Mission

Guardian

Mission Name

Guardian

Carrier Name

ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus

Launch Date

April 2023

Launch Site

Vandenberg

Launcher

SpaceX

Rocket

Falcon 9

Mission Status

Completed

Passengers

8

Satellites Onboard

5

Hosted Payloads

2

Guardian, April 2023
Guardian Mission Booklet

Mission Updates

2. 1.

UPDATE 2

May 3rd, 2023

Deployment of KEPLER-20 and KEPLER-21, by Kepler Communications

ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus successfully released KEPLER-20 and KEPLER-21, the two newest satellites of Kepler Communications' space communication constellation, into their operational orbit. The two spacecraft will provide further testing and validation for the payload technology planned for the company's next generation of satellites.

D-Orbit's mission team confirmed the acquisition of the signal from both KEPLER-20 and KEPLER-21, and wishes both satellites good luck with their mission.
Kepler-20 Deployment

UPDATE 1

April 15th, 2023

Launch

Guardian, the tenth mission of the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), launched on April 14th, 2023, at 23:27:49 p.m. PDT (April 15th, 2023 at 06:47:49 UTC) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and was successfully deployed at 1:05 a.m. PDT on April 15 into an approximately 500km altitude polar orbit. 

The Guardian mission includes payloads from Kepler, Visiona, AAC Clyde Space (for Wyvern), Veoware, Elettronica, and one undisclosed customer.

Image: Photo credits: SpaceXPhoto credits: SpaceX

Roadmap

PHASE 1 - COMMISSIONING

As soon as ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus reaches orbit, our spacecraft operations engineers establish a bidirectional communication channel. We then start the launch and early orbit phase (LEOP), neutralizing the rotation imparted by the launch vehicle during separation, correcting the attitude, testing the satellites' subsystems, and preparing for the next phases.

PHASE 2 - COMMERCIAL PHASE, HOSTED PAYLOAD DEMONSTRATION

Once concluded the commissioning phase, ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus will start the commercial phase of the mission, which will consist in the deployment of the hosted satellites and the in-orbit demonstration of third-party payloads hosted onboard.  

Throughout the mission, ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus will deploy a total of five satellites from Kepler, Visiona, AAC Clyde Space (for Wyvern) and one undisclosed customer; the OTV will also perform the in-orbit demonstration of two hosted payloads: a payload for electronic intelligence activities developed by Elt Space’s EW team, and Veoware's first Control Moment Gyroscope to be tested in space.

In order to release the satellites into the precise operational orbital slots required by customers ION SCV010 Masterful Matthaeus will perform a series of complex orbital maneuvers.

PHASE 3 - DECOMMISSIONING

At the end of the mission, the platform joins the fleet of IONs already in orbit and is operated by the company. At the end of its life, the spacecraft is decommissioned in compliance with the Space Debris Mitigation guidelines. The pressure vessels are depleted from leftover fuel and oxidizer, the battery charging system is deactivated, and the batteries are completely discharged. The spacecraft, now inert, enters a decommissioning trajectory that will bring it to burn up upon atmospheric re-entry within a few years.

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