CrystalSpace, a Tartu-based maker of space cameras, now supplies equipment to NASA and Maxar Technologies, Trade with Estonia reports. Its CS-151 camera, called Kodas, is used in pairs as stereo vision on the SAMPLR robotic arm built by Maxar for NASA's Artemis programme. Maxar chose CrystalSpace for the task in 2021; the cameras give the arm visual feedback while it gathers samples of lunar soil.
SAMPLR was among 12 externally developed payloads NASA selected in 2019 under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. Founder Jaan Viru said the cameras must survive launch and the whole mission at temperatures between -173 and +100 degrees Celsius. In his words: We are proud to provide our profound knowledge and experience with satellite camera systems to Maxar’s SAMPLR arm.
According to the report, the camera is designed for satellites, landers and rovers and is built in Estonia from traceable components sourced in NATO countries; the product is free of the US ITAR export restrictions. CrystalSpace developed it together with Tartu Observatory of the University of Tartu and the Estonian electronics company Krakul. The company's founders were core developers of ESTCube-1, the university nanosatellite that reached orbit in 2013.
Mihkel Pajusalu, head of the space technology department at Tartu Observatory, said the project, together with other recent Estonian advances, shows that Estonia has become a recognised space country.
Source: Trade with Estonia, . The text above is our own summary; the words in quotation marks are the source's.
What this means for an Estonian entrepreneur
A small Estonian technology company can become a supplier to a large American contractor, but such a deal rests on an international supply contract: which law applies, who carries the risk of defects and delays, how export rules are handled and how payment is secured. An Estonian supplier should have that contract drafted or reviewed before the first delivery.
We draft and review supply and service contracts between an Estonian company and foreign customers. International commercial contract drafting