Electron launches second set of Kinéis satellites

PARIS — An Electron launched a second set of satellites for French startup Kinéis Sept. 20, putting that company on track to begin offering Internet of Things services.

The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 7:01 p.m. Eastern. The five satellites on board were deployed into sun-synchronous orbits at an altitude of 643 kilometers a little more than an hour later.

The launch is the second of five that Kinéis procured from Rocket Lab in 2021, after one in June. The five launches will deploy a 25-satellite constellation that Kinéis will use to provide IoT services globally.

Alexandre Tisserant, chairman and chief executive of Kinéis, said at a Sept. 17 event here on the sidelines of World Space Business Week that the company expected to launch the remaining 15 satellites by the first quarter of 2025. The company will offer an initial service using the 10 satellites now in orbit in January.

The full constellation, which will enter service in mid-2025, will allow customers to collect asset tracking and other data with a latency of 15 to 20 minutes, “which is a very good time for 90 to 95% of use cases,” he said. That would put the company on course for profitability in three years.

Tisserant said Kinéis plans to stand out among the companies also providing IoT services through devices that are smaller, less expensive and consume less energy. “The competition is too expensive or not small enough. That’s what we see today in the market,” he said.

Launching the satellites themselves is a differentiator, he argued. “There are so many announcements, so many projects that making promises. When you have someone that is actually launching, that has an actual service, it really makes a difference.”

The launch was the 11th this year by Rocket Lab, a record for the company. The company has argued that customers like Kinéis, which have specific orbital requirements for its constellation, validate the need for small, dedicated launch vehicles like Electron despite strong competition on price from SpaceX’s Transporter rideshare services.

“We see a number of customers go on a rideshare mission and get prototypes and whatnot on orbit,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said at the event. When those companies need to deploy operational spacecraft into precise orbits, “then we see them come off Transporter and onto a dedicated platform.”

“We think that rideshares are great for the industry. It’s a great opportunity for especially early-stage companies to get something on orbit and get a proof point,” he added. “But there is always a need for small, dedicated launch.”

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