Alba Orbital Announces Successful Satellite Integration of Innova Space's MDQUBESAT-2
Argentinian new-space startup set to grow their iot constellation to provide greater Iot connectivity to Latin America’s growing Agriculture, Mining and Oil & Gas sectors.
Image of Innova Space’s ‘MDQUBESAT-2’ PocketQube satellite being integrated to Alba Orbital’s Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (‘the AlbaPod’) in preparation for a Spacex launch in Q4 2023.
31st August 2023 -- Glasgow, UK -- Alba Orbital, the leading provider of PocketQube rideshare services, today announced the successful integration of Innova Space’s MDQUBESAT-2 satellite into its Picosatellite deployer (Aka the ‘AlbaPod’). MDQUBESAT-2 is a 2p PocketQube satellite that is designed as part of an IoT constellation and is launching with Alba Orbital via SpaceX Falcon 9 in Q4 2023.
Innova Space’s hardware designer (Ivan Petcoff) pictured next to Alba Orbital’s lab facilities in Glasgow (Scotland) following the successful integration of the MDQUBESAT-2 satellite.
Measuring at just 5x5x10cm, MDQUBESAT-2 is Innova Space’s second PocketQube that is being launched as part of a constellation of 100 IoT picosatellites called “Libertadores de América”. The constellation is designed to provide connectivity for a variety of applications in Latin America, including environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response.
“Our idea is to offer communication through our pico-satellites for a wide implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) services. In the agricultural use case, the purpose of our constellation is to make the agricultural business model more efficient with early warnings for weather, irrigation, security issues, among others” says Alejandro Cordero, CEO & Founder of Innova Space.
Image of Alba Orbital’s AlbaPod pico-satellite deployer pictured on board a SpaceX Falcon-9 2023 rideshare mission (highlighted in the red circle).
MDQUBESAT-2 is a new iteration in the Argentinian start-up’s range of pico-satellite designs, offering upgrades on the designs of the MDQUBESAT-1 mission that was launched in early 2022.
“We are delighted to announce the successful integration of MDQUBESAT-2,” said Tom Walkinshaw, CEO of Alba Orbital. “This is a significant milestone for Innova Space and we are proud to be supporting their mission to develop innovative new technologies for the Internet of Things. We look forward to the successful launch of MDQUBESAT-2 later this year.”
This upcoming mission with Innova Space and SpacceX in Q4 2023 will mark Alba Orbital’s 7th launch campaign, taking the total number of satellites flown by the company from an impressive figure of 31 to over 40 missions since their first flight with Rocket Lab in 2019.
Alba Orbital specialises in the design, development and launch of PocketQubes and was founded with the vision of ‘Democractising Access to Space’. PocketQubes are the world’s smallest commercial satellites, and can be launched for as low as 25K Euro. If you’re looking to start your own mission campaign, get in touch with our team of experts today at contact@albaorbital.com.
About Alba Orbital
Alba Orbital (UK, USA, Germany) is the world’s leading PocketQube company that has launched over 30 pico-satellites on-orbit to date. Alba is a vertically integrated NewSpace company ‘democratising access to space’, providing turnkey solutions from advanced pico-satellite platforms, low-cost launch opportunities, and ground station services. Alba has worked with over 30 customers across three continents, including prestigious clients such as Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University and TU Delft.
For more information, visit www.albaorbital.com or get in touch at contact@albaorbital.com.
About Innova Space
Based in Mar Del Plata (Argentina), Innova Space designs and develops the future using pico-satellites and PocketQubes. Innova Space proposes to change the world with greater IoT connectivity. Their upcoming constellation of 100 PocketQubes optimised for IoT communications, will provide a highly secure, bi-directional connection to any IoT device on Earth in just a few minutes. For more information, please visitwww.innova-space.com.