2024-05-13 12:00:00
What to do with geostationary satellites that have reached the end of their life? These enormous spacecraft weighing several tons are used specifically to provide access to TV channels or the Internet. “About 500 geostationary satellites are currently in orbit, but 20% of them have reached the end of their life. In the 2010s, we experienced a golden age for this type of satellite with 30 launches per year compared to around ten today. Fifteen years later, these satellites reach the end of their mission because they have run out of fuel.”says Adel Haddoud, CEO of Infinite Orbits.
Extend the lifetime of geostationary satellites
This Toulouse startup has just raised 12 million euros from Newfund Capital, the EIC fund, IRDI and Space founders France. A turnaround that should allow it to accelerate its major project: launching the first European mission to extend the life of geostationary satellites.
« When a satellite runs out of fuel, it naturally drifts. The idea is to send a small satellite of 500 kg that will release a robotic arm to dock behind the geostationary satellite (of several tons) to ensure station keeping, in other words to keep it in thanks to the engines in the correct orbit », Developer Adel Haddoud.
Founded in 2020, Infinite Orbits has developed vision-based autonomous space navigation technology. The idea is to take the principle of the reversing camera used in cars to park without human intervention and use it in space. Onboard artificial intelligence makes it possible to recognize the proximity of a satellite and to perform rendezvous maneuvers. The start-up has already launched a first nanosatellite in spring 2023 OrbitGuard1 to test its contract technology using foreign suppliers.
Safran, Telespazio and the Spanish ACP in the project
For the program called Endurance, for which the young company won three million euros (out of a total cost of five million) as part of France 2030, Infinite Orbits is shifting gears. The company has set up a local supply chain: Safran Spacecraft Propulsion for the engines, Telespazio France for operations, Digital Product Simulation and the Spanish company AVS, which develops robotic technology and will make an antenna in Toulouse. The mission will be carried out on a geostationary satellite from the Spanish company Hipsasat with the aim of extending its lifetime by five years. The launch is planned for 2026 for docking the following year.
Infinite Orbits then hopes to become the first European consortium to successfully carry out a life-extension mission. At the moment, only the Americans have achieved this with Northrop Grumman company that has already twice performed life extension missions in geostationary orbit.
« We are not talking about going to the Moon or recovering debris, activities that are still poorly mastered, but about approaching known satellites. The fact that the maneuver has already been performed by Americans shows that it works, which is why I think it is the most commercial segment of services in orbit. », judge Adel Haddoud.
Thanks to this fundraising, Infinite Orbits, which employs around thirty employees in Toulouse, hopes to pass 50 employees by the end of the year. The start-up must also start at the end of 2024 second nanosatellite on behalf of Azerbaijan-based satellite operator Azer Cosmos for a new mission to demonstrate its rendezvous technology.
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