News | Oct 06, 2023
Adelaide, AUSTRALIA — HEX20, has embarked on a strategic collaboration with India’s Skyroot Aerospace and Japan’s ispace, inc. to stimulate demand for affordable lunar satellite missions. The initiative aims to leverage the combined technical prowess and regional networks of the three pioneering companies.
Lloyd Lopez, CEO of HEX20, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “We have committed to joint marketing efforts across the Indo-Pacific region, expediting the realization of lunar satellite missions in the area.” The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing this partnership was inked during the 74th International Astronautical Conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“This marks an exciting juncture, and we aspire to adapt our platforms for forthcoming lunar missions. It exemplifies how partners with complementary technologies and expertise can collaborate to deliver value to our clients,” Mr. Lopez noted. He emphasized that HEX20’s seasoned team, internally developed innovative technologies, and a reliable supply chain are the core elements enabling them to provide cost-effective solutions to the space market.
Furthermore, Mr. Lopez underscored HEX20’s unique position to foster successful partnerships with local and international enterprises, thereby enhancing Australia’s space capabilities.
About HEX20 Pty Ltd (https://hex20.space/)
HEX20 is an innovative Australian SmallSat company providing cost-effective platforms, customized hardware, and advanced sensor technologies for the CubeSat and SmallSat markets. HEX20’s products are derived from flight heritage programs and have a proven assurance for successful mission completion. HEX20 aims to deliver solutions to the LEO and Cis-Lunar market, focusing on making these qualified hardware platforms more intelligent, cost-effective, reliable, and easily accessible for commercial, defense, and academic applications.
HEX20 offers a versatile range of options, from compact 3U platforms for academic missions to robust 27U designs for mission-critical projects, with customizable payload space, computing power, avionics, pointing accuracy, and communication solutions to meet specific mission needs.
About ispace, inc. (https://ispace-inc.com/)
ispace, a global lunar resource development company with the vision, “Expand our Planet. Expand our Future.”, specializes in designing and building lunar landers and rovers. ispace aims to extend the sphere of human life into space and create a sustainable world by providing high-frequency, low-cost transportation services to the Moon.
ispace has offices in Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States with more than 250 employees worldwide. ispace technologies U.S., inc. is part of a team led by Draper, which was awarded a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program contract to land on the far side of the Moon. Both ispace, and ispace EUROPE S.A. (ispace EU) were awarded contracts to collect and transfer ownership of lunar regolith to NASA, and ispace EU was selected by ESA to be part of the Science Team for PROSPECT, a program which seeks to extract water on the Moon.
Established in 2010, ispace operated “HAKUTO” which was one of five finalist teams in the Google Lunar XPRIZE race. ispace’s first mission, part of its HAKUTO-R lunar exploration program, launched on Dec. 11, 2022, from the United States on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and completed 8 of 10 mission milestones. Subsequent missions are in development with launches expected in 2024 and 2026. ispace has also launched a lunar data business concept to support new customers as a gateway to conduct business on the Moon.
About Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited (https://skyroot.in/)
Skyroot Aerospace, headquartered in Hyderabad, India, stands as the country’s leading private space launch vehicle company. Distinguished by its groundbreaking achievements, Skyroot has accomplished the simultaneous development and validation of solid, liquid, and cryogenic propulsion technologies. Notably, they have harnessed advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, such as carbon fibre structures, miniaturized avionics, and 3D printed engines, With the Vikram series achieving a momentous milestone, Skyroot made history in 2022 by launching India’s first private launch vehicle, solidifying its pioneering role in India’s private space ecosystem. As they gear up for the orbital launch of the Vikram series later this year, Skyroot remains steadfast in its mission to “Open Space for All.”
