Jane Edwards
Hera Systems has gained access to a source code related to two pending patents for the Cost Optimized Test of Spacecraft Avionics and Technologies spacecraft through a licensing agreement with NASA’s Ames Research Center.
The company said Wednesday it will use the source code of COTSAT’s star tracker and spacecraft modular software in order to develop a commercial imaging satellite that it plans to launch in 2017.
COTSAT is a rapid-prototype space vehicle designed to bring remote-sensing instruments to space needed to perform science experiments and demonstrate technological platforms.
“Acquisition of NASA’s COTSAT intellectual property allows us to fast-track the development of our next-generation spacecraft,” said Bobby Machinski, CEO of Hera Systems.
Hera Systems said the COTSAT-based imaging satellite and the three payloads the company plans to test in 2017 will work to produce sub-meter resolution Earth images.
