Kepler Communications’ KIPP satellite, built by Clyde Space. Photo: Clyde Space.

European spacecraft manufacturer ÅAC Clyde won a follow-on order with Canadian company Kepler Communications for a 6U Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications mission. This new platform, TARS, will be the third built by the company for Kepler’s growing constellation, offering satellite communication services for Internet of Things (IOT) and data backhaul applications.

TARS, a  nanosatellite to be built in Scotland, will demonstrate Kepler Communications’ next generation payload on-orbit. The mission is part of the U.K.’s Satellite Applications Catapult In-Orbit Demonstration Mission 5. TARS will determine the capacity and performance required to deliver narrowband services globally, while augmenting the high-capacity store-and-forward capabilities provided by their first and second satellites, KIPP and CASE.

These pilot satellites carry Kepler’s Software Defined Radio (SDR) and antenna array making the company the first commercial company to launch and operate a Low-Earth Orbiting (LEO) communications satellite in Ku-band, according to the release. TARS will expand on this success by carrying a full suite of upgraded communications and processing units developed by Kepler.