Alba Orbital
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Satellite Manufacture |
| Founded | 5 October 2012 [1] |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | Tom Walkinshaw |
| Products | Pocketqube Platforms and Components |
| Total assets | £90,954 |
| Website | www |
Alba Orbital is a Scottish company that specializes in building PocketQube satellites and Albapod satellite deployment systems. Alba Orbital is the developer and manufacturer of the Unicorn-1 and Unicorn-2 satellite platforms.[2] Alba Orbital is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland.
Overview
Alba Orbital specializes in designing and building PocketQube satellites. The company has developed two satellite platforms. The Unicorn-1 platform is a 1P (5cm x 5cm x 5cm) PocketQube satellite, while its larger counterpart, Unicorn-2, is a 2P satellite (5cm x 5cm x 10cm).[3]
History
The company was founded by Tom Walkinshaw in 2012.[4]
Launches
Alba Orbital is a launch broker and has purchased capacity with several space companies, including SpaceX and Rocket Lab,[5] to launch PocketQube satellites into orbit. The company also hold contracts with the European Space Agency for ARTES.[6][2] These launches harbor clusters[7][8] containing space for PocketQubes that are sold to teams wanting to launch pods. Every Alba Orbital flight uses Albapod deployers to release the clusters. These deployers come in two sizes: 6P and 96P.[9] As of December 2023, Alba Orbital has successfully launched seven missions into low Earth orbit, while one mission failed before deployment on the first flight of Orbiter SN1.
Interstellar Communication[10] Holdings signed a rideshare agreement with Alba Orbital to assist in the launch of its icMercury[11] PocketQube satellite via SpaceX to be launched in early 2025.[12]
| Mission Name | Date | Launch Vehicle | Payloads | Customers | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alba Cluster 2 | 6 December 2019 | Electron |  ATL-1 | BME | Success |
 FossaSat-1 | FOSSA Systems | ||||
 NOOR 1A, 1B (Unicorn-2B, 2C) | Stara Space | ||||
| SMOG-P | BME | ||||
| TRSI-1 | ACME AtronOmatic | ||||
| Alba Cluster 3 | 13 January 2022 | Falcon 9 Block 5 |  Delfi-PQ | TU Delft | Success |
| EASAT-2 | AMSAT EA | ||||
 Grizu-263a | ZBEU | ||||
| HADES | AMSAT EA | ||||
 MDQube-SAT 1 | Innova Space | ||||
| Alba Cluster 4 |  PION-BR1 | PION Labs | |||
 SATLLA 2A, 2B | Ariel University | ||||
| Tartan Artibeus-1 (Unicorn-2TA1) | CMU | ||||
 Unicorn-1 | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Unicorn-2A, 2D, 2E | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Alba Cluster X | 2 May 2022 | Electron | MyRadar-1 | ACME AtronOmatic | Success |
| TRSI 2, 3 | ACME AtronOmatic | ||||
| Unicorn-2F | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Alba Cluster (?) | 3 January 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / Orbiter | Unicorn-2G | Alba Orbital | Failure[13] |
| Unicorn-2H | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Alba Cluster 6 | 12 June 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | Istanbul | Hello Space | Success |
| MRC-100 | BME | ||||
 ROM-2 | ICHSB | ||||
| Satlla-2I | Ariel University | ||||
| Unicorn-2I | Alba Orbital | ||||
| URESAT-1 | AMSAT-EA | ||||
| Alba Cluster 7 | 11 November 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | Hydra-1 / HADES-D | Hydra Space / AMSAT EA | |
| ROM-3 | FRR | ||||
 SpaceANT-D | SpaceIn | ||||
| Tartan Artibeus-2 | CMU | ||||
| Unicorn-2J, 2K | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Alba Cluster 8 | 1 December 2023 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | MDQubesat-1 | Innova Space | Success |
| Unicorn-2L, 2M, 2N | Alba Orbital | ||||
| Alba Cluster 9 | 14 January 2025 | Falcon 9 Block 5 / ION SCV | Skylink-1 | Hello Space | |
| Skylink-2 | Hello Space | ||||
 HYPE | AGH University | ||||
.svg.png){kind=small} PROMETHEUS-1 | Minho University | Success | |||
 Poquito | University of Luxembourg | ||||
| Hades-R | Hydra Space | ||||
| Hades-T | Hydra Space | Success |
Funding
In 2021, Alba Orbital participated in the startup accelerator program Y Combinator, located in Silicon Valley, United States. They raised US$3.4 million after completing the program.[14]
See also
- PocketQube – The satellite format Alba Orbital specializes in building
References
- ^ "Alba Orbital Limited". gov.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ a b "Alba Orbital: pushing the limits of space development". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ Wired. "Alba Orbital: pushing the limits of space development". Wired UK.
- ^ Parsonson, Andrew (3 October 2023). "Alba Orbital Move into new PocketQube Manufacturing Facility". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ "Rocket Lab to Launch Four PocketQube Satellites for Alba Orbital". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ^ ESA. "ESA ARTES Contractors".
- ^ "Scottish satellite firm plans second PocketQube launch mission". The National.
- ^ Brothers, Eric (19 February 2022). "Alba Orbital launches small satellites from 3D-printed deployment devices". Aerospace Manufacturing and Design. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Unicorn-2 Mission Ideas". Alba Orbital. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Interstellar Communication - Investment Company & Financial Advisory Services in New York". dgipl.com. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
- ^ "Your Personal Messenger to Space | icMercury". 26 May 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
- ^ "Interstellar Communication Holdings announces agreement with Alba Orbital for icMercury launch – SatNews". news.satnews.com. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Orbiter SN1 Mission Update". Launcher. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ^ "Scots firm behind pocket-size satellites takes aim at world record after Silicon Valley funding". 26 August 2021.
