Kepler 4 [UTIAS]
Official name KEPLER-18 (BLIP-A)
Alternative name Kepler-18
Cospar ID 2022-002U
Norad ID 51002
Launch date 2022-01-13
Launch site AFETR
Launch vehicle Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Country/Organization Canada
Type application Communication M2M/IoT
Operator Kepler Communications
RCS size MEDIUM
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 92.9
Inclination (deg) 97.39
Perigee (km) 412
Apogee (km) 422
Eccentricity 0.0119904076738609
Mean motion (revs. per day) 15.5005382131324
Semi-Major axis (km) 6795.135
Raan (deg) 204.3213
Arg of perigee (deg) 150.7873
Shape Box + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 15
Height (m) 0.36
Width (m) 0.2
Depth (m) 0.1
Span (m^2) 1.08
Contractors UTIAS-SFL (early satellites); Kepler (later satellites)
Equipment SDR, narrowband communications payload
Configuration CubeSat (6UXL)
Power Solar cells, batteries

Kepler Communications, a small satellite startup, is designing a constellation of CubeSats for Internet-of-Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) and inter-satellite communications services.

Kepler offers two primary communications services. The first is a global data transfer service that will securely relay gigabytes of data in a high-bandwidth store-and-forward solution via a Ku-band high-data-rate communications system aboard each satellite. The second service will provide cellular-quality, standardized Internet-of-Things (IoT) connections linking sensors and devices anywhere on Earth with their service provider.

After the first initial prototypes, KIPP and CASE and TARS, Kepler needed a mass producible design for the operational constellation.

Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) and Kepler Communications have entered into a satellite development and manufacturing agreement that could serve as a blueprint for future collaboration between microspace and newspace organizations. SFL has designed and built the first fully operational Gen1 nanosatellite in Kepler?s constellation of commercial communications satellites. The design of this satellite will be used by Kepler in mass producing 140 satellites. SFL personnel are assisting with the start up of production at a Kepler-owned and operated manufacturing facility where duplicate satellites will be mass produced. For Gen1, 15 satellites are planned.

SFL's 6U-XL CubeSat platform called Spartan features deployable solar arrays, software defined radios (SDR), a narrowband communications payload and high gain antennas.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
KEPLER-5 (AMIDALA) 2020-068N 2020-09-28 PKMTR Soyuz-2-1b Fregat with Gonets-M 17, Gonets-M 18, Gonets-M 19, ICEYE X6, ICEYE X7, SALSAT, Kepler 5, Dekart, Norbi, Lemur-2 120, ..., 123, NetSat 1, ..., 4, LacunaSat 3, MeznSat, Yarilo 1, 2
KEPLER-4 (ANTILLES) 2020-068P 2020-09-28 PKMTR Soyuz-2-1b Fregat with Gonets-M 17, Gonets-M 18, Gonets-M 19, ICEYE X6, ICEYE X7, SALSAT, Kepler 4, Dekart, Norbi, Lemur-2 120, ..., 123, NetSat 1, ..., 4, LacunaSat 3, MeznSat, Yarilo 1, 2
KEPLER-12 (BOBA) 2021-006AK 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
KEPLER-13 (LUCKY) 2021-006AT 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
KEPLER-15 (SUDORMRF) 2021-006BA 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
KEPLER-8 (AMAROK) 2021-006BR 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
KEPLER-10 (BABY YODA) 2021-006CS 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
KEPLER-11 (DANEEL) 2021-006CU 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
KEPLER-14 (STELLA) 2021-006DS 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
KEPLER-9 (ARTEMIS) 2021-006DX 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
KEPLER-7 (C3PO) 2021-022T 2021-03-22 TTMTR Soyuz-2-1a Fregat with CAS500 1, ELSA-d Servicer, ELSA-d Client, GRUS 1B, ..., 1E, Najm 1, DMSat 1, UniSat 7, BCCSAT 1, FEES, DIY 1, SMOG 1, STECCO, SAMSON 1, 2, 3, Kepler 6, NanoSatC-Br 2, KMSL, CANYVAL-C 1, 2, BeeSat 5, ..., 8, Hiber 3, CubeSX-HSE, CubeSX-Sirius-HSE, Orbicraft-Zorkiy, WildTrackCube-SIMBA, GRBAlpha, 3B5GSAT, LacunaSat 2b, ChallengeOne, KSU-Cubesat
KEPLER-6 (ROCINANTE) 2021-022Z 2021-03-22 TTMTR Soyuz-2-1a Fregat with CAS500 1, ELSA-d Servicer, ELSA-d Client, GRUS 1B, ..., 1E, Najm 1, DMSat 1, UniSat 7, BCCSAT 1, FEES, DIY 1, SMOG 1, STECCO, SAMSON 1, 2, 3, Kepler 7, NanoSatC-Br 2, KMSL, CANYVAL-C 1, 2, BeeSat 5, ..., 8, Hiber 3, CubeSX-HSE, CubeSX-Sirius-HSE, Orbicraft-Zorkiy, WildTrackCube-SIMBA, GRBAlpha, 3B5GSAT, LacunaSat 2b, ChallengeOne, KSU-Cubesat
KEPLER-19 2022-002BV 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323
KEPLER-17 (KARINA) 2022-002CD 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323
KEPLER-16 (ASTRAEUS) 2022-002CB 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323
KEPLER-18 (BLIP-A) 2022-002U 2022-01-13 AFETR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with Umbra 02, Capella 7, 8, ICEYE X14, X16, Sich 2-1, ION-SCV 004, Dodona, STORK 1, 2, LabSat, SW1FT, VZLUSAT 2, ETV A1, BRO 5, HYPSO 1, Kepler 16, ..., 19, Flock-4x 1, ..., 44, Lemur-2 148, 149, 150, Lemur-2 146, 147, DEWA-Sat 1, NuX 1, IRIS A, MDASat 1a, 1b, 1c, Gossamer Piccolomini, Tevel 1, ..., 8, Challenger, Delfi-PQ 1, Unicorn 2A, 2D, 2E, FossaSat 2E1, ..., 2E6, MDQube-SAT 1, SATLLA 2A, 2B, Unicorn 1, EASAT 2, HADES, Grizu-263a, PION-BR 1, SanoSat 1, Tartan-Artibeus 1, USA 320, ..., 323