By nighttime stateside, early European/Middle East/Africa morning today, and mid-day in Asia, the successfully launched Astrobotic Peregrine lander was confirmed having run into problems terminally dooming Mission 1. Astrobotic’s confirmed the issue reporting on their social media and press releases. And like with any failure, let’s take a healing look at facts and lessons learned. The first lesson is the obvious one: yes, space is hard. 

In this new episode of Space Café Radio - Karman Special- our Editor in Chief Emma Gatti has interviewed Norilmi Ismail, the founder and CEO of SpaceIn. Norilmi shares her exceptional background as a professor turned entrepreneur in the space industry in Malaysia.

Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Aarti Holla-Maini, launches the “UNOOSA Space Bridge, Where Leaders Meet” at the World Space Forum in Vienna.

Hamad Al-Mannai, the Vice President of Commercial at Es'hailSat, shares the company's story and its achievements in a conversation with Emma, the Editor in Chief of SpaceWatch Global. The company was founded in 2010 with the aim to provide Qatar with independent satellite capabilities and contribute to Qatar's National Vision 2030.

This episode of Space Cafè Radio is part of our Karman mini-series, produced in collaboration with the Karman Project. The Karman Project every year selects 15 fellows from around the world to foster trust, cooperation, and dialogue between global leaders in space. This episode of Space Cafè Radio is part of our Karman mini-series, produced in collaboration with the Karman Project. The Karman Project every year selects 15 fellows from around the world to foster trust, cooperation, and dialogue between global leaders in space. Anastasia, a passionate almost cosmonaut, speaks openly about the challenges Russian women face in the Space industry, the cold relationship of her country with Europe, and the disproportion of budget between military and civil mission.

The intersection between space exploration and climate action is becoming increasingly relevant, as advancements in technology enable us to monitor and understand our planet's changing climate from a unique vantage point.

This episode of Space Café Radio is part of our Karman mini-series, produced in collaboration with the Karman Project. The Karman Project every year selects 15 fellows from around the world to foster trust, cooperation, and dialogue between global leaders in space. In this episode Editor in Chief Dr Emma Gatti interviewed Jacob Malthouse, the executive director of the Lunar Foundation and her co-fellow at the Karman Fellowship for 2023. In this intense talk, Jacob emphasizes the importance of collaboration, open standards, and informal dialogue to ensure a peaceful future on the Moon.

The Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force held an eagerly expected media briefing on 30 November 2023. It provided credible reassurances and a reasonably optimistic way forward for the beleaguered program. The Task Force is crucial in guiding Ariane 6 toward the intended summer 2024 maiden launch. A replay is available here  and a brief ESA update here. This briefing was as much interesting for what was clearly indicated, as it was for what remained unsaid. Let’s review the facts.

Two major space events took place in South-Korea in November 2023: Space Forum Korea, hosted by the South-Korean government, in close cooperation with the US and major ASEAN economies. And an International Workshop on Space Resources with Perspectives of Emerging Space Programs, hosted by the Secure World Foundation, an American NGO. Then, on the first day of December 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the country’s first spy satellite into orbit, from California’s Vandenberg Space Force base, just one month after North Korea had launched its own. Let’s review these events in context, and draw some observations on the global standing of South-Korea as an Emerging Space Country.

Africa, much like the US, Europe, and China, has demonstrated its interest in using space as a means to a societal end. In Africa’s case, the continent has awakened to how space, specifically space science and technology, can assist in addressing Africa’s social and economic challenges. The way the African Space Strategy puts it, Africa needs “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena." The rapid global development of spatial activities is a nifty representation of the fact that the same awakening happened in other parts of the world way before Africa. This may mean that Africa is late to the party, but perhaps it's more encouraging to see it as Africa being able to learn the best model for space development from other more advanced spacefaring nations.