Minisatellites: the booming New Space industry in Toulouse
Posted Nov 29, 2022, 4:39 PM
European capital of the space industry with 12,600 jobs and the presence of the National Center for Space Studies (CNES) and the manufacturers Airbus Defense & Space and Thales Alenia Space, Toulouse is stepping straight into New Space. This space revolution from America consists in manufacturing “cheap” mini-satellites weighing 20 to 200 kg and launching them on less expensive rockets like those of Space X . This low cost allows new operators to sell Earth observation and telecom applications.
The French industry is efficient for large telecom and observation satellites but has been late in integrating into New Space. The situation is now changing. “The two markets are complementary and manufacturers Airbus Defense & Space and Thales Alenia Space is getting closer to new players to propose offers together”, notes Murielle Lafaye, deputy director of the Space Observatory at CNES.
The movement started with Kinéis outsourced in 2018 from CLS , the operator of Argos beacons on the oceans. Kinéis (62 employees) has raised 100 million euros to put into service in 2024 a constellation of 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg which provides the Argos signal, the Internet of Things and the AIS identification of boats. He ordered the nanosatellite platforms from Hemeria, a Toulouse-based SME which generated a transfer of know-how from CNES, and the payloads from Thales Alenia Space.
All-out projects
This project and the design by Airbus Defense & Space of the OneWeb constellation of 648 satellites weighing 150 kg for the Internet launched the French New Space sector. This has been accelerating for two years thanks to the France 2030 plan , which devotes 1.5 billion euros to the space sector to make up for the delay in small launchers and constellations. The fundraisers follow one another. The record goes to Loft Orbital, which lifted $140 million in 2021 to create a location service for small satellites shared by several operators. This Californian company has set up a subsidiary in Toulouse and will board its third spacecraft, launched on December 18, the Kinéis radiofrequency test laboratory.
Besides Kinéis , there are three other mini-satellite constellation projects in France. Unseenlabs, in Rennes, is deploying one for monitoring boats by radio frequency. Absolut Sensing, in Grenoble, is preparing another to measure methane in the atmosphere. And in Toulouse, Prometheus (40 employees) raised nearly 7 million euros and obtained aid of 3.5 million from the space recovery plan to design a constellation of 20 nanosatellites of 40 kg which provides less expensive observation services to developing countries . It will refresh images of the Earth every 45 minutes by interconnecting with Kinéis.
Also in Toulouse, three young engineers created U-Space in 2018 to design constellations of nanosatellites from 4 to 50 kg configurable on demand using a technology developed in CNES . The young shoot has just raised 7 million to develop a complete offer up to operational monitoring.
International attractiveness
The pink city held start-ups from other countries and regions. Created in Massy (Essonne) in 2017, Exotrail opened an office there to design software. This manufacturer of electric thrusters for minisatellites is preparing the SpaceVan, a box onboard a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX which will drop several small satellites into their orbit, to reduce the cost. The Canadian Connektica, which automates the tests of small astronomers, sets up in Toulouse after raising 2 million euros in September. The Danish company GomSpace and the Spanish Pangea Aerospace are also opening offices.
“The State, in the space recovery plan, has opened calls for tenders which stimulate the ecosystem and foreign players come to settle in Toulouse”, observes Grégory Pradels, vice-president of Hemeria. According to the Space Observatory, 85 companies employing a thousand employees have been created in this sector since 2010 in Occitanie, the majority of which work in New Space. Three-quarters are involved in services, but there is also industry. There are about twenty equipment manufacturers such as Comat, which notably produces plasma thrusters, Mechanic ID which provides standardized components, etc.
Founded in 2017 by a former CNES engineer, Nicolas Capet, Anywaves is the leading manufacturer of high-performance miniature (10 centimeters) antennas for small satellites from 3 to 500 kg. It benefits from synergies between the companies: Loft Orbital bought 15 small satellites from Airbus Defense & Space, which ordered the antennas from Anywaves . The company of 27 employees has sold 150 models and as many on order. “We are far from the uncertainties of five years ago. Now everyone is convinced that New Space will be the major space market of tomorrow, says Nicolas Capet. We are living in exciting times! »