Delox Joins Open Cosmos’ Call to Orbit Program for Automatic Bio-decontamination in Space
In September 2019, Delox was selected as one of ten exclusive winners of the Call to Orbit Program by Open Cosmos, a major milestone in our mission to pioneer automatic bio-decontamination in space. Since then, Delox has been developing a breakthrough bio-decontamination prototype, designed specifically for the extreme conditions of spaceflight post-launch. This innovation journey took its first big step with a successful stratospheric flight, conducted in collaboration with Open Cosmos and B2Space, to test and validate our technology in near-space conditions.
B2Space’s Near Space Test Bench: Accelerating Satellite Development and Validation
At the end of March, B2Space successfully conducted a flight test of its Near Space Test Bench—developed at ESA BIC Harwell—to support affordable and reliable satellite testing. This test bench offers an efficient platform to accelerate the development and validation cycle for small satellites in near-space conditions before progressing to orbit. Through mission simulations, the test bench enables detailed analysis of how different components perform under near-space conditions, ensuring they meet mission requirements and are ready for the demands of space.
Delox and Phoenix space payloads integrated into OpenKit during the flight
The flight was conducted on the 20th of March 2020, on the facilities of Spaceport Snowdonia, in North Wales achieving altitudes above 30km high and temperatures below the -50 degrees Celsius.
Flightpath followed from Spaceport Snowdonia
Integrating Delox and Phoenix Space Payloads into OpenKit for Stratospheric Testing
Two payloads, from Delox and Phoenix Space, were integrated into Open Cosmos’ OpenKit, a satellite qualification platform carried by B2Space’s Near Space Test Bench. This stratospheric flight opportunity, extended to winners of the Call to Orbit Program—a collaboration between Open Cosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA)—aims to drive innovation in new space technologies for deployment in orbit.
Phoenix Space, focused on empowering disadvantaged youth through hands-on space science, included an onboard experiment with two cameras to measure radiation levels in Low Earth Orbit. This mission is a step forward in demonstrating their commitment to educational space initiatives.
Both Delox and Phoenix Space integrated their payloads into Open Cosmos’ OpenKit platform, a development tool designed to streamline the integration and validation of space-ready technologies. The stratospheric flight, conducted on March 20th, lasted 110 minutes, reaching high altitudes and achieving essential testing benchmarks.
After a successful flight, the payloads were safely retrieved, and both Delox and Phoenix Space are now awaiting data collection and analysis from their onboard experiments. Founded in 2016, B2Space’s mission is to provide reliable, cost-effective access to Low Earth Orbit for small and micro-satellites, democratizing space and advancing technology development—a vision strongly shared with Open Cosmos.
Text adapted from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/b2space-takes-another-step-develop-near-space-testing-canales/
