Lacuna Space Launches into the Atmosphere

Lacuna Space has launched its second IoT satellite after a successful launch on a Soyuz-2 rocket. This satellite is another piece of Lacuna’s IoT network, which is now one step closer to becoming a global IoT network. The CubeSats that are being launched are minimal in size, making them more cost efficient, and orbit at 500 km above the Earth, allowing them to circle Earth 14 times each day.

Lacuna’s satellites store messages retrieved from IoT sensors that they connect to for a short period of time before passing them to a ground station. The messages are then relayed directly from the ground station to Lacuna’s cloud platform, with the data then made available to view on the application that Lacuna offers. This is not the only option because Lacuna offers the ability to have the data relayed to a third-party application via a terrestrial network, too, if preferred by the end user. The technology that is offered by the United Kingdom-based space company includes battery-powered sensors, wireless connectivity, an LPWAN network, and a satellite connection. It is the LPWAN network that connects the battery-powered sensors to the satellites.

The launch comes a year behind schedule, with reports in 2018 stating that three of Lacuna’s satellites would be launched into orbit in 2019 following its demonstration satellite launch in 2018. This is due to industry-wide congestion for satellite launches. For a launch to take place, the satellite provider must have not only the monetary resources to build its satellites, but access to the space vehicle required, as well as a booked spot at a launch station. The congestion comes from the fact that a variety of new startup satellite vendors are planning to launch their networks, and due to the nature of LEO satellites (and to provide the coverage that is desired), several satellites are required to be launched into orbit.

For satellite providers such as Lacuna Space and its competitors to be successful with their launches, they need to consider all aspects of the launch. Other satellite providers, such as Astrocast, have found it beneficial to have strategic partnerships already in place to be able to launch their satellites. With large companies such as SpaceX who are already advancing in their launch of their network, having 775 Starlink satellites in orbit and plan to continue launching as often as every two weeks, it’s crucial that satellite network providers are able to continue their launches as planned, and if possible try to avoid disruption to these plans.

The satellite market has been impacted in many ways by COVID-19. The pandemic has pushed application providers to find new market opportunities, with newer applications finding an opportunity to utilize satellite networks, boosting satellite demand. But negative effects have also occurred. Though satellite launches have not halted, they are happening at a much slower rate, as the equipment required for launches to take place is being constructed at a slower rate due to a reduced workforce. The slower rate that the launch vehicles are being manufactured at will push completion dates back and therefore launch dates, too. Some manufacturing has even completely halted due to the pandemic, the Soyuz-2 being an example of this.

It is crucial for satellite network suppliers to push through the pandemic, and to continue to launch their satellites. Otherwise, the satellite connectivity market will ultimately grow at a significantly slower rate and therefore be at risk of losing out on a significant amount of revenue from connections. Back in May, the European Parliament was asking for government support via a budget for E.U. space activities because, at that point, the market was at risk of potentially losing €1 billion in income.