The Pléiades constellation is composed of two very-high-resolution optical Earth-imaging satellites. Pléiades 1 and Pléiades 2 will provide coverage of Earth’s surface with a repeat cycle of 26 days . Designed as a dual civil/military system, Pléiades will meet the space imagery requirements of European defence as well as civil and commercial needs.

The Pléiades system was designed under the French-Italian ORFEO program (Optical & Radar Federated Earth Observation) between 2001 and 2003.

The Pléiades programme was launched in October 2003 with CNES (the French space agency) as the overall system prime contractor and EADS Astrium as the prime contractor for the space segment. Pléiades-1 was launched via a Russian Soyuz ST rocket out of French Guiana on December 16, 2011. Pléiades 2 will launch in December 2012.

Spot Image is the official and exclusive worldwide distributor of Pléiades products.

Falcon 9 is a rocket-powered spaceflight launch system designed and manufactured by SpaceX, headquartered in Hawthorne, California. Both stages of its two-stage-to-orbit vehicle use liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants. The Falcon 9 can lift payloads of 13,150 kilograms to low Earth orbit, and 4,850 kilograms to geostationary transfer orbit, which places the Falcon 9 design in the medium-lift range of launch systems.

The Falcon 9 and Dragon combination won a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract from NASA to resupply the International Space Station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station launched on October 7, 2012.

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) is the United States national observatory for ground based night time ultraviolet-optical-infrared (OUVIR) astronomy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds NOAO to provide forefront astronomical research facilities for US astronomers. However, professional astronomers from any country in the world may apply to use the telescopes operated by NOAO under the NSF's "open skies" policy. Astronomers submit proposals for peer review to gain access to the telescopes which are scheduled every night of the year for observations (with the exception of Christmas and New Year's Eve).

The NOAO headquarters are located in Tucson, Arizona and are co-located with the headquarters of the National Solar Observatory. The NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), under a cooperative agreement with the NSF.

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about 10 kilometres to the southeast. It is within the Coquimbo Region and approximately 80 kilometres east of La Serena, where support facilities are located.

The site was identified by a team of scientists from Chile and the United States in 1959, and it was selected in 1962. Construction began in 1963 and regular astronomical observations commenced in 1965. Construction of large buildings on Cerro Tololo ended with the completion of the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope in 1974, but smaller facilities have been built since then. Cerro Pachón is still under development, with two large telescopes inaugurated since 2000, and one in the early stages of construction. 

The principal telescopes at CTIO are the 4 m Víctor M. Blanco Telescope, named after Puerto Rican astronomer Victor Manuel Blanco, and the 4.1 m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope, which is situated on Cerro Pachón. Other telescopes on Cerro Tololo include the 1.5 m, 1.3 m, 1.0 m, and 0.9 m telescopes operated by the SMARTS consortium. CTIO also hosts other research projects, such as PROMPT, WHAM, and LCOGTN, providing a platform for access to the southern hemisphere for U.S. and world-wide scientific research.

Gilat Satellite Networks is a company headquartered in Israel that develops and sells VSAT satellite ground stations and related equipment.

Gilat Satellite Networks was founded in 1987. In 2000, Gilat introduced an innovation involving VSAT technology allowing remote locations, such as the Havasupai Reservation in Arizona and rural communities in Brazil, to access the internet at high speeds. In 2011 Gilat announced the creation of a new division expanding its presence in the U.S. defense market.

Clyde Space propose an online CubeSat shop. 'Add CubeSat to basket and buy with your credit card'.

Clyde Space claim high quality systems and excellent customer service.

• Learn more about CubeSats: CubeSat information.
• Select your CubeSats systems from the product matrix: CubeSat shop

Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and exploration. AAS supports NASA's Vision for Space Exploration and is a member of the Coalition for Space Exploration and the Space Exploration Alliance. The AAS also focuses on strengthening the global space program through cooperation with international space organizations.

AAS members include: engineers, scientists, administrators, institutions and corporations working in support of the nation's space activities, as well as military space specialists, physicians, lawyers, educators, historians, journalists, artists and other professionals.

The AAS has long been recognized for the excellence of its national meetings, symposia and publications as well as for the impact these have had on shaping the U.S. space program. Members have opportunities to meet with leaders in their field and in related disciplines, exchange information and ideas, discuss career aspirations and expand their horizons.

The AAS has materially aided the United States in addressing future challenges by sponsoring professional, scientific and engineering meetings and by maintaining an effective publications program. The strong and active participation of corporate members, together with the support of major elements of the space industry, have enabled the Society to remain at the forefront of advancing the astronautical sciences.

Clyde Space is a supplier of small and micro spacecraft systems.

Clyde Space is specialised in high performance power subsystems, DC-DC Converters, lithium polymer batteries and high efficiency solar panels, typically for small satellite missions, and Attitude Control and Determination Systems.

Clyde Space is a CubeSat vendor, pioneered the CubeSat Shop, and is developing an advanced nanosatellite platform, aiming to be Scotland's first satellite, in conjunction with leading academic and commercial organisations.

Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA (the space agency of the United States) and was the U.S.'s first space station.

Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of 169,950 pounds (77 t). Three manned missions to the station, conducted between 1973 and 1974 using the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) atop the smaller Saturn IB, each delivered a three-astronaut crew. On the third mission, an additional Apollo / Saturn IB stood by, ready for launch if needed to rescue the crew in orbit.

Skylab included an Apollo Telescope Mount (a multi-spectral solar observatory), Multiple Docking Adapter with two docking ports, Airlock Module with EVA hatches, and the Orbital Workshop, the main habitable volume of the station. Power came from solar arrays, as well as fuel cells in the docked Apollo CSM. The rear of the station included a large waste tank, propellant tanks for maneuvering jets, and a heat radiator.

The station was damaged at launch when the micrometeoroid shield separated from the station and tore away, depriving the station of most of its power, removing protection from intense solar heating, and threatening to make the station unusable. The first crew was able to save it in the first ever in-space major repair, by deploying a replacement heat shade and freeing the single remaining, jammed main solar array.

Numerous scientific experiments were conducted aboard Skylab during its operational life, and crews were able to confirm the existence of coronal holes in the Sun. The Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP), was used to view the Earth with sensors that recorded data in the visible, infrared, and microwave spectral regions. Thousands of photographs of Earth were taken, and records for human time spent in orbit were extended.

Plans were made to refurbish and reuse Skylab, using the Space Shuttle to boost its orbit and repair it. However, development of the Shuttle was delayed, and Skylab reentered Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated in 1979, with debris striking portions of Western Australia.

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. It is the largest center of NASA.

MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program. Marshall is today the agency's lead center for Space Shuttle propulsion and its external tank; payloads and related crew training; International Space Station (ISS) design and assembly; and computers, networks, and information management. Located on the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama, MSFC is named in honor of General of the Army George Marshall.

The center also contains the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC), a facility that supports Space Shuttle launch, payload and experiment activities at the Kennedy Space Center, ISS launch and experiment operations. The HOSC also monitors rocket launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station when a Marshall Center payload is on board.