Features

In the last decade, space weather has become the subject of serious consideration in the scientific community and global scientific organizations. Solar activity plays an important role in both space operations and terrestrial infrastructure. Flares, storms, and coronal mass ejections are all manifestations of solar activity that can affect the operation of satellites, navigation, surveillance, radio communications, and other important structures. As a consequence, there is a need for a reliable and independent ecosystem for monitoring and forecasting solar weather. Today, the European space sector faces the challenge of creating infrastructure capable of competing with existing international initiatives.

For SpaceWatchers, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Thailand has manifested several of its space ambitions. SWGL has covered the last decade of the country’s space developments at the government and private sector levels. So, when in early April 2024, Thailand became the latest country to join the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program,  SWGL assessed it as a significant development in the context of Thailand’s space ambitions. But that needs to be put in perspective. What are the short and long term implications? Let’s find out.

Marketing in outer space seems like an innovative idea, but it has 60+ years of history. Dr. Wernher von Braun, former Marshall Space Flight Center Director, pointed out on July 22, 1969: "Because without public relations we would have been unable to do it". Today, accelerated access to space provides unprecedented opportunities for #advertising stunts and viral marketing. Some campaigns raise ethical, environmental, and regulatory concerns, while others champion sustainability. 

After a behemoth month of space-tech investment in February ($1.7b), global venture investment in space-tech fell back to earth in March with only $93.96m invested. Europe held three of the four largest investments this month: Multiverse Computing in Spain (€25m), Mbryonics in Ireland (€17.5m), and Blackwave in Germany ($6.6m), with South Africa’s Simera Sense (€13.5m) rounding out the top-four.

On 12 March 2024, the Prague Security Studies Institute hosted a public online guest lecture with Dr. John Klein, Senior Fellow and Strategist at the Falcon Research, Inc. on the topic of “Space and Irregular Warfare”. In Part 2, we will review some burning questions covered in the lecture Q&A and how Dr. Klein comprehensively answered them, going the extra mile to provide advice for practical implementation.

On 12 March 2024, the Prague Security Studies Institute hosted a public online guest lecture with Dr. John Klein, Senior Fellow and Strategist at the Falcon Research, Inc. on the topic of “Space and Irregular Warfare”. In Part 1, we will review the key concepts that underwrite the theory and practice of irregular warfare in space.

The 2024 State of the Union Address was given by the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, on March 7, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the House of Representatives to the 118th Congress. Since it took place only two weeks after the “successful” landing of NASA CLPS Intuitive Machine M1 Odysseus on the Moon, and as anticipated during a re-election campaign, many were curious about how the President would capitalize on recent US geopolitical and economic forays in space. Why not even expect the presence of NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, astronauts, and space CEOs, among the honoured invitees? But while the SOTU address did cover essential domestic political ground, there was not one word about space! But how is that even possible?!

It has now been a week since SpaceX's IFT 3 took off and kept us in suspense. All space enthusiasts around the globe are eagerly waiting for the promised new era in which access to space becomes the new normal, in which prices will fall to a fraction of their current level and new business models will emerge.

Outer space presents myriad concepts for jointly creating inspiration and opportunity as well as challenges. With over 8,000 satellites currently in Earth orbit, reliance on satellite services for communications, imaging, and navigation has become ubiquitous to enhancing the quality of life on Earth. In fact, satellite communication has been deemed a public good since the early 1960s, which has enabled public reliance on space-based telecommunications. Other key satellite applications include weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and navigation support for global transportation.

To say that the space sector has seen tremendous growth in the last decade has become somewhat of a platitude. Countless reports show impressive growth and a positive outlook for the future, even suggesting a new ‘golden age’ for the industry. There is also a wide consensus that for the space economy to reach the promise of morphing into a multi-trillion-dollar valuation in the decade to come, we need a strong, resilient, and innovative sector. The health of the space sector today and tomorrow will thus be key to achieving the goals that the space community wishes to see in the years to come.