Sidus Space has begun payload activation upon successful completion of its commissioning phase of LizzieSat-1 (LS-1).
LS-1 was successfully launched and deployed via SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg SLC-4 on March 4, 2024. The Sidus team successfully completed the Launch and Early Operations Phase (LEOP) on March 14th after establishing two-way communications with the orbiting spacecraft and receiving NORAD ID 59132 from USSPACECOM as a permanently catalogued space object called “LizzieSat”. After LEOP, the Sidus Mission Control Center (MCC) team transitioned to the commissioning phase, conducting thorough performance evaluations of all critical subsystems. The Sidus MCC team activated each critical spacecraft component individually and as part of the entire system to verify satisfactory performance after two months in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Following these critical evaluations, Sidus confirms that LizzieSat-1 has met the rigorous commissioning criteria and is operating effectively as a fully functional satellite. With this milestone achieved, the Sidus MCC team will now focus on activating payloads onboard LS-1 and executing critical mission activities to meet or surpass payload mission success criteria.
The Payload operations phase aims to fulfill customer needs, goals, and objectives while optimizing LizzieSat-1 performance to achieve mission success within required power, thermal, attitude control, and data downlink constraints. Sidus expects to achieve primary objectives in the coming weeks.
“We are eager to move on to the next phase of early satellite operations with LS-1 now that we have successfully completed the commissioning phase,” stated Sidus Space Chief Executive Officer, Carol Craig. “I am beyond proud of the entire Sidus team who has worked tirelessly to systematically move through the critical initial stage of operations for the first satellite in our constellation and look forward to launching additional satellites later this year.”