Chennai: Kleos Space, a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service company Thursday said its mission team will be travelling to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh from March 18 to carry out the final preparation steps prior to launch of its ‘four Kleos’ Scouting Mission (KSM) satellites.
The satellites are planned to be launched using Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C49).
“We are on the cusp of the launch of our Scouting Mission satellites from Chennai (from Sriharikota near Chennai). Our combined team is undertaking final preparations for our satellites to be integrated with the PSLV launch vehicle. Kleos eagerly awaits the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the launch provider, publicly announcing the upcoming launch date, until then Kleos is bound by contractual confidentiality,” Andy Bowyer, CEO of Kleos Space was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Following launch, spacecraft operation engineers will guide the satellites from launch vehicle separation until they are established in their final orbit. This is an important milestone for Kleos as it will enable us to commence data delivery and revenue generation from early adopter contracts,” he added.
According to him, there is increasing demand for the company’s global maritime geolocation intelligence data.
He said the company’s independent intelligence will complement existing datasets to enable the detection of hidden maritime activity such as drug and people smuggling, piracy, pollution and illegal fishing.
The Kleos team will start travelling to the launch site on March 18 to carry out final preparation over a period of approximately six days prior to handing Kleos’ nanosatellites over to New Space India (NSIL) for integration with the launch vehicle.
The preparation activities include carrying out spacecraft checkout, battery charging, fuelling, setting the final spacecraft flight configuration and overseeing the dispenser integration.
Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites will share the ride on PSLV-C49 with satellites from other organisations such as Spire Global.
Kleos’ satellites will launch into a 37-degree inclination orbit, providing unprecedented situational awareness over crucial shipping regions including the Strait of Hormuz, South China Sea and East and West African coasts, the statement said.
Kleos’ Scouting Mission satellites will detect and geolocate maritime radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence irrespective of the presence of positioning systems, in spite of unclear imagery and if targets are out of patrol range. These initial satellites form the foundation of a larger constellation that will deliver near real-time intelligence over key regions of maritime interest.
