LuxSpace, based in Luxembourg, is a subsidiary of OHB SE, one of Europe’s leading satellite manufacturers. ESA is supporting the Triton-X project through the ARTES programme.
LEO Constellations
Enabling affordable Low Earth Orbit constellations is a key design requirement for the new platform. This means low recurring costs, with efficient manufacturing, assembly and testing processes optimised for fast time-to-market.
To achieve these objectives, LuxSpace will draw on know-how and experience gained through several previous missions, including Pathfinder-2 (LuxSpace’s early AIS validation mission), Vesselsat-1 and -2 (both AIS satellites flown for Orbcomm), 4M (the first privately funded Moon mission) and most recently ESAIL, which is based on LuxSpace’s Triton-2 high-performance AIS platform that is being developed in an ARTES Public Private Partnership between LuxSpace, ESA, and exactEarth.
PROJECT PHASES
In the initial phase of Triton-X, LuxSpace will define the overall system architecture. The company will also invite partners to join the project as part of the core industrial team and build long-term industrial relationships to develop the product line.
In the second stage of the project, the Triton-X consortium will embark upon the process of implementing and qualifying the new platform for space.
The third and final phase of the project will encompass the launch of the first Triton-X flight model to gain in-orbit validation. This should pave the way for the deployment of LEO constellations in the future.
“In today's rapid evolution of the space market, ESA is continuing to support European industry in the most effective manner, by adapting with industry to the working methodologies of New Space. Within that context, this project is a good example of how ESA can respond to the needs of Industry as they address the emerging opportunities created by microsatellites’, says ESA’s Magali Vaissiere, Director of Telecommunications and Integrated Applications.
Join the Triton-X consortium
Industrial partners from across the entire supply chain, whether from ESA Member States or from non-Member States, are invited to contact the ESA and the LuxSpace project managers to discuss how they can participate in the Triton-X consortium.
- Hubert Moser, Triton-X LuxSpace Project Manager, moser@luxspace.lu, +352 661 678 996
- Albert Crausaz, Triton-X ESA Project Manager, albert.crausaz@esa.int, +33 6 80 72 44 52
