UNOOSA - WSF - 2023

Joshua Faleti

Firefly Aerospace Closes Third Tranche of Series C Round

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. has announced the closing of another tranche of financing, valuing the company at $1.5 billion pre-money. Existing investors led the round, including AE Industrial Partners, LP, as well as new investors, including Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Firefly has consequently raised approximately $300 million in funding since February 2023.

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HyImpulse Secures Kooniba and SaxaVord Spaceports

HyImpulse

HyImpulse has partnered with Southern Launch to launch into space from the Koonibba Test Range in 2024. In the same vein, the German rocket manufacturer has entered into agreements regarding the provision of facilities and services of the SaxaVord spaceport for future launch activities. As a result, HyImpulse will offer launch services from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands, and test its SR75 rocket via a suborbital launch at the Koonibba test range. 

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OKAPI: Orbits Launch its OKAPI: Astrolabe Product

OKAPI: Orbits

OKAPI: Orbits has announced the launch of its latest innovation, OKAPI: Astrolabe, which aims to transform critical Conjunction Coordination and deliver unprecedented convenience and efficiency to Satellite Operators globally. The innovation seamlessly blends interoperability and decision-making processes to provide an intuitive and direct communication experience. Furthermore, combining the Astrolabe with OKAPI: Aether offers all-inclusive services like automated assessments of conjunction event criticality, maneuver evaluation, in-depth insights about in-orbit assets, and predictive evolution forecasting in a consolidated workspace. 

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Djibouti Launches First Satellite Aboard Transporter-9

Djibouti has launched its first satellite, Djibouti 1A, into orbit, aboard Space's Transporter-9 smallsat rideshare mission on November 11 2023.  According to Space in Africa, the East African Country developed the satellite through a joint capacity-building program between Djibouti and its technical partner, the Centre Spatial Universitaire de Montpellier (CSUM). As a result, Djiboutian engineers and technicians in France designed, constructed and tested the satellite.

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Transporter-9 Launches Payload for Planet, D-Orbit, SpaceIn and others

Transporter-9.

SpaceX's transporter smallsat rideshare mission has launched more than 100 satellite payloads for various satellite companies in its ninth dedicated mission. The transporter-9 mission lifted from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on November 11, 2023, deploying payload for Planet, D-Orbit, Spire Global, Iceye, Umbra and SpaceIn, among others. The payload also included orbital transfer vehicles that would later deploy their satellites into orbit.

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EU SST Wins T.S. Kelso Award for Flight Safety Contributions

EU SST

Space Data Association has announced The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership (EU SST) as the recipient of the T.S. Kelso Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to space flight safety. The EU SST Partnership relies on the SSA capabilities of 15 Member states of the European Union to provide space safety services, with the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) acting as the Front Desk.

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Rocket Lab Sets Next Electron Launch Window

Rocket Lab electron vehicle. Credit Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has announced it has set a return-to-launch window for its Electron launch vehicle. As a result, the Company will return to the pad at Launch Complex 1 with a dedicated Electron mission for Japan-based Earth imaging company iQPS (Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc.) during a launch window which opens on November 28th, 2023 and extends into December.

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Bulgaria Signs Artemis Accords at NASA Headquarters

NASA

Bulgaria has become the 32nd signatory to the Artemis Accords after Milena Stoycheva, the Bulgarian minister of innovation and growth, signed the accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson also participated in a signing ceremony, which took place on Thursday, 9 November. Also participating in the event at NASA Headquarters in Washington were NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Georgi Panayotov, ambassador of Bulgaria to the United States and Sonata Coulter, deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of State.

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