Photo shows the Rocket Lab Electron vehicle Kleos

Photo shows the Rocket Lab Electron vehicle Kleos

The startup plans to create a 20-system constellation of nano-satellites to geolocate VHF transmissions from boats to provide intelligence data for guarding borders, protecting assets and saving lives.

It will launch its first satellites on an Electron rocket from Launch Complex-1 in mid-2019. The satellites will be integrated into Rocket Lab’s Maxwell dispensers and deployed from the Electron kick stage to low Earth orbit, Kleos said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The ground-breaking technology involved in this deployment includes a kick stage powered by a 3D printed Curie engine, which circularizes small satellite orbits and performs complex manoeuvres to deploy satellites into different orbits.

Kleos is a Luxembourg spin-off of British firm Magna Parva, created in 2017, which has been listed on the Australian stock exchange since August 2018.