TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — ATLAS Space Operations, Inc., a leading innovator in ground communications for the space industry, today announced an agreement to augment PlanetiQ’s ground station operations and provide telemetry, commanding, and data support for PlanetiQ’s constellation of 20 small satellites. ATLAS will support the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation via its global network of ground stations.

“We have an incredible team and product, and we are thrilled to have been entrusted with the opportunity to work high-end weather missions with COSMIC-2’s and now PlanetiQ’s GNSS-RO missions.”

PlanetiQ’s initial set of satellites launches in the fall of 2019, with the “Pyxis” — a fourth generation radio occultation (RO) instrument powerful enough to provide over 10 times the amount of data than current operational RO sensors are providing. The Pyxis regularly detects atmospheric conditions to the surface of the planet with high-resolution temperatures, pressures and water vapor content. PlanetiQ’s constellation is slated to collect over 50,000 soundings per day, evenly distributed around the globe.

ATLAS is tasked with providing uplink and downlink communications services for PlanetiQ from their robust network of ground stations – ensuring reliability and low latency data delivery.

“I am greatly looking forward to working with PlanetiQ,” Said Mike Carey, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of ATLAS. “We have an incredible team and product, and we are thrilled to have been entrusted with the opportunity to work high end weather missions with COSMIC-2’s and now PlanetiQ’s GNSS-RO missions.”

Currently the ATLAS network consists of 31 operational and planned antennas globally employing Freedom™, a proprietary software platform that allows for seamless customer integration into the communication network while optimizing all mission-critical components and providing automated pass scheduling. The cloud-based software approach makes communicating with both commercial and U.S. civil spacecraft simpler and more cost-effective by reducing capital expenditures at every ground entry point.

ATLAS Space Operations is at SATELLITE 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from May 6-9, at booth 2142. There, attendees can learn more about this partnership. ATLAS industry experts will also be on hand to discuss the latest trends in space communications, including technology, security and the new space economy. To book interviews, please use the contact information below.