Japan is the fourth country in the world – after the United States, Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates – to have a dedicated law for the exploration and exploitation of space resources. The law provides that Japanese private business operators shall be permitted to engage in the exploration and development of space resources.
Read More »Farewell to Yves Feltes, a passionate SpaceWatcher
The satellite industry has lost one of its best and most committed communication executives: Yves Feltes. Yves died this week in a hospital in Luxembourg. He headed and managed the communication of SES, one of the world’s largest satellite operators based in Luxembourg, for more than 20 years.
Read More »Thales Alenia Space to interconnect Telesat’s Lightspeed satellites
Thales Alenia Space will provide the optical intersatellite links for Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation. As prime contractor for the construction of Telesat’s new LEO constellation, it will provide its Swiss Optel-C product to connect the 298 satellites, the company said.
Read More »Rovial consortium to launch European satcom network
The satcom startup Rovial wants to form a consortium with Mynaric, Reflex Aerospace and Isar Aerospace to develop, build and operate “an independent European satellite-based communications network”, the company based in Paris announced. Rovial unveiled its plan to “develop, build and operate an European-centric, secure, end-to-end, high-capacity, and scalable satellite constellation”
Read More »Phase Four raises $26 million to boost its Maxwell thruster
The electric propulsion producer Phase Four closed a $26 million Series B investment round, pushing ahead with the development of its plasma propulsion engine Maxwell, the Californian startup said. The round was led by the venture capital firm New Science Ventures, Phase Four said.
Read More »G7 call on other nations to protect space
The G7 nations committed to a safe and sustainable use of space at their leaders’ summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, the UK government said. Delegates from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA, the UK and the EU pledged to take action to tackle the growing hazard of space debris as our planet’s orbit becomes increasingly crowded, the UK said.
Read More »Blue Origin sells seat on New Shepard’s first human flight for $28 million
Blue Origin sold a seat on its first human spaceflight in July for $28 million, the company said. Jeff Bezos’ space venture auctioned off a seat for $28 million on its first crewed spaceflight scheduled on July 20, it said; the winning bidder will fly to space with the Amazon founder and his brother Mark on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Read More »Seraphim to list on London Stock Exchange, the fund tells BBC
Seraphim Capital prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange, the space fund’s co-founder Mark Boggett told the BBC. Seraphim Capital, one of the world's leading investors in space, is transferring all assets from its existing fund into the Seraphim Space Investment Trust, the report said.
Read More »Virgin Orbit eyes SPAC deal valuing it at $3bn, Sky reports
Virgin Orbit is close to merging with a SPAC, valuing Richard Branson’s company at $3 billion, Sky News reported. Virgin Orbit is close to finalising a deal to combine with NextGen Acquisition II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by George Mattson, a former Goldman Sachs banker, Sky News reported.
Read More »Iceye’s data available through ESA’s Earthnet
Iceye’s radar satellite data have been fully integrated into ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme, the company said. This allows researchers and Earth Observation application developers to access synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data, the Finnish startup said.
Read More »