Astrocast 0101 [Astrocast SA]
Official name ASTROCAST-0203
Alternative name Astrocast 0203
Cospar ID 2021-059CE
Norad ID 48955
Launch date 2021-06-30
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Country/Organization Switzerland
Type application Communication M2M/IoT
Operator Astrocast SA (formerly ELSE SA)
RCS size MEDIUM
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 94.22
Inclination (deg) 97.63
Perigee (km) 473
Apogee (km) 488
Eccentricity 0.0156087408949011
Mean motion (revs. per day) 15.2833793249841
Semi-Major axis (km) 6858.635
Raan (deg) 264.0249
Arg of perigee (deg) 246.2891
Shape Box
Mass (kg) 5
Height (m) 0.3
Width (m) 0.1
Depth (m) 0.1
Span (m^2) 0.3
Propulsion ?
Configuration CubeSat (3U)
Power 2 deployable solar arrays, batteries

The Astrocast satellites form Astrocast SA's constellation for global L-band machine-to-machine (M2M) services.

Astrocast is a network of Nanosatellites providing global L-band machine-to-machine (M2M) services. The satellites are orbiting in a low earth polar orbit. This allows the creation of a global network covering the entire globe, including the poles. Thanks to a dedicated frequency band, the constellation can scale without fear of noise generated by other devices. Astrocast estimates it can build, launch and operate a 64-cubesat constellation for less than $50 million to provide low-data-rate communications. The constellation will consist of eight operational satellites per orbital plane, and eight different orbital planes in sun-synchronous polar orbits.

After integration of the NanoLink terminal, the ground based assets can reliably and securely send any kind of sensor data to the constellation of nanosatellites that will acknowledge the reception. Astrocast enables transmission of 1KB/day from any region on the earth.

A geographically distributed network of ground stations collects the data gathered by the satellites. The data are then uploaded to a cloud storage for access by the customer.

  • The first batch of five satellites (Astrocast 0101 to 0105) was launched in January 2021 on a rideshare Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5).
  • Five more satellites (Astrocast 0201 to 0205) were launched in June 2021 again on a rideshare Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5).
  • A third batch of four satellites (Astrocast 0301 to 0304) was launched in November 2022 as piggy-back payloads on an Indian PSLV-XL.
  • The fourth batch (Astrocast 0401 to 0404) will be launched in January 2023 on a rideshare Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5).
  • Ten more operational satellites will be launched later on a Vega multi-satellite launch. This launch was delayed from late 2020.
Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
ASTROCAST-0103 2021-006CC 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
ASTROCAST-0102 2021-006CD 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
ASTROCAST-0105 2021-006DH 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
ASTROCAST-0104 2021-006DK 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
ASTROCAST-0101 2021-006T 2021-01-24 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.0 R1-1, ..., R1-10, QPS-SAR 2, Capella 3, 4, ICEYE X8, X9, XR 1, GHGSat C2, Hawk 2A, 2B, 2C, Sherpa-FX 1, ION-SCV 002, AII-Charlie, Hiber 4, ASELSAT, PIXL 1, SOMP 2b, IDEASSat, YUSAT 1, UVSQ-SAT, V-R3x 1, 2, 3, Flock-4s 1, ..., 48, Kepler 8, ..., 15, Astrocast 0101, ..., 0105, SpaceBEE 40, ..., 75, Lemur-2 130, ..., 137, PTD 1, Prometheus-2 10, ARCE 1A, 1B, 1C
ASTROCAST-0203 2021-059CE 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
ASTROCAST-0201 2021-059CD 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
ASTROCAST-0204 2021-059CB 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
ASTROCAST-0202 2021-059CL 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
ASTROCAST-0205 2021-059CK 2021-06-30 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Starlink v1.5 R1-1, ..., R1-3, Umbra-SAR 2001, YAM 2, YAM 3, ÑuSat 19, ..., 22, ICEYE X11, X12, X13, X15, TUBIN, Mandrake 2A, 2B, Capella 5, GNOMES 2, LINCS 1, 2, PACE 1, TROPICS 01, D2/AtlaCom 1, EG 3, Centauri 4, Lemur-2 140, ..., 145, SpaceBEE 88, ..., 111, SpaceBEENZ 7, ..., 10, Sherpa-FX 2, Lynk 06, Hawk 3A, 3B, 3C, Astrocast 0201, ..., 0205, Painani 2, Sherpa-LTE 1, Tenzing, Aurora, Arthur 1, Faraday Phoenix, KSF 1A, ..., 1D, Tiger 2, ION-SCV 003, NAPA 2, Spartan, Neptuno, W-Cube, Ghalib, QMR-KWT
ASTROCAST-0403 2023-001DG 2023-01-03 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with YAM 5, Lynk Tower 03, 04, Umbra-SAR 04, 05, EOS-SAT 1, ICEYE X21, X22, X27, ÑuSat 32, ..., 35, Skykraft Deployer 1, Skykraft 1, ..., 4, Chimera LEO-1, ION-SCV 007, 008, Astrocast 0401, ..., 0404, Futura SM1, Futura SM3, Kelpie 1, Sharjah-Sat 1, TAU-SAT 2, Orbiter SN1, MDQSAT 1A, 1B, PROVES-Yearling, Sapling 1, Unicorn 2G, 2H, Vigoride 5, ZEUS 1, KSF 3A, ..., 3D, Flock-4y 1, ..., 36, Lemur-2 157, ..., 162, SpaceBEE 156, ..., 167, EWS-RROCI, BRO 8, Gama Alpha, Menut, MilSpace2 1, 2, NSLSat 2, Platform 2, EYE 1, STAR-VIBE, Sternula 1, Connecta T1.2, Guardian alpha, KuwaitSat 1, PolyITAN-HP-30, BDSAT 2, Pushan alpha
ASTROCAST-0404 2023-001DH 2023-01-03 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with YAM 5, Lynk Tower 03, 04, Umbra-SAR 04, 05, EOS-SAT 1, ICEYE X21, X22, X27, ÑuSat 32, ..., 35, Skykraft Deployer 1, Skykraft 1, ..., 4, Chimera LEO-1, ION-SCV 007, 008, Astrocast 0401, ..., 0404, Futura SM1, Futura SM3, Kelpie 1, Sharjah-Sat 1, TAU-SAT 2, Orbiter SN1, MDQSAT 1A, 1B, PROVES-Yearling, Sapling 1, Unicorn 2G, 2H, Vigoride 5, ZEUS 1, KSF 3A, ..., 3D, Flock-4y 1, ..., 36, Lemur-2 157, ..., 162, SpaceBEE 156, ..., 167, EWS-RROCI, BRO 8, Gama Alpha, Menut, MilSpace2 1, 2, NSLSat 2, Platform 2, EYE 1, STAR-VIBE, Sternula 1, Connecta T1.2, Guardian alpha, KuwaitSat 1, PolyITAN-HP-30, BDSAT 2, Pushan alpha