A ground breaking infrared camera and new infrared technology will be incorporated within a cubesat known as SkyFire that will find Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) launching this 6U unit to the moon in 2018 with Orion's Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1).
An artistic rendition of SkyFire’s—the smallsat's new infrared technology will help NASA enhance its knowledge of the lunar surface.
Image is courtesy of Lockheed Martin.
The company has signed a contract with NASA for this deployment that will have SkyFire capturing high quality images with a lighter and much simpler unit, which reduces the overall payload mass which, in turn, lowers the payload costs as well as brings easier maneuverability in space to the satellite.
The moon is a proving ground for this new technology which, if successful, could have the infrared system on SkyFire eventually being used for cost-effective studies of a planet's resources before humans arrive, including tasks such as analyzing soil conditions, determining ideal landing sites and discovering a planet's most livable areas.
According to John Ringelberg, Lockheed Martin's SkyFire project manager, this lunar flyby will pioneer this new technology, which will enable scientists to fill in current strategic gaps in lunar knowledge with data that will have implications for future human space exploration. This smallsat will seek out specific lunar characteristics, such as solar illumination areas, added James Russell, Lockheed Martin SkyFire principal investigator, and new things will be observed with sensors that are less costly to make and send into space."
SkyFire is a public-private partnership between Lockheed Martin and NASA. Lockheed Martin will build the satellite with internal investments, and the newly-signed contract will grant Lockheed Martin access to send the satellite to the moon aboard the EM-1 launch. NASA will, in turn, receive data from the mission. The Lockheed Martin development team primarily consists of early-career engineers in partnership with the University of Colorado—Boulder.
..In The Pursuit Of SmallSat Expertise…
SmallSat Symposium—Silicon Valley 2017
Workshop: Monday, February 6th, 2017
Symposium: Tuesday, February 7th — Wednesday, February 8th
Venue: Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California
As with any industry trade event, one of the major draws as far as the time commitment necessary for attendance most assuredly revolves around the expertise that will be offered to those who participate… is the ROI for event participation and the hoped-for knowledge acquisition worth a company's or an individual's engagement at the venue?
For the SmallSat Symposium, just reading through the list of subject-matter experts who will be presenting at this event should offset any doubts as to the value of "being there." SmallSat Symposium—Silicon Valley in 2017 will offer a superior blending of expertise and unparalleled networking opportunities with the industry's smallsat, SATCOM and MILSATCOM actors.
This extraordinary event will be held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, which happens to be a perfect location for the technology-rich smallsat environs.
Listed below are the accepted speakers to date, in alphabetical order, for the SmallSat Symposium.
The Speakers…
- Chad Anderson, Managing Director,
Space Angels Network - Eric Anderson, President, And One Technologies
- Jason Andrews, CEO, Spaceflight Industries
- David A. Anhalt, Vice President and General Manager,
Iridium PRIME - Jenny Barna, Launch Manager, Spire Global, Inc
- Chris Baugh, President NSR – Northern Sky Research
- Chris Boshuizen, Principle, Data Collective VC
- Peter Beck, CEO & CTO, Rocket Lab
- Dr, Sami BenAmor, Director of Marketing, Thales Alenia Space
- John Booher, Partner, Hogan Lovells
- Phil Carrai, President, Kratos Technology and Training Division
- Dr. Sean Casey, Managing Director, Silicon Valley Space Center
- Carissa Christensen, Managing Partner, The Tauri Group
- Craig Clark, Founder, Clyde Space Ltd.
- Robert R. Cleave, Director, Vice President, Commercial Space,
Lockheed Martin - Mike Collett, Founder and Managing Partner, Promus Ventures
- James Crawford, Founder and CEO, Orbital Insight
- Randy Culver, CEO, AMERGINT Technologies
- Erik Daehler, Director, Product Innovation Network & Space Systems,
Boeing Network and Space Systems - Stuart Daughtridge, Senior VP Advanced Technology, Kratos
- Tahara Dawkins, Director, Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Chris DeMay, Founder and COO, HawkEye 360
- Dr. Lars Dyrud, CEO, OmniEarth
- Dr. Shahin Farshchi, Partner, Lux Capital
- Dr. Jenny Gautier, Director of Commercial Programs,
The Aerospace Corporation - Allen Griser, Business Manager, General Dynamics Mission Systems,
SATCOM Technologies - Dr. Steve Goldberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Venrock
- David Hartshorn, Secretary General GVF – Global VSAT Forum
- Yvon Henri, Chief, Space Services Department, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- Jonathan Hofeller, Vice President of Commercial Sales, SpaceX
- Susan J. Irwin, President, Irwin Communications, Inc.
- John P. Janka, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP
- Adam Keith, Managing Director, Euroconsult Canada
- Andrew M Kwas, Engineering and Technology Strategist, Northrop Grumman Corp.
- Wallis Laughrey, Vice President, Space Systems, Raytheon
- Debra Facktor Lepore, VP and GM of Strategic Operations, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp
- Chris Lewicki, President and CEO, Planetary Resources, Inc.
- Daniel Lim, President & CEO, Xtenti, LLC
- Tony Lin, Counsel, Washington, DC, Hogan Lovells
- Christopher Loghry, Business Development Manager, Moog
- Dr. Clare Martin, Vice President of Programs,
Surrey Satellite Technology US - Attila Matas, Head of the Space Publications and Registration Division,
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - Clayton Mowry, President, Arianespace
- Sunil Nagaraj, Vice President of Marketing and Communications,
Bessemer Venture Partners - Ryo Nakamura, Director, Business Development Department,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - Carlos Niederstrasser, Business Development & Special Initiatives,
Orbital ATK - Miles O’Brien, Science Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
- Steve Oldham, Vice President, Strategic Business Development,
Space Systems Loral (SSL) - Dara A. Panahy, Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
- Andrew Petro, Program Executive for Solar Electric Propulsion and
Small Spacecraft Technology, NASA - Tom Pirrone, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Americas,
Swedish Space Corporation - Will Pomerantz, Vice President for Special Projects, Virgin Galactic
- Christopher Richins, Co-Founder & CEO, RBC Signals
- Jerzy "George" Romaniuk, Product Line Manager, Space Sector,
Aitech Defense Systems, Inc. - Dr. Alex Saltman, Senior Vice President, GeoOptics Inc.
- Randy S. Segal, Partner, Co-Lead Satellite Practice, Hogan Lovells
- Dr. George F. Sowers, Director, Vice President, Advanced Programs & Chief Scientist,
United Launch Alliance (ULA) - John Stack, Managing Director, Aerospace Leader,
The McLean Group Advisory Team - Leon Stepan, Lead Mission Operations Analyst, Planet Labs
- David Strobel, CEO and Program Manager, (PM) Space Micro
- Chris Stott, Chairman & CEO (PM), ManSat
- Tom Stroup, President, SIA – Satellite Industry Association
- Professor Sir Martin Sweeting, Founder and Executive Chairman,
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. - Stig-Are Thrana, U.S. Sales Director and Head of Kongsberg Silicon Valley Office,
Kongsberg Satellite Services - Dr. Joe Thurgood, Vice President Corporate Development and Marketing,
Hera Systems - Dr. Marco Villa, President & COO, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems
- Tony Wilkey, Senior Vice President, AvL Technologies
- Bruce Yost, Project Manager, NASA Ames Research Center
- Louis Zacharilla, Director of Development,
Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)
The first 100 registrations qualify for a $200 discount off the standard event admission —take advantage of this savings and register to attend the SmallSat Symposium today! Register Now...
For information regarding the various workshops, please select this direct link.
