Bright Ascension Ltd, an industry leading space software technology provider, is pleased to announce that its latest GenerationOne flight software deployments, another cluster of four spacecraft for Kleos Space’s Polar Patrol Mission (KSF2), were successfully launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 1 st April, 2022. KSF2 was originally expected to take off in January 2022, but the launch was rescheduled after the vehicle had to disembark from the SpaceX Transporter 3 mission. Polar Patrol Mission takes Bright Ascension’s current total to 33 satellites in space.
Kleos Space’s satellites are designed to detect and geolocate radio frequency transmissions to deliver a global picture of hidden maritime activity for enhanced intelligence capability. The Polar Patrol Mission becomes the third mission launched by the company, following the Kleos Scouting Mission (KSM) in November 2020 and the Polar Vigilance Mission (KSF1) in June 2021.
KSF2 is designed to enhance the company’s RF geolocation with a total of twelve satellites patrolling against illegal activity such as piracy, drug smuggling and border security challenges. Building on the success of the KSM and KSF1 missions, the Polar Patrol Mission spacecraft were designed and developed by Innovative Solutions In Space B.V. (ISISPACE), with the software system provided by Bright Ascension, using its innovative products to help keep development time short within the tight project timelines.
“We are thrilled to see the KSF2 mission take off after the January delay,” said Peter Mendham, CEO at Bright Ascension. “With only a few months between the KSF1 and KSF2 launches, it was critical to ensure that the mission flight software was developed quickly and efficiently. Both missions use our innovative modular GenerationOne technology, which allows us to simply swap the existing and new software components in and out, without having to redesign the entire package from scratch. This makes it an ideal solution for dynamic projects like Kleos Space’s missions.”
As they progress through their lives in orbit, KSF2 satellites will make full use of Bright Ascension’s Mission Control Software and its effortless integration with the flight software. This will help to significantly simplify, improve, and automate their mission operations.