SERVICES
SERVICES
Nanosatellite Services
Alén Space offers you the market’s most successful nanosatellite services. Our integral solutions include the design, production and operation of small satellites. We will guide you every step of the way: from the drawing board until your project takes shape and your company starts reaping the benefits of having its very own constellation of nanosatellites, also known as ‘CubeSats’ or ‘SmallSats’.
At Alén Space, we offer you solutions that are already 100% operational. Without waiting times, ready to get you into space.
ESA Proven Quality Standard
With over twelve years’ experience in space technology development, our team has enhanced a work method that applies the strict quality standards set by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS).
The result is a service offering you reliable, first class, bespoke solutions as well as the benefits of fast, flexible and low cost access to space. The perfect mix for New Space pioneers and companies seeking new business opportunities.
Your Technology Partner at Space
Alén Space is the technology partner that can get your company into space. We have the experience, know-how and ability to send your business into orbit. Alén Space’s commitment to quality in the design, manufacture and operation of CubeSats includes an independent consultancy service and rapid response.
Nanosatellites Independent Consultants
Alén Space works independently with the market’s leading providers, and is not bound by exclusivity agreements with any hardware or software manufacturers. This degree of autonomy enables us to provide independent consultancy services for the development of your nanosatellites, with the focus permanently centred on your company’s needs and the use of the finest cutting-edge technology that will guarantee the successful launch of a constellation of small satellites.
At Alén Space we have an in-depth knowledge of the components currently available on the market, coupled with the know-how necessary to integrate parts from a range of manufacturers, applying improvements and avoiding having to depend on a single technology provider. We only work with those parts best tailored to cater for each project. In this sense, all materials are selected using transparent processes and based exclusively on criteria of quality, functionality, integration and price.
From a Draft to Space in 8 Months
When it comes to pioneering businesses, we know that every second counts and that time can make the difference between the success and failure of a company. Alén Space offers flexible, effective solutions. Our team of engineers can have a nanosatellite ready to launch in just 6 months, plus an additional 6 to 8 weeks required to integrate it with the launchers ready to get it into orbit.
It’s as simple as this: in just 8 months, your company could have its very own nanosatellite operating in space and an entire constellation of 15 small satellites within 14 months.
The fast and effective flexibility CubeSats offer has revolutionized the space industry. With nanosatellites, the time periods involved are a world apart from the development periods involved in building a conventional satellite, which can take anything between 5 and 15 years.
Turnkey Missions for CubeSats
Alén Space will handle all the phases involved in getting your business into space, ranging from identifying the project requirements, design, production, trials, launch management, setting up and operation of the nanosatellites.
A key aspect for Alén Space is to provide you with a clear-cut road map into space right from the start. This is possible thanks to our working methods, which guarantees compliance with the strictest quality standards in the sector.
Our integral nanosatellite development service comprises 8 clearly differentiable phases, although your company may only be interested in contracting just one or several specific phases of the full process.
So what are these 8 steps that could send your company into space?
8 Steps to Get your Business into Space
Each project is unique, a notion that is even truer in the case of New Space, where each year new, previously unexplored business opportunities arise. That’s why we need to hear about your idea and work with you on defining your project requirements. This is the key phase in our consultancy service; an advisory process that will continue throughout the remaining 7 phases, ensuring you feel that you can count on expert help and know-how every step of the way.
To guarantee the success of a space mission, nothing can be left to chance. Excellence in work processes is one of the hallmarks of Alén Spaces. Specially created test environments are used in order to conduct a V-model analysis of each of your nanosatellite’s subsystems, first applying a design from the largest to the smallest and then applying the reverse process: from smallest to largest.
Once the various subsystems that make up CubeSat have been analysed independently, the next stage is to integrate the nanosatellites in the clean chamber, one of the most important areas in the Alén Space facilities. Set up is carried out in an isolated environment using procedures that comply with ESA and ECSS standards, a quality guarantee that is maintained throughout the process.
After the satellite is complete, strict trials are conducted under real conditions. Alén Spaces’ internal processes and the launchers’ protocols require full guarantees that CubeSat will operate correctly under certain temperatures and conditions, similar to those it will encounter during launch and whilst in outer space. Key trials include vibration and thermal vacuum testing.
Alén Space’s launch support service handles all the procedures necessary for getting the nanosatellites into orbit. Our team includes skilled professionals with expertise in negotiating prices and technical management issues with the market’s leading launchers. The choice is normally based on criteria such as the launch schedule and the orbit the rockets will be heading for.
Once in orbit, the next phase is the operation, management and maintenance of the nanosatellite constellation. The first stage may take several weeks and is known as the In-Orbit Commissioning Phase (IOCP). This is essentially an initial configuration and review of all the parameters to ensure that the CubeSats are in good condition and that everything is going to plan. From then on, daily operations of the nanosatellites can commence.
There are two options at this stage of the process. Our professionals can train your technical team, thereby enabling your company to handle the nanosatellites’ daily operations directly. Alternatively, you can leave this task up to Alén Space, leaving your team free to focus on the key areas of your business and the promotion and sale of your services. In either case, you will have all the information and data you require.