SSTL to Launch Two Satellites

Published on: 22 Nov, 2018
Updated on: 24 Nov, 2018

Communication dish at SSTL, Guildford Research Park

Two small satellites designed and manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) are to be in the skies this month.

Named KazSTSat and VESTA, the satellites will be launched into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, on board a “Falcon 9” rocket operated by SpaceX, the private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk.

KazSTSat is a 105-kilogram satellite that will use an “EarthMapper” for wide-area imaging. The satellite was a joint venture between JSC “National Company Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary” (KGS) and Airbus, and was designed and built by 14 Kazakh engineers working alongside SSTL engineers.

VESTA is a four-kilogram “nanosatellite” demonstration mission that will test a new data exchange system developed by aerospace and consumer company Honeywell. The technology will help with maritime ship monitoring and tracking.

The VESTA satellite was manufactured at SSTL’s “NanoLab”, and was co-funded by the UK Space Agency.

Since 1981, SSTL, the world’s leading small satellite company, has built and launched more than 50 satellites.