The second Space Situational Awareness (SSA) optical payload that Vyoma plans to launch at the end of 2025 will be flown by a microsatellite that Aerospacelab was chosen by Vyoma to build. The mission advances the 12-satellite Flamingo constellation from Vyoma, which is intended to provide high-fidelity, low-latency space-based SSA data collecting and provisioning.
Aerospacelab will manufacture, assemble, integrate, and test the mission’s components as part of the contract, and it will also offer its Versatile Satellite Platform-50 (VSP-50) to house Vyoma’s optical payload. This covers not only the payload integration but also the integration of the satellite onto the launch vehicle, the launch and early-orbit phase, and the commissioning of the satellite after it is in orbit. This mission, which is scheduled for launch in February 2025, is the replacement for Vyoma’s pilot (first-generation) satellite.
According to Dr. Luisa Buinhas, Chief Program Officer of Vyoma, “the second-generation satellite technology will significantly improve our in-orbit space surveillance and tracking operations, to acquire data with unprecedented precision. All things considered, our expanding constellation of surveillance will promote a more secure and safe space environment, enabling intelligence officers and operators to make wise operational decisions.”
“The commercial sector will hasten the implementation of essential space capabilities,” stated Benoit Deper, the CEO and founder of Aerospacelab. “When it comes to cost, schedule, and risk reduction, we are among the most vertically integrated satellite manufacturers, able to create satellite buses quickly and integrate payloads for a wide range of missions. Based on satellite platform specs, we believe that our customers will receive a greater return on their investment.”
