The Swiss nanosatellite startup Astrocast seeks as much as €45.5 million in a private placement ahead of a direct listing on the stock market, Bloomberg reported. The company is backed by venture capital firm Adit Ventures, Airbus SE’s venture arm and the European Space Agency (ESA).

More than 22,000 people from all over Europe submitted an application to become an astronaut for the European Space Agency (ESA), the agency said. ESA launched a search for four new astronauts earlier this year. Around 5,400 of all applicants identified as female.

The space transportation and logistics company D-Orbit will launch and deploy a cubesat from Aistech Space on its ION satellite carrier, the startup based in Italy said. The 6U CubeSat nanosatellite, named Guardian, will carry a multispectral telescope designed by Aistech Space, D-Orbit said.

Paris, 23 June 2021. – Airbus Defence and Space will equip its four CO3D Earth observation satellites with S-band antennas from Anywave, the company announced. Airbus Defence and Space was selected by the French Space Agency (CNES) in July 2019 to develop the Constellation Optique 3D (CO3D) Earth observation program.

Paris, 23 June 2021. – Just two seconds: Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) successfully tested its full-scale staged combustion engine, the company said. The test was carried out in Kiruna (Sweden). Staged combustion technology is characterized by higher efficiencies and performances compared to traditional rocket engine designs, the company explained.

The European Union (EU) will invest nearly €9 billion in European space programs over the period of 2021 to 2027, the European Space Agency (ESA) said. EU and ESA signed a new Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA), “for ESA and European industry to design new-generation systems and programmes, crucial for the economy and a green and digital Europe”, ESA said.

The satellite operator Yahsat, owned by the Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala, wants to go public, sell “at least 30%” of its capital and list at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the company announced. The offering creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the strategic growth of a leading integrated satellite communication services provider, Yahsat said. 

Europe cannot afford to stay out of human spaceflight if it wants to rank as a global political and economic power, the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) said. “It’s not possible that a political and economic power like Europe cannot fly its own astronauts to space,” Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, said at the Paris Air Forum at Le Bourget yesterday.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) finances SpaceX and Hispasat with more than $80 million, the bank announced. The bank’s board unanimously approved $80.7 million in EXIM financing to support launch services by SpaceX and U.S.-brokered launch and initial in-orbit insurances for Hispasat Canarias,

The World Economic Forum (WEF) and the European Space Agency (ESA) launched a new Space Sustainable Rating (SSR). The Swiss EPFL Space Center (eSpace) has been chosen to lead and operationalize the SSR, WEF said, it will begin issuing sustainability certifications to mission operators in early 2022.