Thales Alenia Space announced that it has been awarded a contract by the French Space Agency CNES to develop a Dual Frequency Multi Constellations (DFMC) SBAS prototype. The project is part of the next generation of SBAS (satellite-based augmentation system), just like EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service satellite system. 

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 31 January – 6 February 2022. Welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Space Updates! I’m Jean Deville, joined as always by my co-host Blaine Curcio.

The Indian government announced its plans for launching its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander mission in August the year onboard of GSLV Mk 3, India's heaviest operational rocket. The mission will be the country’s second attempt to land a spacecraft on the surface of Earth’s satellite.

NASA and SpaceX provided an update on the preparations of the Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Lindgren will serve as spacecraft commander, Hines will be the pilot, while Watkins and Cristoforetti are assigned as mission specialists.

SAR data provider and expert in NatCat solutions, Iceye, announced the closing of a US $136 million series D funding round, led by investor Seraphim Space. New strategic investors include BAE Systems and Kajima Ventures among others. Molten Ventures, Services Group of America, Space Capital, Promus Ventures and many more have also participated in the funding round.

The United States has refuted China’s diplomatic accusation that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites have endangered its crewed space station, in an official note verbale to the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs in Vienna. Beijing issued their note verbale in December to the same UN office.

Turion Space has selected NanoAvionics’ small satellite bus MP42 as the basis for its ‘Droid-1’ spacecraft. Droid-1 is designed for reconnaissance missions in low Earth orbit (LEO) and is to launch in Q1 2023. The satellite will be capable of taking extremely accurate measurements of space objects using its onboard sensors.

KSAT adds satellite and mission control as a service to their portfolio, thus becoming the one-stop solution for all ground operation requirements. A dedicated group will perform adapted satellite and payload services from the company’s Satellite Operation Center, the company said.

Rocket Lab USA announced it will open a new space systems complex in Littleton, Colorado to support growing customer demand for flight software, mission simulation, and Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) services. Rocket Lab set its foot in Colorado in October last year when it acquired aerospace engineering firm, Advanced Solutions (ASI).

The UK government announced it will invest approximately £1.4 billion to reinforce their national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy (DSS). The DSS outlines the methods of protecting the UK’s national interests in space, stimulating growth of the sector and supporting highly skilled jobs.