Haifa (Israel): India has launched into space Israeli aerospace and defence firm Elbit Systems Limited‘s nano-satellite for commercial communication application, as part of a 10-satellite launch it carried out on Dec. 11.

NANOVA™ nano-satellite was developed in collaboration with a US company, as part of the BIRD Foundation initiative and is planned to be a part of a nano-satellite constellation for commercial purposes, Elbit Systems said in a statement here today. NANOVA will be operated from a ground control station set up at the company site in Haifa, Israel.

The NANOVA nano-satellite was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the South Indian town of Sriharikota, onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). NANOVA was set out to its orbit 18 minutes from launch at an altitude of 580 kilometres.

NANOVA is a 3U (the size of a juice carton), 5-kg CubeSat that hosts an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) communication payload providing a direct satellite link for data, voice and text messaging.

Elbit Systems’ decades of experience in designing, manufacturing and deploying space electro-optic payloads, space structures and satellite communications together with its leadership in avionics, autonomous systems and Artificial Intelligence, provide the company with a unique technological foundation for providing end-to-end nano-satellite constellation solutions, it said.

“We are proud to commence activities in the area of nano-satellite constellations. We plan to continue to invest in this emerging field, expanding our sensing capabilities and the range of potential applications,” Elbit Systems Aerospace Division General Manager Yoram Shmuely said.

Designed to meet strict cost-efficiency requirements, NANOVA integrates in-house mature capabilities and commercial-off-the-shelf space-hardened components, while featuring advanced UI/UX and sophisticated analytical tools.

These make NANOVA an attractive solution for reliable communication services in areas with limited or no satellite coverage. Such services are required for a range of commercial applications including search and rescue operations, emergency communications from remote areas, fleet logistical and tracking management as well as machine-to-machine monitoring and sensing for a wide variety of needs.

NOTE: Elbit Systems Limited is an international high technology company engaged in a wide range of defence, homeland security and commercial programmes throughout the world. The company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land, and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR), unmanned aircraft systems, advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, signal intelligence systems, data links and communications systems, radios and cyber-based systems and munitions. The company also focuses on the upgrading of existing platforms, developing new technologies for defence, homeland security and commercial applications and providing a range of support services, including training and simulation systems.