One of Swarm’s 1/4U SpaceBEE satellites, photo: Swarm
US startup Swarm Technologies has raised $US25m in a series A financing round to progress plans for what it says will be a network of the world’s smallest satellites, for IoT and other low rate data applications.
Cofounder and CEO Sara Spangelo announced the funding in a blog post on Medium.com, saying the round had been led by Craft Ventures and Sky Dayton, founder of EarthLink, and Boingo, with participation from Social Capital, 4DX Ventures and NJF Capital.
“The capital provides us with the resources to build and scale Swarm beyond our initial accomplishments,” she said.
“We plan to use the new capital to accelerate software and hardware integrations for customer deployments, to continue hiring world-class talent, and to deploy a constellation of 150 satellites over the next 18 months.”
Cheapest global connectivity
Spangelo said these satellites would “solve the problem of low-cost connectivity at a global scale far faster than any other provider, and at a fraction of the price.”
She said they would deliver “transformational connectivity” to a host of applications including: diagnostics and emergency messages from connected vehicles agriculture sensors in farmlands outside of cellular range; shipping containers and asset tracking across ocean; water monitoring devices in remote African communities; smart meter reporting in remote locations; connecting people through text messaging in rural and remote areas.
Swarm has given no indication of the bandwidth its services will support, or of how signals are relayed between ground and satellite.
However, its web site suggests its network will have the ability to support a large number of mobile users, and real-time communication.
It says: “Top automakers plan to produce millions of connected cars over the next decade. Diagnostic data, performance data, and preventive maintenance are all integral to a flawless experience. Swarm’s reliable global network supports customers wherever they drive.”
And: “The shipping and delivery industry demands highly accurate tracking for fleet monitoring, route optimization, and package tracking. Around the world, Swarm’s network ensures accurate tracking through constant connectivity and reliable performance.”
Multiple partnerships
Spangelo said that in two years the company had launched seven operational satellites into low earth orbit. “We’ve partnered with dozens of companies — from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 enterprises — with whom we have completed successful pilot tests in agriculture, maritime, ground transportation, and text messaging services.”
Launch of some of those satellites costs the fledgling company dear: it was fined $US900,000 by the FCC because it had launched them without authorisation and because the FCC was concerned they were too small to be easily detectable by the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) can be considered routine.”
Trackability stressed
Since then Spangelo has stressed the trackability of Swarm satellites. In an August 2018 post she wrote: “Swarm’s four 1/4U satellites on orbit are 100 percent trackable via the Space Surveillance Network (SSN) operated by NORAD and independent tracking groups.
“On-orbit measurements as well as measurements taken in a government laboratory show that Swarm’s 1/4U satellites have a radar signature as bright as that of conventional CubeSats.
“This is due to a state-of-the-art radar retro-reflector technology onboard our satellites, which was developed by a US-Navy research and development lab, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Pacific (SSC Pacific). A special 1/4U version of the SSC Pacific retroreflectors were developed under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with SSC Pacific.
