Features

Effective Space is poised to launch two spacecraft in 2020 that promise to transform our capabilities in space through in-orbit servicing. These SPACE DRONE™ spacecraft can extend the life of satellites that are reaching the end of their operational term, giving them a new lease of life, and enabling operators to continue bringing in revenues from their space assets long after they would originally have been decommissioned. This is true disruptive technology that will ultimately lead to many other avenues in the in-orbit servicing sector, and can help to tackle the critical challenges that the satellite industry faces such as how we deal with space debris. Helen Jameson, Editor-in-Chief, Spacewatch.Global, spoke to Daniel Campbell, UK Managing Director of Effective Space to get the lowdown on a company that is set to deliver unprecedented services to the space community.

The small satellite revolution is in full swing. It is on the menu at every conference. It is on our newsfeeds. It is the talk of the industry. The last couple of years have heralded a true breakthrough for the small satellite as news has poured in of new constellations in development and emerging operators looking to use small satellites to drive innovation and cater for emerging applications. With manufacturing prices tumbling and increasingly sophisticated technology and propulsion systems becoming reality for the smallsat, this is a phenomenon that is surely set for longevity. However, there is one rather large problem looming and that is the shortage of rides into space. Yes, you have a satellite but how do you find a vehicle to get it where it needs to go?

SpaceWatch.Global is a proud partner of the Secure World Foundation, and a greateful recipient of SWF support. The SWF published a new report on 11 April 2018 titled Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment that provides an exhaustive, comprehensive, incisive, and useful open source guide to global counterspace capabilities and developments, as well as analysis of their implications. Here, the authors of that report, Victoria Samson and Brian Weeden, summarise the study and provide a broader geopolitical context about its importance.

Thai New Space startup mu Space is making big waves in Thailand with its efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural Thailand, and ultimately, in other parts of Southeast Asia, and with its long-term plans to bring commercial space travel to Thailand and the wider region. mu Space brings a vibrant New Space startup dynamic to Thailand, as the country embarks on its Thailand 4.0economic modernisation initiative where mu Space finds itself very much at the forefront. SpaceWatch.Globalhas been covering mu Space’s progress for months, and we managed to talk with its founder and Chief Executive Officer James Yenbamroong to hear his thoughts about the progress of mu Space so far, and its future plans.

Precious Payload, the brain child of Russian entrepreneurs Andrei Rebrov and Andrey Maskimov, is aiming to transform the way in which small satellite operators secure their launches. As we heard at Satellite 2018 this year, small satellites are being hit by a launch bottleneck and are mostly reduced to piggybacking on larger satellite launches and settling for what they can get. This can impact negatively on schedules and revenues.

The recent InSpace Forum held in Moscow demonstrated progress in cooperation and dialogue between Russia's state-run space companies and its fledgling New Space sector, reports Anastasiya Svarovskaya. The InSpace Forum 2018 held in Moscow on 21 March 2018 considered ways for the business sector and the state to cooperate in the space industry. This year’s forum was the third such event, and it consisted of two sections – the commercial space industry section and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) section.

In Spring 2017 Glavkosmos, a leading company representing the interests of the Russian space industry on the international market, announced the creation of an operator of commercial launches called Glavkosmos Launch Services, which will utilize the Soyuz-2 rocket launched from Russian-based cosmodromes. We talked to Alexander Serkin, CEO of the new company, about the reasons behind the establishing of the company and what goals it pursues on the international launch market.

In part three of a three-part feature, Vitaly Egorov describes Russia’s modern posture in space and the challenges and possible ways of development of the national space industry. In this third and final part, Vitaly looks at how commercial alternatives can help fulfill Russia's space ambitions and honour its heritage.

Last week, SpaceWatch Global attended the Satellite 2018 event held in Washington, D.C. and one of the features of the event that also ran last year, was ‘Startup Space’, a competition that sees 20 Newspace new entrants, given 5 minutes to pitch their business to a panel of highly accomplished space professionals, investors, thought leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs. During the day-long event, I came across Equatorial Space Industries, which is developing the Volans launcher, capable of delivering 35-70Kg of payload for under $1m. This team of 15, based in Singapore, are looking to change the economics of getting small satellites to space and to providing much-needed dedicated launches to a small satellite market in need.

In part two of a three-part feature, Vitaly Egorov describes Russia’s modern posture in space and the challenges and possible ways of development of the national space industry. This second part looks at how space exploration is often associated with extremely ambitious goals. Which one will Russia choose for the next few decades? What will be more beneficial in terms of pub