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Company type | Limited company |
---|---|
Industry | Satellite Manufacture |
Founded | 5 October 2012 [1] |
Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | Tom Walkinshaw |
Products | Pocketqube Platforms and Components |
Website | www |
Alba Orbital is a Scottish company that specializes in designing and building PocketQube satellites and Albapod [2] satellite deployers. The company has developed two satellite platforms. The Unicorn-1 platform is a 1P (5cm x 5cm x 5cm) PocketQube satellite, while its larger counterpart, Unicorn-2, is a 3P satellite (5cm x 5cm x 15cm). [3] Albapod deployers come in two sizes: 6P and 96P. [4]
The company was founded by Tom Walkinshaw in 2012. [5]
Alba Orbital a satellite launch broker, purchasing capacity from List_of_launch_service_providers, including SpaceX and Rocket Lab. [6] to carry Albapod deployer clusters [7] [8] to space. The capacity within the clusters is then used to carry Alba Orbital satellites as well as other PocketQube payloads to space in a rideshare arrangement.
The company holds contracts with the European Space Agency for ARTES. [9]
Interstellar Communication [10] Holdings signed a rideshare agreement with Alba Orbital to assist in the launch of its icMercury [11] PocketQube satellite via SpaceX to be launched in early 2025. [12]
As of 2025 Alba have started publishing images collected on their Unicorn-2 [13] satellite constellation.
Mission Name | Date | Launch Vehicle | Payloads | Customers | Deployment Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alba Cluster 2 | 6 December 2019 [14] [15] | Electron | ![]() | BME | Success |
![]() | FOSSA Systems | ||||
![]() | Stara Space | ||||
![]() | BME | ||||
![]() | ACME AtronOmatic | ||||
Alba Cluster 3 | 13 January 2022 [16] | Falcon 9 Block 5 | ![]() | TU Delft | Success |
![]() | AMSAT EA | ||||
![]() | ZBEU | ||||
![]() | AMSAT EA | ||||
![]() | Innova Space | ||||
Alba Cluster 4 | ![]() | PION Labs | |||
![]() | Ariel University | ||||
![]() | CMU | ||||
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
Alba Cluster X | 2 May 2022 [17] | Electron | ![]() | ACME AtronOmatic | Success |
![]() | ACME AtronOmatic | ||||
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
Alba Cluster (?) | 3 January 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / Orbiter | ![]() | Alba Orbital | Failure [18] |
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
Alba Cluster 6 | 12 June 2023 [19] | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() | Hello Space | Success |
![]() | BME | ||||
![]() | ICHSB | ||||
![]() | Ariel University | ||||
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
![]() | AMSAT-EA | ||||
Alba Cluster 7 | 11 November 2023 [20] | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() | Hydra Space / AMSAT EA | Success |
![]() | FRR | ||||
![]() | SpaceIn | ||||
![]() | CMU | ||||
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
Alba Cluster 8 | 1 December 2023 [21] | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() | Innova Space | Success |
![]() | Alba Orbital | ||||
Alba Cluster 9 | 14 January 2025 [22] | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() | Hello Space | Success |
![]() | Hello Space | ||||
![]() | AGH University | ||||
![]() | Minho University | ||||
![]() | University of Luxembourg | ||||
![]() | Hydra Space | ||||
![]() | Hydra Space | ||||
Alba Cluster 10 | 15 March 2025 [23] | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | ![]() | Alba Orbital | Success |
![]() | HYDRA SPACE / IC MERCURY / SMART IR | ||||
![]() | Hydra Space | ||||
In 2021, Alba Orbital participated in the startup accelerator program Y Combinator, located in Silicon Valley, United States. They raised US$3.4 million after completing the program. [24]