A special moment took place at the SPACETIDE conference in early July 2023 in Tokyo and online. When Takeshi Hakamada and Masayasu Ishida sat down together to reminisce their humble beginnings, the sentiment was palpable. Both had come a long way: Hakamada-san, Co-Founder & CEO of iSpace (2010), recovering from a Moon hard landing, yet looking forward confidently to the success of their next lunar mission. And Ishida-san, Co-Founder, President & CEO, member of the Board of Directors of the SPACETIDE Foundation (2015) , taking stock of the Foundation’s growth experienced in less than a decade. 

ICEYE, a Finnish microsatellite manufacturer announced on the 26th of October a partnership with Suhora Technologies, an Indian software and geospatial intelligence company. The partnership will allow Suhora access to ICEYE’s satellite imagery of any location on the planet. It will play a role in providing Suhora’s users with advanced monitoring and analytical geospatial solutions. 

Southern Launch, an Australian rocket launch and range service provider company have announced the signing of a Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) between Australia and the US. The agreement will allow for the transfer of US Space Technology including rockets and satellites to be launched from, or returned to Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Joe Biden signed the TSA during Prime Minister Albanese’s first official state visit to the US. The agreement must still be ratified by the Australian parliament.

United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, plans to launch the inaugural flight of its Vulcan rocket on Christmas Eve, reports CNBC. Tory Bruno, CEO of ULA, spoke at the CNBC Technology Executive Council Summit where he shared that the target window will run from the 24th to 26th of December. Currently, ULA is working to build and qualify the upper stage of the rocket which is expected to be completed in November. If the December window is missed the launch will be moved to January. 

Terran Orbital Corporation, a satellite bus manufacturer based in Florida, announced on the 25th of October that its subsidiary Tyvak International has been chosen as prime contractor under a $4.7 million European Space Agency (ESA) contract. Under the contract the company will be responsible for proximity operation and in-orbit servicing mission that will deploy a nanosatellite spacecraft from Space Rider, the European uncrewed robotic laboratory.

Redwire corporation, an American aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company, announced on the 23rd of October that it has been awarded a contract with OHB Italia. Redwire will provide the onboard computer for the European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission- Implementation Phase. ESA’s Comet Interceptor will be the first spacecraft to visit a long-period, dynamically new comet or interstellar object. 

Kongsberg NanoAvionics announced on the 24th of October that Vytenis J. Buzas has stepped down from his role of CEO. He will maintain his involvement with NanoAvionics, serving as a member of the board. Under Buzas’ stewardship NanoAvionics originated as the first national satellite mission in Lithuania and has gone on to commercialise its technology. Žilvinas Kvedaravičius, previously the CSO, is taking on the role of Interim CEO. 

Our Space Café WebTalk “33 minutes with Paul Liias – Is space legal in Estonia and why should you come to Tallinn for Halloween?” took place on Tuesday, 17th October 2023. Paul Liias is the Head of Space policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication. Paul has created the Estonian Space Policy and Program 2020-2027. Today, he is working on Estonian national space legislation and a decentralized e-government solution for Space Traffic Management.

Neuraspace, a provider of space traffic management (STM), announced on the 17th of October that they will partner with Arcsec, a provider of star trackers to develop a new way to detect space debris.

International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) bioastronautics researcher and payload specialist Kellie Gerardi will represent the Institute on the ‘Galactic 05’ research spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, IIAS announced.