The first hours decide the mission.
After separation on rideshare missions, multiple satellites are released from the launch vehicle and the clock starts ticking. Your pointing predictions decay within a day. OKAPI:LEOP identifies your spacecraft, locks onto it, and guides you to a reliable orbit in hours, so you reach operations instead of joining the search.
Speed. Precision. Trust.
The most critical phase of any mission is the launch. After release from the launch vehicle, the operator must establish contact with the satellite to send commands and receive data. This becomes very complicated in the cases of rideshare missions.
Operators need up-to-date orbital data to keep tracking and communicating with the satellite after the first day. When depending on public sources, this can take anywhere from days to weeks.
- T-30 days
Preparation
Decision on the services needed. Definition of data formats and interfaces.
- T-14 days
Rehearsal
Automation scripts set up. Exchange of sample data and testing interfaces.
- T+0
LEOP
Coordination between operation teams. Continuous exchange of data and support with OKAPI:Orbits suite.
- T+14 days
Recap
Overview of Orbit Determination quality and ephemerides. Summary of screening, and generated CDMs.
Everything has to go right the first time.
- At separation
Identify your spacecraft
Dozens of objects drift out of the same deployment. Which one is yours?
Your satellite picked out of the batch within the first passes. - First passes
Establish first contact
The launch provider's TLE is often too rough to hold a link past the first pass.
A link that holds, because your ground station points at the satellite, not near it. - First hours
Hold a reliable orbit
A stale solution decays within a day, and your pointing predictions go with it.
An orbit accurate enough to trust, kept current through the window. - First days
Execute the first maneuvers
The first burn carries real risk and leaves no room for trial and error.
A first burn planned against a known picture, not a guess. - To operations
Reach your operational slot
Drift, congestion and timing all work against a clean insertion.
A clean handoff into daily operations.
OKAPI:LEOP guides you through uncertainty, and enables you to make timely decisions with confidence. Agree on a workflow and receive applied industry standards, supported by a highly reactive operations team.
Book a demoBuilt for every team facing their first hours in orbit.
From a first launch on a tight budget to a constellation's twentieth deployment, LEOP asks the same question: is the satellite where it should be, and can you prove it. We give every kind of operator that answer.
First time operators
New entrants on tight budgets and limited flight experience.
Rideshare smallsat teams
Deploying in a crowded batch, and must identify their own object quickly.
Emerging space nations
A mission carries strategic weight beyond the hardware.
Constellation builders
Repeating LEOP across many launches, needing a dependable workflow.
How Not to Lose Your Satellite During LEOP
A practical guide for the new rideshare age. What goes wrong, why healthy satellites disappear, and the orbit determination strategies that protect your mission.
Download the whitepaperStart locked on, from the first pass.
Agree the LEOP workflow with our operations team while there is still time to shape it around your launch.