Rocket Lab Completes IoT Satellite Constellation Deployment for Kinéis; Sidus Space Launches AI Satellite; UAE Advances Asteroid Mission

Rocket Lab successfully concluded the deployment of a 25-satellite Internet-of-Things (IoT) constellation for French company Kinéis on March 17. An Electron rocket launched from New Zealand placed five satellites into sun-synchronous orbits. This marked the fifth and final launch under a 2021 contract, enabling Kinéis to begin commercial IoT services by June 1, with data latency of no more than 15 minutes. Sidus Space announced the launch of LizzieSat-3, its third hybrid, additively manufactured satellite equipped with AI edge-computing capabilities. The satellite features the Sidus Orlaith AI platform, leveraging the NVIDIA Jetson NX Orin module for rapid on-orbit data processing. This enables real-time data services for government, defense, intelligence, and commercial sectors. The UAE Space Agency reported the successful completion of the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (EMA). The mission involves developing a spacecraft over six years, followed by a seven-year operational phase, including flybys of seven asteroids and a landing on Justitia. The MBR Explorer will investigate the composition and characteristics of these asteroids, contributing to understanding the origin of water-rich asteroids.