Airborne and In-Orbit Communications Leader CesiumAstro, Inc. Readies for First Mission to Launch; Company Wins Swath of Commercial Milestones


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AUSTIN, Texas – (BUSINESS WIRE) – CesiumAstro, Inc. announces the upcoming launch of Cesium Mission 1, a test field in orbit that allows customers to experiment with electronically controlled technology with multiphase active phased arrays (APA). Led by founder and CEO Shay Sabripur, an industry pioneer who has spent more than two decades at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, CesiumAstro is a full-fledged manufacturer advancing to next-generation aerospace platforms.

This press release includes multimedia. See the full version here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210525005653/en/

Render mission 1 of cesium (CM1), which will consist of two 6U CubeSats.  (Source: CesiumAstro)

Render mission 1 of cesium (CM1), which will consist of two 6U CubeSats. (Source: CesiumAstro)

“At CesiumAstro, we are modernizing global connectivity. Through this new mission, CesiumAstro customers will directly benefit from the wide range of capabilities that APA communication and sensor systems can provide with a fully software-defined backend, ”said Sabripur. “As our team delivers critical customers in the defense and commercial sectors, the breadth of our expanding product offerings is now on full screen with our latest supply of flight hardware.”

CesiumAstro has rapidly matured in both hardware and software solutions, with key support from major government programs since its inception:

  • Allowed on The US Navy’s Tactical Communications Payload Award, CesiumAstro has developed a multi-beam active phased array antenna, enriched by software-defined radio, digital backend and capable of connecting different networks and providing resilience in a contested environment;

  • Honored with NASA Award for Transformational Communication Technologies, CesiumAstro has completed a conceptual design for a next-generation payload to be used for commercial-scale arrays in lunar exploration;

  • In collaboration with Missile Defense Agency, CesiumAstro develops a high-speed communication system between missiles and missiles; and

  • Coordinating with Department of Defense Innovation (DIU), CesiumAstro launched its first two satellites in September 2021 on RideShare with Landsat-9.

In recent months, CesiumAstro has also manufactured and supplied flight hardware for several NASA programs:

  • CesiumAstro has completed the delivery of a compact system for communication between satellite connections, preparing for testing mobile network technologies within swarm missions, through a contract with NASA’s Ames Silicon Valley Research Center;

  • In support of NASA’s Glenn Research Center and its design for a user terminal for Operation SmallSat Ka-band (SKOUT), CesiumAstro provided a space communications system designed to provide direct communication between NASA spacecraft operating NASA and commercial relay satellite constellations in GEO, as well as direct-to-ground (DTG) networks;

  • CesiumAstro produced and sent a communication system to NASA’s Glenn Research Center for use in cognitive communication research,, assisting NASA in developing techniques to support autonomy for swarm missions and the future deployment of lunar architecture.

Join the countdown to Cesium Mission 1 (CM1) and follow the company’s journey here.

Everything about CesiumAstro

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, CesiumAstro builds high-performance phased-array phased-in payloads for air and orbit platforms. The full stack, hardware and software products with multiple missions allow for a number of commercial and defense purposes. For more information visit: https://www.cesiumastro.com.

Alexandra Johnson,

Alexandra.Johnson@cesiumastro.com

Source: CesiumAstro, Inc.