Fabien Apper, Antoine Ressouche and Nicolas Humeau’s credo is to make space usable for everyone. When they were still students, these three research engineers took part in Cnes’ Janus project (Jeunes en apprentissage pour la réalisation de nanosatellites au sein des universités et des écoles de l’enseignement supérieur). During the project, they worked on a cubesat, a low-cost nanosatellite with a mass of between 1 and 10 kg.
“Nanosatellites are a disruptive technology that cuts costs and development time compared with satellites. Cubesats take one to three years to develop, whereas satellites take five to ten years. In terms of price, nanosatellites cost around one million euros, compared with 10 million for a conventional project”, explains Nicolas Humeau, Director of Operations at U-Space.
After five years working on their cubesat, the three entrepreneurs decided to fine-tune their innovation and create their startup. U-Space was born in February 2018. It’s the first spin-off company from Isae-Supaero, Toulouse’s Institut supérieur de l’aéronautique et de l’espace. Its mission: to facilitate access to space thanks to 3U and 6U satellites (30 x 10 x 10 cm and 60 x 10 x 10 cm respectively, ed. note). And all this with turnkey space systems.
“U-Space was created with the aim of commercializing and industrializing everything that had been developed during our studies of cubesats. Our aim is to supply complete, high-performance space systems, from mission design and integration to testing, launch and operation once in orbit”, explains the company’s CEO.
Launch scheduled in a few weeks’ time
To produce its nanosatellites, the startup calls on some fifteen local, French and international equipment manufacturers. In particular, it is working with Anywaves, a Toulouse-based company, for the antennas needed to communicate with the satellite. The young company relies on cutting-edge technology to best meet its customers’ expectations.
“From an idea or a need, we are able to create a tailor-made system. This makes our solutions adaptable to customer needs, and enables us to tackle a wide range of missions for commercial, governmental, scientific or academic applications. We have worked with Cnes, Onera and private French customers”, says Nicolas Humeau.
On December 17, U-Space will have its first space experience. Their triple cubesat, EyeSat, financed and developed by Cnes, will be launched into orbit.
Integrating propulsion
Housed at Aerospace Valley, the startup is looking to develop its industrial and commercial activities. It is also considering new technologies.
“We want to integrate propulsion into the cubesat to enable training flights for in-orbit inspection, for example”, explains Fabien Apper, U-Space’s managing director.”
With a staff of seven, including four engineers, U-Space will be adding three new employees in early 2020. This recruitment will enable them to respond to the sale of a complete mission. For the time being, the company’s directors do not wish to comment on the sale, but point out that it will “enable them to get their foot in the door”.