short schedules. SFL is a unique microspace provider that offers a complete suite of nano-, micro- and small satellites – including high-performance, low-cost CubeSats – that satisfy the needs of a broad range of mission types from 3 to 500 kilograms.”