Gilmour Space Technologies staff monitor the commissioning of the ElaraSat MMS-1 satellite. Photo: Gilmour Space Technologies.
An Australian-designed and built satellite has successfully gone into operation in orbit after being launched in June.
Designed and built by Gilmour Space Technologies on the Gold Coast, the 100-kilogram ElaraSat Block 1 satellite bus was launched on 24 June aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-14 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was launched along with 44 other customer satellites, and it was confirmed on 3 September that the satellite had achieved successful in-orbit operation.
For Multi Mission Satellite-1 (MMS-1), the ElaraSat bus carries a hyperspectral imager for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The imager can gather detailed information about the composition and characteristics of the Earth’s surface and water quality from space by combining spectroscopy and imaging capabilities.
Since its launch, the satellite completed its commissioning by verifying its bus systems were operating as expected, and successfully and reliably demonstrating its S-band communications and X-band downlink.
With ElaraSat now in a 500-600 km sun-synchronous orbit and classified by the North American Air Defence (NORAD) as ID 64539, Gilmour Space Technologies says it is well positioned to deliver integrated satellite missions to customers from Australia, supporting commercial, civil, and defence programs that require affordable and flexible access to space.
Mark Grimminck, Head of Satellites at Gilmour Space, said it was a proud moment for his team and their partners.
“ElaraSat MMS-1 is designed for multiple missions — and this first flight shows how Australia can build expertise in sovereign satellite technology while paving the way for future missions.”
The modular ElaraSat bus can be adapted for missions hosting payloads of up to 30 kg and is compatible with a variety of launch vehicles, including the company’s own Eris orbital rocket.
In the lead-up to the June launch, Gilmour Space chief executive Adam Gilmour said it felt “a little strange” being a rocket company that had put a satellite on someone else’s rocket.
“But mainly because we didn’t want to have our satellite program [forced to] wait for the launch business to get going,” he told InnovationAus.com. “We want to prove out the technology.
“But we obviously do intend to launch these satellites on our own launch vehicles in the future.
“We realised a few years ago was there was a big demand for satellite buses.
“A lot of customers had developed payloads, whether that’s an optical camera, an infrared camera, a hyperspectral camera, or a communication system … and then they either have to build their own [satellite bus] or go and find someone else to do it.”
On 31 July, the first flight of Eris-1 ended after just 14 seconds at the Bowen Space Port in northern Queensland, but with the rocket successfully clearing the launch pad and enormous amounts of data collected, the company has demonstrated significant progress towards providing an end-to-end Australian sovereign space capability.
