Frequently asked questions
How can we help you?
Turn-key missions
- The lead time of a CubeSat up to launch readiness depends on the complexity of the satellite mission and its payload.
- A standard CubeSat bus has a lead time of 4 – 9 months, depending on the complexity.
- A fully integrated CubeSat mission, including the payload procurement, the flight software implementation and verification and test, has a typical lead time of 12-18 months.
- Depending on the complexity of the mission and payload a longer lead time might be applicable. On the other hand, repeat orders of identical spacecraft platforms and full satellites can bring the lead time down to 6-8 months.
ISISpace experts are available to provide support to your team with applications for local licensing regimes and support you and your local telecommunications administration for applications for spectrum for your spacecraft. Alternatively, our satellite-as-a-service model might be of interest, in which ISISpace can implement your mission as a service, and operate the mission as an ISISpace spacecraft under its own spacecraft operating license from the Netherlands.
ISISpace has developed a very comprehensive capacity building program to train teams on CubeSat design, integration and operations over the years. These program elements are available as part of a satellite mission contract, but individual elements are also available standalone.
We have ample experience in working with export-controlled technology and there are many options to implement an efficient way of working despite export controls. Primarily, this means applying for the proper licenses and conforming to the applicable regulations and restrictions. We can accommodate most levels of security and restricted access to the export-controlled items without unduly impacting the integration of the full satellite mission at our facilities.
- ISISpace specialists can perform or support design reviews. In addition, we can organize a mission design workshop, get your team familiar with the scope under which CubeSats can support your business and iterate together on the conceptualization and trade-off of your mission use cases to finally converge to a baseline system architecture.
- ISISpace also regularly performs phase A (feasibility) studies for new mission concepts with its multidisciplinary team on a contract basis, prior to the possible order of a satellite mission.
Prices are highly dependent on the selected launcher, which is determined by the preferred orbit, launch date, launch location and/or allowable launch environment, and can vary pending availability, the time before launch, package deals etc.; you can compare it with booking your flight tickets where the price for going from point A to point B varies on the airline you fly with, the type of seat, the time of booking, priority boarding etc. With our subsidiary ISILAUNCH as a launch broker, we are in contact with all the main launch providers so we have a good overview of what is available for a certain price and launch date. Please contact us for the latest prices.
As part of our launch offering, we can arrange a re-launch insurance for you through one of our partners. This covers the loss of your satellite in case of a launch failure. In addition, we offer the option to include IOC-Satellite insurance, which covers the failure to “power on” upon separation from the launch vehicle. In case of such loss, ISISPACE offers the rebuild of the satellite and relaunch on another, future ISISPACE arranged launch.
When required by local authorities, we can also arrange third-party liability insurance is to cover against damage to Third-Parties following separation into orbit. The premium for such insurance is based on an annual fee, depending on the required coverage.
As prices vary per year and launchers, please contact us to get the latest information and help you further.
The amount of data that can be downlinked per day depends on the (useful) downlink data rate of the satellite radio within the allocated spectrum, the contact time with the ground station (determined by its location) and the number of ground stations. From the experience of operating our own ground station in Delft and working together with several global ground station networks, we can set up the right architecture for you to meet your data requirements, also taking into account operational and budget constraints.
We have experience with providing encryption on the up- and downlink, like XTEA and AES, to increase the security of your communication link. Note, that this will lead to a significant reduction in data throughput on the uplink. We can also look into authentication if needed. Please contact us for more info and to determine which solutions best fit your requirements.
CubeSat platforms
- With a platform, the configuration of each subsystem and their relative positioning has been thought through to maximize mission performance and reduce possible interference and clashes – errors at such an early design stage can result in costly troubleshooting and repairs later on. Our platform solutions have proven themselves in orbit.
- You may need customization specific to your mission (solar panels cut-outs, payload interfaces, specific spacecraft pointing modes, etc.) which we can implement for you based on our heritage, experience and internal tools and facilities.
- A platform comes with the assurance that all electrical, mechanical and software interfaces are verified during the platform Assembly, Integration and Verification phases by our experts and dedicated quality engineers.
A platform is the testbed of your payload and mission development. As such, we supply CubeSat platforms with a complete software development kit including the flight-proven subsystems libraries that we also use on our missions. Such a kit allows you to considerably accelerate the development of your flight software with high-level functionalities available for each subsystem.
We can provide dedicated support along with your payload development, but also specific training for your team to get started with the use of the platform and its equipment.
Our standard platforms are suitable to meet the requirements of the majority of our customer missions and provide a robust balance between power generation, and power and thermal management. Nevertheless, we are aware of the unique requirements some mission can bring with them and therefore we have designed our platforms with a modular, generic architecture, that allows us to easily tailor our platforms to meet your mission requirements. Contact us for higher power needs based on our scalable architecture.
All our platforms have a design lifetime of up to 3 years, which is based on parameters that are known to affect the lifetime of a satellite, like the design and usage of the satellite (e.g. duty cycle, max. power usage), orbit altitude an inclination (radiation, orbital decay, thermal cycles), launch environment. We can upgrade our platform to a design lifetime of up to 5 years if required. Note that design lifetime is not the same as the actual or operational lifetime, with the difference that the latter is also affected by random phenomena on which we do not have control like space debris collision, high-energy radiation impact, variation in the atmosphere density (for very low orbits).
CubeSat subsystems
- We provide discounts for educational CubeSat projects at schools and universities that do not receive any government funding. Certain conditions may apply to qualify for such a discount.
- For large volume orders, we have volume discounts available for the purchasing of larger numbers of identical units.
- For the long term, regular purchases, we offer special discounted prices under a framework agreement.
Most of ISISPACE subsystems follows the original CubeSat standard with the use of the broadly used PC104 form factor and electrical interfaces are usually handled through the 104-pin CSKB connector and its full and light version. Note that compatibility with the envisaged other, third-party systems should be carefully looked at.
None of the ISISpace CubeSat products is falling under ITAR export regulations, but we may be requested to produce an export license on a case-by-case basis.
A standard 1-year warranty is included by default.
Each product is packaged in ESD protective bags and packed into rugged boxes with foam to dampen mechanical shocks during its transportation from ISISPACE to your premises.
Antenna Systems
The ISISPACE Antenna System frequency range is between 100MHz and 500MHz.
It is not possible to mount the ISISPACE Antenna System on the side. The system can be mounted on the top, bottom to in between stacks of the CubeSat.
Ground Stations
The ground station lead time is typically 6 months.
Yes, we can send one of our team members to evaluate the site.
Detailed requirements can be provided on demand. Please contact us for more information as local regulations may vary.
Our ground station do not have built-in redundancy. However, the ground station comes with a detailed maintenance manual and we can provide maintenance training such that any issues with the transceiver, rotor controller or amplifier, for example, are reduced to the minimum. We can also provide a spare-parts kit to allow quick replacement and to minimize downtime. Note that we can also provide an early maintenance service performed by our qualified engineers, which comes with a 1-warranty and support.
Dedicated TCP/IP sockets are made available for your own software integration.
The ISISpace ground station can be weatherized for humid environment and heated for sub-zero temperatures.
Launch hardware
The ground station lead time is typically 6 months.
The deployment velocity depends on the satellite mass and the spring. Deployment speeds can range from 0.8m/s to 1.8m/s.
Yes, we can support you with the integration of your satellite to the deployer at our facility in Delft and other locations. Please discuss with your sales representative.
Onboard computer
We offer a standard daughterboard and custom daughterboard which can be used to interface payloads and other sub-systems to the OBC.
The OBC Motherboard is the core system featuring all the peripherals, the various memories and main I2C and power interfaces to the bus – its design is fixed. The daughterboard is the modular board designed to break-out the many physical interfaces made available by motherboard peripherals (SPI, GPIO, ADC, UART…). The daughterboard can then be configured and designed to accommodate all or only the required set of interfaces and complemented with other functionalities specific to your payload and mission requirements.
Yes, either through the main CKSB connector on the main or through the customizable daughterboard.
Yes, the IOBC – OnBoard Computer can be configured in slave mode and co-habit with another master OBC and another slave OBCs within the same satellite architecture.
- A full software development kit is provided by default with low-level access to the OBC peripheral drivers.
- When you purchase other ISISpace subsystems, flight-proven libraries can be provided optionally to accelerate your flight software development with high level functionalities built on top of the OBC drivers
By default, FreeRTOS. Additionally, the ISISpace OBC is compatible with the KubOS developed by Kubos.
Power Systems
Yes, please select this option when ordering.
Solar Panels
Yes, we can provide custom-sized solar arrays, accommodate cut-outs, embed antennas, and implement custom deployment angles. please reach us out with your requirements for such panels.
Yes, the mechanical layout of our panels is fully customizable.
Our default solar cell size 30.18cm² per cell (Azurspace triple junction cells). However, we can implement other sized cells upon requests.
Yes, the electrical layout is fully customizable to match your power system requirements.
Yes, our solar panels are designed in such a way that the magnetic moment generated by currents flowing through the panels is minimized in order not to impact your satellite’s attitude control system sensors and actuators.
Services
Over the years, we have developed a very comprehensive capacity building program to train teams on CubeSat design, integration and operations. In this program, we provide our customers theoretical knowledge of the main of components of a mission, but also practical hands-on experience on a satellite, both during AIV and operations. The program is developed such that when fully completed, it provides a solid foundation of a sustainable space capacity based on small spacecraft. We can tailor our training program depending on the experience and backgrounds of the attendees, and the training objectives.
ISISPACE can propose mission design workshop to first get your team familiar with the scope under which CubeSat can support your business and iterate together on the conceptualization and trade-off of your mission use cases to finally converge to a baseline architecture and proposal for your funding round.
General questions
Placing an order
We always strive to respond to your inquiry within 1-3 working days.
You can send your inquiry using our website form or send a direct email to sales@isispace.nl telling us for which product(s) you would like to receive a quote and we’ll get right back to you.
You can place your order by sending a Purchase Order based on the quotation received. Please make sure that you also provide filled in OS for the purchased item(s). You will receive a sales order confirmation from us and we will check the options sheet(s) and process your order.
Payment methods
Standard payment terms for most subsystems are 50% on order confirmation and 50% upon delivery. For high-value items, an intermediate payment milestone will be applicable. For solutions and services, a milestone-based payment plan applies.
You can choose from the following payment methods: bank or wire transfer, credit card or PayPal. Please note that for payment methods other than bank or wire transfer a service fee or surcharge of 3% of the total order price shall be applied.
Yes. We accept credit card payments, either directly or through PayPal. A service fee or surcharge of 3% of the total order price shall be applied for such payments.
Shipment
We can ship globally, although for a number of items deliveries are subject to Dutch and EU export law and regulations.
All our pricing is based on delivery Ex Works in Delft, the Netherlands (INCO 2020: EXW). We can arrange to ship your order upon request. Please check with your sales representative on the associated costs, which will be billed separately.
Yes. When placing the order please state your forwarder’s account number for us to use for shipping your order.
This varies per destination and final volume and value of the package. Please ask your sales representative to provide you with an estimation.
The lead times vary with the complexity of the product on order. You can check the average lead times for standard products on the product pages, typically ranging from 4 to 12 weeks. For specific lead time information please contact our sales department and request a quotation through sales@isispace.nl.
Once your order is shipped you will receive a Track & Trace number to follow the shipment status.
We aim to keep you updated on progress on a regular basis. You can always send a request for an update to your sales representative or to sales-admin@isispace.nl. Please make sure you include your order reference.
Warranty
ISISPACE’s warranty typically covers for faults or damage in delivered goods for up to 12 months after delivery. Please check our general Terms and Conditions for details on the applicability of the warranty.
We reserve the right to repair, refund, or replace products covered by our warranty.
Support
If you have an ISISPACE account, you can submit a support ticket directly from your account. In your request please state the following information: your order reference; product(s) name and serial number and a detailed description of the support required.