Kepler received help designing its cubesat bus from the Canadian Space Agency.
Kepler received help designing its cubesat bus from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Space Flight Laboratory.
AAC Clyde built Kepler’s first two prototype satellites, which were three-unit cubesats launched into low Earth orbit in 2018.
Kepler’s first service-grade satellites are slated to launch mid-2020 on a Soyuz rocket booked through Glavkosmos.
Kepler launched two prototype satellites in 2018.
Kepler’s SpaceX rideshare agreement combined with Kepler’s other launch agreements provides enough rides to low Earth orbit for Kepler’s Gen-1 constellation of 15 cubesats.
Kepler plans to scale its Internet of Things constellation to reach 140 satellites in 2023.
SpaceX decided to lower the orbit of some 1,600 planned Starlink satellites, a decision that caused operational hardship for Kepler and prompted Kepler to consider changing its constellation size before selecting the higher orbit.
GK Launch Services will use Soyuz-2 family launch vehicles to launch Kepler’s next-generation satellites.
The two satellites Kepler will launch with GK Launch Services have a matured design with upgraded components including a more powerful software-defined radio.
Kepler plans to deploy a 140-satellite constellation starting with at least 15 commercial spacecraft by the end of 2020.
Kepler is planning to place future satellites at 575 km to stay above the 1,584 Starlink satellites SpaceX plans to operate at 550 km.
Kepler arranged the Soyuz launch through Innovative Space Logistics, the Dutch launch broker that arranged Kepler’s first two prototypes to launch in 2018 on a Chinese Long March 11 and an Indian PSLV.
Kepler has procured spacecraft platforms for the two satellites it will launch with GK Launch Services but declined to name the provider or providers.
ISL partnered with Kepler Communications for Kepler’s inaugural mission that launched Kepler’s first satellite into orbit in January 2018 and a second satellite in November 2018.
Kepler plans to incorporate propulsion into its satellites in 2020.
Kepler will launch two six-unit cubesats on a Russian Soyuz rocket operated by GK Launch Services in mid-2020.
Kepler has two more launches planned in 2020 in addition to the GK Launch Services Soyuz mission.
Kepler Communications and C-Com connected Kepler’s demonstration cubesats KIPP and CASE using C-Com’s iNetVu FLY-981 Ku-band terminal and demonstrated a 100 Mbps downlink and a 30 Mbps uplink.