The mysterious beginnings of MaiaSpace
Issue 28. Subscribers: 609
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The mysterious beginnings of MaiaSpace
I have been keeping a close eye on MaiaSpace, as many of you may know. The company had an unusual birth, with the announcement of its founding in late 2021 being made by French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire instead of a representative from parent company ArianeGroup or an exec from MaiaSpace, which the company didn’t even have at that point. In fact, it would be several months after the inital announcement before ArianeGroup would name Yohaan Leroy as the company’s CEO. Things get stranger still, however.
A few weeks ago, I was trolling through the company’s new hires on LinkedIn when I came across Xavier Wittlin who had just been appointed as the company’s Vice President of Finance. Wittlin was noteworthy because his bio stated that he had worked on the “MaiaSpace preparation phase” from July 2020 to July 2022. This seemed to indicate that the origins of MaiaSpace were far older than we had first thought. Considering this an interesting tidbit, I posted the information on Twitter and LinkedIn
I was quickly contacted by MaiaSpace deputy CEO (another interesting development that warrants some looking into) and CPO Jerome Vila, explaining that I’d misunderstood Wittlin’s profile. Wittlin also adjusted his profile to remove all mention of the MaiaSpace preparation phase and advised me to remove my posts. This, of course, just made me more curious.
What is Morpho?
My trolling through the ranks of MaiaSpace brought me to my next discovery. Jeremie Hassin was brought on as the Vice President of Business Development at MaiaSpace in June 2022. During his time at ArianeWorks as a member of CNES between February 2019 and May 2022, Hassin worked on the “Morpho reusable mini launcher.” Since I’d never heard of the project, I thought I’d see what I could find out about it.
This brought me to a report entitled Small Launchers: A European Perspective, produced by the French Air and Space Academy. The report describes a vehicle being worked on by ArianeWorks called the Morpho Micro that would build on work done for Themis utilizing three Prometheus engines for the rocket's first stage. The rocket is listed as being capable of delivering 500 kg payloads to orbit, with a maiden flight in 2027. Apart from a slightly adjusted maiden launch date, this lines up exactly with the MaiaSpace Maia launch vehicle.
In addition to some details about the vehicle, the report also implies that the Morpho concept originated from CNES.
To clear up any possible misinterpretation on my part, I contact Alain Charmeau of the Air and Space Academy, who is listed on the report. Charmeau confirmed that Morpho had been introduced by CNES and that after the concept was worked on jointly by CNES and ArianeGroup under the company’s mysterious ArianeWorks skunkworks division, it became Maia.
So, instead of being a product of ArianeGroup that was launched in 2022, MaiaSpace was dreamt up by the French Space Agency as far as 2019. But why all the mystery?
No comment
To date, I have got no information from CNES or MaiaSpace about the company’s origins, and I don’t expect I will get any. That leaves us to speculate why the mystery and what else is still to be discovered.
Launch
The road to retirement - European solid booster manufacturer EUROPROPULSION announced that it had completed nozzle integration for the last Ariane 5 EAP solid-rocket booster. The Ariane 5 launch vehicle was first introduced in June 1996 and has since flown 109 successful flights. With the introduction of its successor, the Ariane 6 expected next year, Ariane 5 is on the road to retirement. The rocket is expected to perform three more missions, with the final Ariane 5 expected to launch ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft in April 2023.
Time for some fireworks - Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with ArianeGroup to produce the range safeguard system for the new Ariane 6 launch vehicle. The new contract follows previous developments contracts and includes the delivery of 112 components and subassemblies from now to the summer of 2024 or the 15th Ariane 6 flight. Following that, the operational phase will commence, which is expected to stretch out over a period of approximately 30 years.
A Firefly takes flight - Firefly Aerospace launched its first successful Firefly Alpha mission. The mission included several European payloads from Spain and Greece. The FOSSASAT-1B is an Earth observation tech demonstrator from Spain's FOSSA Systems. GENESIS-G and J satellites from Spain's AMSAT-EA are part of what is described as the "world's first fully free and open source telecommunications constellation." Both satellites feature novel electrospray thrusters from Spanish in-space propulsion startup IENAI SPACE. The final two European payloads were the QUBIK-3 and 4 tech demonstration satellites from the Libre Space Foundation in Greece.
So, it’s like just a hangar at an airport? - UK-based horizontal launch facility Spaceport Cornwall officially opened its Space Systems Integration Facility. The launch facility is not ready to host its first orbital launch attempt, which is expected to be carried out by Virgin Orbit later this year.
European Space Agency
To the moon! - ESA has selected Astrobotic to carry the agency’s LandCam-X landing sensor camera aboard Griffin Mission One (GM1). The data collected by LandCam-X will be used to test and refine European autonomous navigation systems, with the goal of utilizing these systems on future lunar surface missions. Astrobotic’s selection to carry the ESA payload represents the first-ever commercial delivery to the Moon contracted by the agency. GM1 is expected to be launched in 2024.
Weather forecasts that don’t suck! - The first of ESA’s next-gen weather monitoring satellites, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1) was loaded onto the MN Toucan cargo ship for its 12-day voyage to the launch site in French Guiana. MTG-I1 carries the brand new Flexible Combined Imager and Europe’s first Lightning Image instruments. The Flexible Combined Imager has more spectral channels and is capable of imaging in higher resolution compared to the current Meteosat Second Generation’s Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared instrument. The Lightning Imager offers a completely new capability for European meteorological satellites monitoring more than 80% of the Earth disc for lightning discharges, taking place either between clouds or between clouds and the ground. The satellite was joined aboard the MN Toucan by 10 large containers of support equipment.
An excellent Italian - ESA astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti officially become commander of the International Space Station. Cristoforetti is the fifth European and the first European female to take command of the orbiting outpost. She will remain in command until her departure with her fellow SpaceX Crew-4 crewmates in October. An exact departure date has not been announced.
Another excellent Italian - ESA astronaut, Luca Parmitano received the Cavaliere Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Repubblica Italiana from the country's president Sergio Mattarella. The award is the highest-ranking honour of the Republic and is given to individuals who have contributed to the country in the fields of literature, the arts, economy, public service, and social, philanthropic, and humanitarian activities and for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers.
Calling up the reserves - Thales Alenia Space announced that it had shipped the Sentinel-1C satellite from its Rome location to its plan in Cannes on the French Riviera. The satellite will now be put through a final series of demanding tests in preparation for its launch aboard a Vega C in the second quarter of 2023. The new satellite was originally intended to replace Sentinel-1A, which was launched in 2014. However, plans changed after Sentinel-1B suffered an ultimately mission-ending anomaly in late December 2021.
Big egos meet to discuss pipedreams - CNES hosted representatives from several French launch companies at the ESA Space Transport Directorate to discuss the future of super heavy launchers. Although CNES did not specify a guest list, it likely included representatives from industry heavyweights ArianeGroup as well as those from French launch startup MaiaSpace, Latitude, HyPrSpace, Sirius Space, and Dark. According to CNES, the day-long meeting included discussions about future needs and markets, and the required tech development to ensure Europe is not left behind. A source that was at the meeting told me that discussions were not particularly constructive.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail - The EU Agency for the Space Programme announced the inauguration of a new Galileo monitoring facility at the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial La Marañosa campus in Spain. The new facility will serve as a backup site for the Galileo Security Monitoring Center (GSMC) in San Martín de la Vega, Spain.
UK Space Agency
Who wants a little funding? - The UK Space Agency announced a new Enabling Technology Programme with up to £15 million to support innovative space research and the development of emerging space technologies. The announcement of the program included the first of six calls for funding requests. The first request focused on in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, which can extend the lifetime of satellites.
No pudding until you’ve tidied your orbit! - The UK Space Agency has awarded two £4 million contracts to ClearSpace and Astroscale to design space debris removal missions. This first tranche of funding may be followed by additional funding with the aim of launching the UK's first national space debris removal mission by 2026.
5G doesn’t cause cancer anymore, right? - The UK Space Agency and ESA released a pair of joint calls for the development of technologies, products, and services in 5G telecommunications under the ESA Space for 5G and 6G Programme 2022. The first call, 'Opening Space with 5G', will make up to £8,000,000 of funding available for proposals aimed at developing sustainable 5G technologies, products, and services that will benefit beyond the space sector. The second call, '5G Hub at Harwell', will make up to £1,000,000 available for up to five projects, capped at £200,000 each, that aim to utilize the 5G/6G Hub to test and demonstrate their 5G devices or applications.
Business
US spies hire European spies to spy - Luxembourg-based Reconnaissance data supplier Kleos Space was awarded a US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) "first stage contract" as part of the country's Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement (SCE BAA) framework. Yes, this one is full of insane US governmental jargon. The contract is focused on the analysis, modeling, and simulation of Kleos’ capabilities to support the U.S. Government’s current and future commercial radio frequency (RF) reconnaissance needs. So basically, it’s the equivalent of feeling each other out on a blind date. Kleos was the only European entity to get the nod from the NRO.
Fighting fire from space - Wildfire monitoring startup OroraTech announced that it had completed its preliminary design review in the ESA InCubed Programme. This marks a major milestone of the CubeSat FOREST-3 mission, which is itself a stepping stone toward building and launching a multipurpose nanosatellite constellation that will allow a 12-hour revisit rate by 2024 and а 30-minute revisit by 2026.
Kenya hitches a ride to orbit - German space logistics startup Exolaunch signed a launch services agreement with the Kenya Space Agency to launch its Taifa-1 Earth observation satellite. The mission is expected to be launched aboard an Exolaunch EXOpod cubesat deployers on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-7 rideshare mission in early 2023.
Mysterious customers and vacuum chambers - German space tech company Berlin Space Technologies announced that it has sold one of its Thermal Vacuum Testing chambers to a “commercial customer in South East Asia.” The chambers can be utilized to perform qualification and acceptance testing of space systems under high vacuum and well-defined temperature scenarios. The testing is also fully automated and can be run over long periods.
Time for some orbital spring-cleaning - Japanese orbital debris removal company Astroscale announced the opening of its new premises in the UK. The new premises are located in the Zeus building at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. It will house a high-specification satellite manufacturing facility, a mission control centre, and offices for 120 staff.
Sky meets ground - UK-based Earth observation data startup Satellite Vu has partnered with ground service network provider Viasat. The partnership will allow Satellite Vu to regularly contact its planned constellation throughout the day and night to ensure rapid responsiveness to customer requests.
Have you seen my vision board? - Hungry's REMRED has announced that it plans to develop a space technology centre for the manufacture, assembly, integration, and testing of small satellites and subsystems. The company is currently negotiating with potential international and Hungarian partners about the required €25 million investment. REMRED envisions the 3,200-square-meter facility located in Martonvásár opening its doors in 2025. Although, from what I can see, this really is just an ambitious goal that lacks the secured funding to actualize it.
Light-hearted
A rare Hermes sighting - The almost forgotten full-scale mockup of the ESA-commissioned Hermes spacecraft was seen in the repair workshop of the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace. The post had many speculating that it may be on its way to the public eye on a more permanent basis. However, in response to a request, the museum told me that “there are currently no restoration or exhibition projects for the Hermes model.” The museum representative went on to say that it is only exhibited for “special open days, such was the case during the European Heritage Days.”
A watch made for Martians - ESA and Swiss watch brand Omega revealed the Omega X-33 Marstimer, the first watch to display the time on Earth and Mars. The watch was developed in partnership with ESA's Mars exploration teams and tested at the ESA ESTEC facility in the Netherlands. According to the agency, the watch is "space-tough and Mars-mission ready." Omega has a storied history of space exploration. In fact, almost all the Apollo astronauts who set foot on the Moon wore Omega Speedmaster watches, which is still the only watch certified by NASA.