Alba Orbital is a Scottish company that specializes in building PocketQube satellites and Albapod satellite deployment systems. Alba Orbital is the developer and manufacturer of the Unicorn-1[1] and Unicorn-2[2] satellite platforms.
Overview
Alba Orbital specializes in designing and building PocketQube satellites. The company has developed two satellite platforms. The Unicorn-1 platform is a 1P (5cm x 5cm x 5cm) PocketQube satellite, while its larger counterpart, Unicorn-2, is a 2P satellite (5cm x 5cm x 10cm).[3]
Launches
Alba Orbital is a launch broker and has purchased capacity with several space companies, including SpaceX and Rocket Lab, to launch PocketQube satellites into orbit.[4] The company also hold contracts with the European Space Agency for ARTES.[5] These launches harbor clusters[6] containing space for PocketQubes that are sold to teams wanting to launch pods. Every Alba Orbital flight uses Albapod deployers to release the clusters. These deployers come in two sizes: 6P and 96P.[citation needed] As of December 2023, Alba Orbital has successfully launched seven missions into low Earth orbit, while one mission failed before deployment on the first flight of Orbiter SN1.
Mission Name | Date | Launch Vehicle | Payloads | Customers | Outcome | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alba Cluster 2 | 6 December 2019 | Electron | ![]() |
BME | Success | |
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FOSSA Systems | |||||
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Stara Space | |||||
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BME | |||||
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ACME AtronOmatic | |||||
Alba Cluster 3 | 13 January 2022 | Falcon 9 Block 5 | ![]() |
TU Delft | Success | |
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AMSAT EA | |||||
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ZBEU | |||||
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AMSAT EA | |||||
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Innova Space | |||||
Alba Cluster 4 | ![]() |
PION Labs | ||||
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Ariel University | |||||
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CMU | |||||
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Alba Orbital | |||||
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Alba Orbital | |||||
Alba Cluster X | 2 May 2022 | Electron | ![]() |
ACME AtronOmatic | Success | |
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ACME AtronOmatic | |||||
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Alba Orbital | |||||
Alba Cluster (?) | 3 January 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / Orbiter | ![]() |
Alba Orbital | Failure[7] | |
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Alba Orbital | |||||
Alba Cluster 6 | 12 June 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() |
Hello Space | Success | |
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BME | |||||
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ICHSB | |||||
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Ariel University | |||||
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Alba Orbital | |||||
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AMSAT-EA | |||||
Alba Cluster 7 | 11 November 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() |
Hydra Space / AMSAT EA | rowspan=5 | Success |
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FRR | |||||
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SpaceIn | |||||
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CMU | |||||
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Alba Orbital | |||||
Alba Cluster 8 | 1 December 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() |
Innova Space | Success | |
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Alba Orbital |
Funding
In 2021, Alba Orbital participated in the startup accelerator program Y Combinator, located in Silicon Valley, United States. They raised US$3.4 million after completing the program.[8]
See also
- PocketQube – The satellite format Alba Orbital specializes in building
References
- ^ "Unicorn 1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ "Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ Wired. "Alba Orbital: pushing the limits of space development". Wired UK.
- ^ "Alba Cluster 3/4 info". Alba Orbital. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ ESA. "ESA ARTES Contractors".
- ^ "Scottish satellite firm plans second PocketQube launch mission". The National.
- ^ "Orbiter SN1 Mission Update". Launcher. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Scots firm behind pocket-size satellites takes aim at world record after Silicon Valley funding". 26 August 2021.
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