The Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) has announced that Antonino Salmeri has been elected as the new Co-Chair for 2023. Dr Antonino Salmeri is a space lawyer who specialises in the governance of lunar and space resource activities. He holds four advanced degrees in law and currently works as Lead of the Lunar Policy Platform Initiative.

Everland, a US-based company representing a portfolio of high quality REDD+ forest conservation projects in the world, has named Space Intelligence, a nature mapping service based in Scotland, as its main data partner. Everland will use technology and data from Space Intelligence to build a comprehensive view of changes in land cover across three continents, covering a portfolio of site-based REDD+ projects and their surrounding regions. 

Sky and Space Company, a British satellite company with communication nanosatellites and software expertise, in partnership with Wroclaw University of Science and Technology and Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development’s Space Policy Unit, announced on the 5th of April that they have been awarded a grant from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop the Enhanced Spread Spectrum Aloha (E-SSA) Modem. The E-SSA aims to revolutionise space-to-ground communications and increase efficiencies for Inter-Satellite Linking. It is designed to be the first-ever modem with the capability to process frames on nanosatellites setting the stage for new applications in nanosatellite constellations and broadening the horizons of the space sector.

Lockheed Martin, an Australian aerospace company, announced on the 3rd of April that it has been selected by the Commonwealth of Australia as the perfect bidder for Project JP9102, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications System.

Spire Global, a space-to-cloud data and analytics company based in Virgina US, announced on the 3rd of April that they have been awarded a contract by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing. This contract is part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) program in September 2022. 

The idea of space-based solar power has been around since the 1960s, but recently gained new momentum. While we already use solar power today on Earth, there are a few drawbacks to putting solar panels on our rooftops or fields. The most important is the intermittent nature of Earth-based solar power, as its power generation fluctuates during the day - and goes down to zero at night. In addition, to compensate for this intermittency and the low load factor (appx. 11 % yearly average), large areas of land have to be covered with solar power to produce enough energy, and storage or backup capacities are needed for the nights and winter months.

NASA announced on the 30th of March that it has established the new Moon to Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters in Washington to carry out the agency’s human exploration activities at the Moon and Mars. Amit Kshatriya will serve as the agency’s first head of office, effective immediately. Kshatriya previously served as acting deputy associate administrator for Common Exploration Systems Development.

Ai Telecom Networks, a Mexican satellite and terrestrial communications provider, will partner with Astranis - American geostationary communications satellite operator and manufacturer- and ST Engineering iDirect - an American satellite communications company - for new MicroGEO satellites. The satellites and ground infrastructure will deliver connectivity for 4G cellular backhaul and enterprise services across Mexico and part of Central America. Ai Telecom's MicroGEN satellites will be built by Astranis and will use ST Engineering iDirect's Mx-DMA MRC waveform technology. 

Andre-Hubert Roussel will step down as CEO of ArianeGroup- a French aerospace joint venture between Airbus and Safran - French newspaper La Tribune reported on the 30th of March. ArianeGroup lost nearly a quarter of its turnover in 2022, this is largely due to the Russian-Ukrainian war and delays in Ariane 6 - which could be postponed until the first half of 2024.

Impact Observatory, a D.C. geospatial mapping company using artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite imagery to power its technology, has raised a nearly $6 million seed round to bring its product to market and multiply in size. Impact Observatory will also use the funds to continue research and development for additional monitoring capabilities.