Alba Orbital

Alba Orbital is a UK-based satellite and deployment platform manufacturing and mission management company. It specializes in the design and production of PocketQube satellites, which are small modular Pico Satellites weighing under 1kg. Alba Orbital's flagship products are the Unicorn-1 and Unicorn-2 spacecraft platforms, with the Unicorn-1 being a 1P (5cm x 5cm x 5cm) PocketQube and the Unicorn-2 being a slightly larger 2P (5cm x 5cm x 10cm) satellite.

The company's PocketQube satellites can be stacked into larger configurations and are capable of carrying a variety of payloads, including nighttime optical imaging systems to monitor light pollution and human activity around the world. Alba Orbital also specializes in providing deployers designed specifically for PocketQube satellites, known as Albapods. These deployers are designed to help overcome the challenge of deploying large numbers of PocketQubes due to limited infrastructure and launch capabilities. It has reportedly launched the most PocketQube payloads (50% of all PocketQubes ever flown) into orbit — more than any other organization in the world.

In addition to satellite manufacturing, Alba Orbital provides the AlbaConnect Ground Station solution for satellite management and monitoring, enabling rapid deployment of telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) capabilities. The service includes ground relay stations supporting up to six daily contacts with satellites in polar orbit, using RF bands like UHF and S-Band. It eliminates the need for costly infrastructure investments by satellite teams, offering both dedicated ground stations and access to a network primarily in Europe. It also offers launch brokerage services. 

As of June 2024, the company had launched 41 satellites in partnership with launch providers like SpaceX and Rocket Lab. In October 2023, Alba Orbital announced plans to ramp up its production capabilities with a new 500-square-meter manufacturing facility capable of producing hundreds of satellites per year.

Key customers and partnerships

Alba Orbital has deployed PocketQube satellites for various customers, including research institutions and commercial entities. Its customers include ACME AtronOmatic, Hello Space, and Stara Space.