This satellite platform will take a lot of different CubeSats into space by 2022

Launcher, the space company, has announced its new space platform, called Orbiter, which will aim to take a lot of different CubeSats into space. With a payload capacity of 150 kg, the first mission is scheduled to begin in October 2022 and will be launched with a Falcon 9 missile from SpaceX.

According to an official release of the launcher, Orbiter will allow developers of small satellite constellations to take advantage of the feature by acquiring software. Share the trip (“Free flight”, in the literal translation) Like SpaceX – when other companies, for example, hire Falcon 9 To send their cargo into space along with the releases from Elon Musk’s own company. Additionally, the platform is intended to serve as a third stage of Launcher Light, a small rocket set to reach low Earth orbit in 2024.

Compared to the Falcon 9, the Launcher Light is much smaller – 15 meters in height, compared to the Falcon9’s 70 meters – but that makes it ideal for one small task. In addition, the orbiter can change the orbital velocity of satellites by up to 500 m / s, which will allow its operators to adjust the orbit of their instrument up or down. But the Small Launcher Light will have a small competitive market when it is launched in 2024, like launchers Electron, Da Rocket Lab, in the testing phase, and LauncherOne, da Virgin OrbitIt is already in the demo stages.

Although Launcher founder Max Haot claimed in 2018 that the company wasn’t ready to go into space, he added that Launcher Light will have the advantage of improving performance and launching satellites. “We don’t think the people who got there a few years ago will be the winners. We think the people who trade with a bigger margin will be the winners,” he said.

A portion of the money raised by the company will go to put Launcher Light into orbit and hire 40 employees later this year — the launcher plans to have 150 people on its team over the next three years. “Compared to our competitors, we’re in a fundraiser kindergarten,” Haute said.

Source: Space.com