Breeze Holdings Acquisition's Merger Partner D-Orbit Signs Launch And Deployment Contract With Leading Satellite Telecom Provider Kepler Communications
D-Orbit, the space logistics company that is going public through a transaction with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BREZ), today announced the signing of a launch and deployment contract with Kepler Communications, a private telecommunications company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The contract covers the launch of two 6U telecommunications satellites. The satellites will be boarded inside the ION Satellite Carrier (ION), D-Orbit’s proprietary, versatile, and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) designed both to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads in orbit.
After launch, which is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, the satellite will be released by ION on a 500-600 kilometer Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
“We are proud to partner with Kepler, a company that is leading the way in implementing high-performance satellite constellations to bring the internet to space,” said Renato Panesi, D-Orbit’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We believe our two companies share a common vision for the future of the space data industry, and we are confident that there will be further opportunities for synergistic collaborations in the future.”
The two satellites will carry Kepler’s Ku-band & S-band payloads to test and validate technology that will enable inter-satellite communication and high-capacity data downlinking for the company’s next generation of satellites. Kepler is creating the infrastructure needed to support the current and future communication needs of the space industry by bringing the internet to space. The Kepler Network will provide constant connectivity to space assets, allowing mission-critical data to be received in real-time to amplify access to space-generated data.
“We are proud to partner with D-Orbit in the launch and deployment of our two newest satellites leading the development of our next-generation AETHER constellation,” said Diane Burchett, vice president of engineering for Kepler. “The Kepler Network will provide real-time, always-on communication to satellites and other space-borne assets for our customers.”
About D-Orbit and Its Proposed Business Combination with Breeze Holdings
D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions.
Founded in 2011, before the dawn of the New Space market, D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit.
D-Orbit is a space infrastructure pioneer with offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit S.p.A. becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.
As previously announced on January 27, 2022, D-Orbit has entered into a business combination agreement among Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (“Breeze Holdings”) (NASDAQ:BREZ), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, D-Orbit and a newly formed joint stock company (société anonyme) governed by the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (“Holdco”) pursuant to which Holdco will become the publicly traded parent company of Breeze Holdings and D-Orbit upon the closing of the transactions. The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including certain governmental approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Breeze Holdings and the contribution of the D-Orbit shares by the D-Orbit shareholders.