Frontiers

NASA has modified agreements for two funded commercial space station partners that are on track to develop low Earth orbit destinations for NASA and other customers as the International Space Station retires in 2030. The changes add new technical milestones and reallocate existing funding to allow the agency to accelerate efforts as part of NASA’s goal to foster a commercial low-Earth orbit economy.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #97:  Building the perfect telescope: Giuseppe Racca and the Quest for the Dark Universe with ESA’s Euclid. In this engaging episode of the Space Cafe Podcast, Markus converses with Giuseppe Racca, the key figure behind the European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission. As a seasoned expert with extensive experience at ESTEC, Racca provides deep insights into the mission's goal to unravel the enigmatic forces of dark matter and dark energy. He discusses the challenges and triumphs of leading a major space exploration project and shares his passion for astrophysics and the pursuit of cosmic knowledge.

Maxar Space Systems has announced that the Ovzon 3 satellite has successfully launched aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and is performing as expected after launch. Maxar Space Systems manufactured the satellite for Ovzon at their Palo Alto, California, facility using its modular architecture platform. The satellite launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Jan 3, 2024.

The Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which is jointly funding India’s contribution alongside the Department of Science and Technology, has announced that plans are now underway to sign the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO) Convention, the intergovernmental organization’s founding treaty. The observatory had anticipated full membership as the Indian Government was a party to the negotiation of the SKAO Convention and participated in the preparatory activities that led to the creation of the Observatory in early 2021.

Sidus Space, a multi-faceted Space and Data-as-a-Service company, has announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has granted it a Tier 1 remote sensing license to include Panchromatic (PAN) and Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) imaging capabilities. This approval includes Sidus’ upcoming LizzieSat scheduled for launch in March 2024, as well as subsequent LizzieSat satellites.

Dhruva Space has announced its successful Space-qualification of its P30 Satellite Platform launched as ‘Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads - Technology Demonstrator’ (LEAP-TD) Payload onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 mission. The launch took place at 09:10 IST on 01 January 2024 from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched the XPOSAT Satellite into an Eastward low inclination orbit on January 01, 2024, aboard its PSLV-C58 carrier. The mission will study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions, the structure and geometry of the magnetic field of neutron stars, and develop an understanding of galactic black hole binary sources. The mission will also study and confirm the production of X-rays.

Terran Orbital Corporation has announced that it has received a payment from Rivada Space Networks pursuant to the Company's previously announced contract with Rivada. The amount was for the completion of a program milestone, and as a result, Rivada is current on all outstanding invoices. The Company expects to receive additional milestone payments in 2024 and continues to expect to meet its delivery obligations under the Rivada Contract on schedule in 2025 and 2026.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Govt. of India company under the Department of Space and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced a launch partnership with SpaceX and the Falcon Heavy rocket. As a result, SpaceX will launch NSIL's 2nd Demand-driven communication satellite mission involving GSAT-20 [renamed as GSAT-N2], a high throughput Ka-band Satellite, during the 2nd quarter of 2024. 

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has selected DCUBED as its first choice for space pin pullers for the critical Space Qualified Rover Lidar (SQRLi) Support project. The SQRLi project is a LIDAR engineering test unit with a 35m or greater range sensor array to provide a 40×40 field of view and operate under poor lighting conditions for rover-based missions and autonomous exploration of extreme environments like permanently shadowed lunar craters.