AAC Clyde Space has won a contract to continue to operate the SeaHawk satellite for one more year, a contract that may be extended up to two years further provided that the spacecraft continues to deliver data. The one-year contract has a value of 175 kUSD (approx. 1.9 MSEK).
Launched in 2018 with an expected lifetime of four years, the Seahawk is exceeding life expectancy for cube satellites, continuing to deliver data.
"AAC Clyde Space are delighted to continue to support the SeaHawk mission to improve environmental surveillance and generate reliable data to support the health and sustainability of our oceans. The SeaHawk is a cube satellite with a great mission for our planet," says AAC Clyde Space CEO Luis Gomes.
The 3U cube satellite, launched in 2018, is part of a partnership between the University of North Carolina Wilmington and NASA funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It features a compact, multispectral imager (HawkEye) that captures approximately 100 images weekly which are used to analyse the colour of the ocean. The data enables a greater understanding of the marine food chain, oceanic climate, fisheries and pollution phenomena, factors used to support the health and sustainability of the oceans.
The satellite is operated from AAC Clyde Space's Glasgow Operations Centre, with instrument data downloaded to the NASA's Alaska station, through the satellite's X-band downlink. The data is integrated into NASA's SeaWiFS Data Analysis System (SeaDAS) and is distributed free of charge to scientists worldwide.