This week: 🇮🇪 EIRSAT‑1 won’t quit (but re‑entry is near) · 🛰️ Mbryonics opens a volume production line in Galway (+125 jobs) · 🎯 InnaLabs wins with Airbus CO3D · 🎟️ ESA Flight Ticket + Φ‑lab Ireland funding doors for startups.
EIRSAT‑1: Ireland’s little satellite defies expectations
As of September 2, EIRSAT‑1 was still transmitting on 437.100 MHz. At ~630 days since launch and nearly 10,000 orbits, the CubeSat continues to outlast early expectations.
Recent tracking places the spacecraft near ~515 km altitude—well within the regime where atmospheric drag accelerates decay—so re‑entry in the coming days is likely.
Late‑stage win at UCD
In August, the UCD ground team ran a three‑orbit test that achieved pointing accuracy within a few degrees—impressive for a student‑built CubeSat hurtling around Earth at ~27,000 km/h. That result could shape how future smallsats point and navigate.
UCD mission control team monitoring EIRSAT‑1 passes.
For radio ops: Beacon at 437.100 MHz (UHF, 9600 bps GMSK). How to decode › · Track passes on SatNOGS › · IARU coordination (freq) ›
Reuse race: Space X still leads—others are chasing
A Falcon 9 booster just completed its 30th flight—once unthinkable, now routine. With advertised launch pricing around $67M vs. hundreds of millions for expendables, the gap keeps widening.
But the rest of the field is catching up.
That 30th booster flight represents roughly $2 billion in launch services from a single piece of hardware. Every major space agency and launch provider now has reusability programs in development. The question is no longer whether rockets should be reusable, but how quickly companies can close the gap Space X has opened.
Blue Origin — New Glenn: Jeff Bezos’ company. Maiden flight imminent; reusable first stage; BE‑4 engines; “flight heritage” from New Shepard suborbital tourist hops to the Karman Line.
Rocket Lab — Neutron: abandoned their original expendable approach to make a hard pivot to reusability. Strong track record with Electron workhorse for small sat launches. Huge investment made in Nuetron, hoping for maiden launch late this year; just opened a new launch complex at Wallops Island in Virginia.;
ArianeGroup — Themis: Europe’s premier space group is now developing a reusable demonstrator, still a long way from orbit.
How fast can competitors close Space X’s lead?
Mbryonics: Scaling Up On Ireland’s ‘Space Coast’ 🌊
Galway’s Mbryonics opened Photon‑1 in Dangan—its first volume production facility—and announced 125 new jobs across production, engineering, sales, and marketing over the next two years.
What they’ll build: StarCom, an optical communications terminal for satellite constellations. Initial capacity: ~500 units/year.
What’s next: a secured site in Shannon for Photon‑2, targeting ~5,000 units/year.
Why it matters: Laser comms enable ultra‑high‑throughput links, supporting major programmes including the EU’s IRIS² secure satellite constellation (Europe’s answer to Starlink) and position Ireland as a serious node in the space economy.
“We are proud to open Photon‑1, the first of our volume production facilities, right here on the Wild Atlantic Space Coast in Galway.” — John Mackey, CEO
Why Airbus chose Dublin tech for precision pointing
When Airbus needed navigation for its latest CO3D Earth‑observation satellites, it picked InnaLabs in Blanchardstown. Earth‑obs platforms are unforgiving—any attitude wobble softens the imagery, so core infrastructure has to be spot-on reliable for navigation.
InnaLabs ARIETIS‑NS has already flown on high‑stakes ESA missions; winning a commercial slot with Airbus in July shows that Ireland is competing at the sharp end of Space tech.
MOON SHOTS 🧑🚀— quick hits
Europe is lagging on launch cadence. The US is >100 launches this year; China ~40; Russia ~10; Europe 4. WSJ free link ›https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-is-losing-fe179376?st=Ns3hiR&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
SpaceX CRS‑33 reached the ISS, delivering thrusters to help maintain station altitude. Read more ›
Rocket Lab officially opened Launch Complex 3 at Wallops for upcoming Neutron flights. Details ›
Israel’s Ofek‑19 launched on Shavit, briefly alarming locals who mistook the plume for a missile. Coverage ›
Spain’s Orbital Paradigm (earth‑return startup) announced its first three customers. Story ›
Funding Radar — €400k up for grabs 🇪🇺
Ireland now hosts an ESA Phi‑lab: a six‑year programme to make Ireland a manufacturing hub for space‑grade hardware. Run by Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and AMBER, the lab backs components that can survive space’s brutal environment.
Open Now: up to €400,000 for 24‑month projects. You don’t need to be a “space company” to apply—adjacent manufacturing and materials firms are welcome.
Favouring: advanced materials, additive manufacturing, structural analysis, smart‑materials integration—from discovery to scaled production.
Who should apply: established manufacturers, deep‑tech researchers, and first‑timers with adaptable processes.
Deadline: October 1st 2025, 18:00 (CET)
Apply: esaphilab.ie
“Space today feels where MedTech was decades ago.” — Dr Ken Horan, IMR
ESA Flight Ticket — hitch a ride to orbit
A new ESA Flight Ticket scheme lowers the barrier for European startups to book rides on upcoming missions. Irish teams with flight‑ready payloads or late‑stage demos should explore this now.
What it is: access to capacity on institutional or commercial launches, with technical guidance.
Who it’s for: companies with credible flight plans in the next 12–24 months.
Start here: Overview ›
Starship Flight 10 Makes A Splash 💦
After multiple failures in previous test flights, Starship executed a successful controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Mars is a step closer!
Starship Flight 10 Splashes Down in the Indian Ocean : Space X