California-based small satellite specialist Terran Orbital is planning to launch a constellation of nanosatellites to operate a data network that will provide machine-to-machine connectivity in the lowest power form possible. Tony Previte, CEO of Terran…
California-based small satellite specialist Terran Orbital is planning to launch a constellation of nanosatellites to operate a data network that will provide machine-to-machine connectivity in the lowest power form possible.
Tony Previte, CEO of Terran Orbital, told SatelliteFinance that he sees a gap in the market for offering machine-to-machine services utilising very low power transmitters.
Previte said: “This is something that is missing from the planet’s infrastructure that needs to exist. I am very passionate about bringing machine-to-machine connectivity to the most remote regions in the lowest power form possible.
“I think it is a little bit different to what other people are doing. I think it is complementary to many of the services that currently exist. There are a lot of people in the machine-to-machine space who are incredibly successful but it is that transmission power that I think limits certain genres of sensor coming into to being that could really change the sector.”
Terran is planning on launching a constellation of up to 48 satellites with the first launch expected to take place in 2016. Previte said that the system will cost between US$20 and US$30m and that the company may target an initial constellation of around eight satellites.
Terran is already in talks with a potential strategic partner on the project, although is confident that it could fund the constellation on its own.
“We may self-fund it, we may do it with a strategic partner. I don’t think we will necessarily go to the VC market or the capital markets for it. I think a strategic makes a lot of sense,” Previte said.
The constellation builds on the knowledge that Terran and its government and defence-focused subsidiary Tyvak have built up over the past 15 years. The privately owned company is a specialist in building bespoke nanosatellites for both government and corporate requirements as well as offering mission consulting and launch services.
Previte, who has worked in the space, telecoms and investment banking sectors, believes that the future lies in developing bespoke small satellite solutions for a particular client, whether that is a government or a business.
He said: “I came from an enterprise business and I want to offer a solution to someone that hasn’t previously been accessible and yields a competitive advantage. For example, a very large agricultural producer doesn’t have the capability to design and operate a satellite. Space to them is this US$400m business which is impossibly inaccessible. We’re in a position where we can say ‘for a million dollars you can have your own satellite that does x, y and z and, like IT servers, every three years you have to replace it’.”
“I think the mentality that we’re trying to get people into is that this is like a big IT purchase.”
The concept for the constellation has come out of a similar idea. Working with a number of governments around the world Terran has found that the programme cycles are much longer than the speed at which small satellite technology and capability is moving.
Previte argued: “I can go to a government currently working on a project and say ‘I know next year you are planning to fly your first test data satellite, but here is constellation of eight orbital satellites which cover the areas you want why don’t you just buy this service right now and try it.’ It is just a means of accelerating programmes and governments aren’t used to the nanosatellite, small satellite space yet.”