Credit: Kleos
Kleos Space S.A., a Luxembourg-based space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service (DaaS) company, has announced that the Kleos Patrol Mission (KSF2) satellites, planned to launch this month, have been remanifested to launch on the SpaceX Transporter-4 mission scheduled for April 2022.
Kleos is partnering with launch services provider Spaceflight Inc. to deploy its KSF2 satellites to a sun synchronous orbit. Originally scheduled for the SpaceX Transporter-3 mission in January 2022, the launch was postponed when the Spaceflight orbital transfer vehicle tasked with launching and deploying Kleos’ satellites experienced technical issues. Spaceflight quickly identified an alternative launch option.
“Delays are a common occurrence in the industry and we are committed to navigating them quickly to ensure our customers’ satellites still get to orbit in a timely manner", explained Tony Frego, VP of mission management at Spaceflight Inc. “Through our portfolio of launch vehicles, we were able to secure capacity for Kleos on a new launch that will occur in only a few months. We are committed to minimising the impact of any delays and ensuring our customers’ missions are a success".
Kleos CEO Andy Bowyer added: “As our four Patrol Mission satellites were undamaged, we have been able to mitigate the delay by quickly rescheduling the launch for April 2022. Launching into a sun synchronous orbit, our Patrol Mission satellites will significantly increase our data collection capability and complement the eight satellites we already have in orbit. The launch delay does not impact the revenue generating life of the mission".
Kleos’ fourth satellite cluster, the Observer Mission (KSF3), is unaffected by the Patrol Mission delay and remains on track to launch in mid-2022.
