Berlin, 8 September 2020. – The Technische Universität Berlin, a leading German university specializing in space engineering, and Exolaunch, a rideshare launch and deployment solutions provider, have reached a launch agreement for the SALSAT nanosatellite. Under the agreement, Exolaunch is providing launch, mission management, and integration services for the Technische …
Read More »UAE’s planned city on Mars gets help from university on radiation research
Abu Dhabi, 7 September, 2020. – A new research finding on radiation will support the UAE’s ambitious project to build the first human settlement on Mars by 2117, a scientist told Emirates News Agency, WAM. “Radiation is one of the biggest roadblocks in planning long-term space missions, especially the project …
Read More »Thales signs up as prime contractor for Indonesian SATRIA satellite
Jakarta/Toulouse, 3 September 2020. — Satelit Nusantara Tiga (SNT) and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced the signature of a Preliminary Work Agreement to start the activities of the Indonesian broadband telecommunication satellite SATRIA. The full Ka-band SATRIA satellite, to be positioned at …
Read More »US issues fifth Space Policy Directive on space cybersecurity
Washington, DC, 7 September 2020. – The White House has issued last week its fifth Space Policy Directive (SPD 5) outlining cybersecurity principles of space systems and operations. The memorandum signed by US President Donald Trump sets forth key cybersecurity principles for space systems and intends to serve as “the …
Read More »CSIS think tank reports on key governance issues in space
Washington, DC, 7 September 2020. – The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC, presented last week a comprehensive report on key governance issues in space. The research report conducted by CSIS’ Aerospace Security Project focused on space sustainability and debris mitigation, rendezvous and proximity operations, and …
Read More »China’s secretive reusable spacecraft back to landing site
Jiuquan, China, 6 September 2020. – China’s reusable experimental spacecraft returned to the scheduled landing site in northwest China on Sunday after a two-day in-orbit operation, the official Chinese Xinhua news agency reported 6 September. The spacecraft was launched with a Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch …
Read More »NSR study sees connected car broadband market grow to (only) $1bn in 2029
Paris, 6 September 2020. – The international satellite and space research and consulting company Northern Sky Research (NSR) sees the international broadband connected car market growing to over $1bn by the end of this decade, NSR said in a recently published summary of the 8th edition of its Land Mobile …
Read More »Rocket Lab launches “First Light” photon satellite
Long Beach, California, 3 September 2020. Space systems company Rocket Lab has launched its first in-house designed and built operational satellite, cementing the company’s evolution from a launch provider to an end-to-end space solutions company that offers turnkey satellites and spacecraft components, launch, and on-orbit operations. The satellite, named ‘First …
Read More »FT: Global cruise ship industry on the brink of life-threatening situation
The global Coronavirus crisis has put the $150 billion cruise industry on the brink of a life-threatening situation, the Financial Times (FT) wrote in a special report on 2 September. “Instead of trying to top the record 30m passengers carried last year, the industry’s more than 60 operators are having to …
Read More »NASA conducts SLS booster test for future Artemis missions
As NASA begins assembling the boosters for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will power the first Artemis mission to the Moon, teams in Utah are evaluating materials and processes to improve rocket boosters for use on missions after Artemis III. NASA completed a full-scale booster test for NASA’s Space …
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