Article

Shipmonitoring via AIS: ESAIL successfully launched by LuxSpace

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 13 September 2020 - 70 -

Show comment section |

picture and text by LuxSpace / OHB

Kourou/Betzdorf, September 3, 2020.
ESAIL, the first commercial microsatellite developed under the European Space Agency ESA’s SAT-AIS program for tracking ships, took off successfully from the spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on board a Vega launcher at 3.51 a.m. (CET) tonight, reaching its orbit just under two hours later. Luxembourg-based LuxSpace, a subsidiary of the space and technology group OHB SE, was responsible for the full integration of ESAIL.

The long wait for the launch

ESAIL was originally to be launched in March 2020. However, due to the corona pandemic, the French government largely shut down the spaceport in French Guyana in March. Unable to complete their work on the satellite, the LuxSpace team traveled back to Europe and had to control the launch preparations remotely from the LuxSpace headquarters in Betzdorf. Other launch dates planned for June, July and August also had to be postponed due to heavy winds. “I have rarely had to wait this long for a successful launch of an OHB satellite. This makes me all the happier that ESAIL has now finally been able to embark on its journey into space,” says LuxSpace Managing Director Jochen Harms.

ESAIL is watching you

The client exactEarth will be using ESAIL for worldwide ship monitoring. ESAIL will form part of the exactEarth satellite constellation, which will monitor ships using its automatic identification system. ESAIL has been developed in an ESA partnership programme with the support of the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) to improve the next generation of satellite-based services for the maritime sector.

Watch launch video on YouTube

About LuxSpace:

LuxSpace was created in November 2004 as a daughter company of OHB SE and is located in the SES Business Center at Betzdorf in Luxembourg. Belonging to the international network of companies within the OHB group, LuxSpace provides know-how, expertise as well as products and services to the European and global institutional and industrial market in the fields of space and defence system engineering and application development.

LuxSpace Sàrl

News

What's your opinion on this?

Video LuxSpace ESAIL Packaging and Shipment

published on 16 September 2020

Discover the final hours of packaging and preparations of the ESAIL satellite before it left Luxembourg. The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships at sea has completed its latest environmental and system performance tests and set off for Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. On 17 February the satellite left Luxembourg, where it was built by LuxSpace under an ESA Partnership Project with the Canadian operator exactEarth, sponsored by the Luxembourg Space Agency and other ESA member...

Video ESAIL Maritime Satellite Launched

published on 16 September 2020

The #ESAIL #microsatellite for tracking ships worldwide was launched. This is the first maritime satellite of its kind produced and assembled in Luxembourg. Hear from #Luxembourg Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot about this pioneering #ESA partnership project developed with #LuxSpace and #Exactearth.

Video Luxembourg Space Expertise: LuxSpace / ESAIL

published on 16 September 2020

LuxSpace CEO, Jochen Harms, on putting the ESAIL microsatellite into orbit.
ESAIL is part of ESA’s Partnership Projects and has been developed to enhance the next generation of space‐based services for the maritime sector. The spacecraft will track ship movements over the entire globe as it orbits the planet.

Article Pilot spots dolphins in Kopli Bay (Estonia)

by Marine-Pilots.com - published on 7 June 2020

Marine pilot Indrek Sülla (Eesti Loots) spotted dolphins in the waters of Kopli Bay, off the coast of Tallinn, a few days ago. This is a very special event in this region and so far north.

Article British Ports Association Eyeing up Autonomous shipping possibilities

published on 26 August 2020

The British Ports Association has launched a new initiative looking at the implications of autonomous shipping for UK ports, including a call for evidence from interested parties. Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) involves the automation of vessel and onboard processes which could alter how ports and ships interface with each other. The BPA which represents the majority of UK port activity including 85% of the shipping movements in and out of the country, is keen to explore what the future developments of shipping will mean for the sector.

Article Study: increasing competition in ports and the underlying pressure

published on 2 October 2021

A study of increasing competition in ports and the underlying pressure to improve port performance. This thesis is the final deliverable for the completion of the degree of Master of Science in Transport, Infrastructure and Logistics (TIL) at the faculty of Civil Engineering and Geo-sciences at the Delft University of Technology.

Article Tampa Bay ship pilots raise concerns over safety guidelines

by Courtesy "Tampa Bay Times" - published on 21 June 2024

The pilots say that Port Tampa Bay leadership is leaning on them to change policies in ways they say would be less safe.

Article IHMA Congress 2020 goes virtual

published on 20 August 2020

With the theme, "The Next Wave – Navigating Towards the Digital Future, the 12th biennial Congress will be delivered virtually from 5 - 10 October, 2020.

The Congress remains the key forum for IHMA members and the global ports sector to collaborate, network, share information, and provide updates on the latest industry technology and solutions.