Astrocast
{{Short description|Swiss satellite communications company}}
Astrocast is a Swiss satellite communications company based in Lausanne. It aims to establish a global satellite network for IoT applications.
History
Astrocast was founded in 2014{{Cite web|title=Astrocast SA|url=https://prestations.vd.ch/pub/101266/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-04|website=Company register of the canton of Vaud|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183024/https://prestations.vd.ch/pub/101266/ |archive-date=2021-07-09 }} by EPFL alumni, and employed 70 people in 2021.{{Cite news|last=Grundlehner|first=Werner|date=24 June 2021|title=Ein Schweizer Raumfahrtunternehmen fliegt an die Börse|work=NZZ|url=https://www.nzz.ch/finanzen/astrocast-das-schweizer-raumfahrtunternehmen-erobert-das-all-ld.1632203}} It launched its first five satellites in December 2018 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket,{{Cite web|last=Malewar|first=Amit|date=2018-12-04|title=Astrocast successfully launches its first satellite|url=https://www.techexplorist.com/astrocast-successfully-launches-first-satellite/19096/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-04|website=Tech Explorist|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183314/https://www.techexplorist.com/astrocast-successfully-launches-first-satellite/19096/ |archive-date=2021-07-09 }} and another five in June 2021.{{Cite web|date=2021-06-30|title=SpaceX launches Transporter-2 Falcon 9 rideshare mission|url=https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/spacex-launches-transporter-2-falcon-9-rideshare-mission/|access-date=2021-07-04|website=SpaceFlight Insider|language=en-US}} It aims to operate a full network of 100 satellites by 2024. Astrocast's nanosatellites are CubeSats, cubes {{Convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} large.
Astrocast is backed by venture capital firm Adit Ventures, Airbus SE's venture arm and the European Space Agency.{{cite news|title=Astrocast raises $9.2 million, grows target IoT constellation size to 80 satellites|url=https://spacenews.com/astrocast-raises-9-2-million-grows-target-iot-constellation-size-to-80-satellites/|publisher=Space News|author=Caleb Henry|date=September 4, 2019|access-date=July 4, 2023}} In June 2022, Astrocast announced that it was acquiring Hiber, an Amsterdam-based IoT space tech company.{{Cite web |title=Hiber, an Amsterdam-based IoT space tech startup, will be acquired by Astrocast |url=https://insiderapps.com/news/hiber-amsterdam-based-iot-space-tech-startup-will-be-acquired-astrocast |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Insider Apps |language=en-us}}
Satellites launched
As of November 2024 the company has launched two test satellites and four batches of operational satellites, for a total of 20 spacecraft, of which 19 are currently in orbit around the Earth.
| class="wikitable" width=100% style="text-align: left;" |
| scope="col" | Flight No.
! scope="col" | Mission ! scope="col" | Launch date ! scope="col" | Launch vehicle ! scope="col" | Orbit altitude ! scope="col" | Inclination ! scope="col" | Number ! scope="col" | Deorbited |
|---|
| colspan=9 |Test satellites |
| 1
|Astrocast 0.1 Kiwi |2018-099AS |3 December 2018 |548 km x 562 km |97.6° |1 |0 |
| 2
|Astrocast 0.2 Hawaii |2019-018F |1 April 2019 | | |1 |1 |
| colspan=9 |Operational satellites |
| 3
|Astrocast 0101-0105 |2021-006 |24 January 2021 |521 km x 533 km |97.4° |5 |0 |
| 4
|Astrocast 0201-0205 |2021-059 |30 June 2021 |510 km x 530 km |97.6° |5 |0 |
| 5
|Astrocast 0301-0304 |2022-158 |26 November 2022 |504 km x 517 km |97.4° |4 |0 |
| 6
|Astrocast 0401-0404 |2023-001 |3 January 2023 |540 km x 550 km |97.6° |4 |0 |
{{Notelist}}
References
External links
- [https://www.astrocast.com/ Official website]
Category:Aerospace companies of Switzerland
Category:Communications satellite operators
Category:Companies based in the canton of Vaud
Category:2014 establishments in Switzerland
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