According to EnduroSat release, the spacevan™ – 001 is a transport vehicle for Nano, Micro, and Small Satellites powered by EnduroSat avionics and scheduled to fly in 2024.The debut SpaceVan™ mission will launch onboard a Falcon 9 rideshare mission following a launch service agreement signed between Exotrail and SpaceX. At least three subsequent missions are planned throughout 2024 onboard multiple different launchers.
Deploying constellations over several planes, altitudes and inclinations often means using dedicated launch vehicles which dramatically increase launch costs. With the SpaceVan™ mobility service, satellite operators can now quickly and efficiently deploy their constellations over several different planes, altitudes, and inclinations, while still taking advantage of significantly cheaper rideshare vehicles.
EnduroSat has more than 2,500 avionics in orbit and more than 50 satellites successfully delivered to clients across the globe.
Exotrail has leveraged its unique capabilities in flight dynamics, system design and electric propulsion to create an in-space mobility service. The SpaceVan™ uses Exotrail’s space proven ExoMG™ propulsion system which is a key differentiator from its chemical propulsion OTVs counterparts and offers up to 1 km/s of deltaV for a payload capacity of up to 400 kg. The SpaceVan™ is able to perform a typical constellation plane change maneuver in less than 3 months and a 100 km change in just two weeks. The SpaceVan™ has standard connection interfaces which allows both nanosatellites and microsatellites to be deployed, as well as offering hosted payload capability.
Exotrail is the only company offering in-house space transportation services that have mastered advanced electric propulsion technologies and complex flight dynamics. Providing these capabilities in-house and vertically integrating as a business allows Exotrail to offer satellite operators unmatched flexibility and performance to solve their mobility needs, as well as exceptional agility to react to market changes.
With this new mobility service, Exotrail solves customers mobility needs at every stage of the mission lifecycle and is leading the way in a new world of space logistics.