AAC Clyde Space AB (publ) announced that the Swedish built Ymir-1 satellite has been successfully launched on November 11, 2023 from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California, USA aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Transporter 9 mission. The satellite is housed inside the D-Orbit orbital transfer vehicle, In Orbit Now (ION), which successfully separated from the launcher into a 525-kilometer Sun Synchronous Orbit. The satellite will remain in the dispenser for approximately 3 months during the orbit transfer process and will be deployed once reaching its operational 640-kilometer orbit.

After deployment, the satellite will undergo its commissioning phase ahead of starting the operational phase. Ymir-1 is part of the collaborative AOS project between AAC Clyde Space, Saab, and ORBCOMM. The project is developing a next-generation space-based VDE (VHF Data Exchange) system.

The flight proven AAC Clyde Space EPIC LINK CubeSat hosts Saab's advanced R6 VDES PAYLOAD transponder for two-way communication between satellite and ground. ORBCOMM will integrate data into its distribution center for the maritime navigation and communications service deployment. Space-based VDES represents a technological leap forward in maritime communication, offering vessels the capability to exchange data in real-time on a global scale.

It provides much needed improvements to current AIS-based Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) offering up to 32 times more bandwidth than AIS. VDES will enable a broader array of applications in maritime surveillance, encrypted communications, fishery management, logistics, search and rescue and marine integrated applications. By adding space-based capability to VDES, the use of the system is extended from the shoreline to anywhere in the ocean.