Geopolitics

Dawn Aerospace has announced the completion of another flight test campaign of its Mk-II rocket-powered aircraft. The campaign (dubbed Campaign 2-2) saw three flights completed in late July. In flight three, Dawn achieved a maximum speed and altitude of Mach 0.92 (967 km/h) and 50,000ft (15.1km). This represents 3x and 5x of what it achieved in the previous campaign.

Axiom Space has signed a spaceflight agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), announcing the intent to fly an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station on Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4). Axiom Space will consequently announce the name of the Indian astronaut to Ax-4 upon the astronaut’s arrival in Houston for initial training. The Indian astronaut will subsequently focus on scientific research and educational outreach while in orbit.

SES Space & Defense, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, has won a multi-year contract worth USD 46.8 million from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Air Combat Command (ACC) to provide Geostationary (GEO) Ku-band satellite services in support of the ACC remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) training and testing program. SES Space & Defense will use SES’s GEO high-throughput satellite (HTS) fleet to provide ground-to-air and air-to-ground transmissions coverage over the continental United States (CONUS), Hawaii, Alaska, and the Pacific Ocean for airborne operations.

Arabsat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization to develop flexible and scalable satellite solutions to enhance disaster response capabilities. Eng. Alhamedi Alanezi, CEO & President of Arabsat, and Dr. Saleh bin Hamad Al-Tuwaijri, Secretary-General of the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization, signed the MoU.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have selected the winners of the 8th round of the KiboCUBE program. This initiative will see a joint team from the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology in Tanzania and the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny (INP-HB) in Côte d’Ivoire deploy their CubeSat from the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo" on the International Space Station (ISS).

Axiom Space has welcomed British astronaut Tim Peake as a strategic advisor, with the specific task of supporting the development of and strategy behind a potential all-UK human spaceflight mission with the Houston-based company. Peake will consequently bring a wealth of experience and expertise to his new advisory role. Furthermore, He will support the team’s strategy to confirm and secure funding for this one-nation space exploration effort.

The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) and European Space Agency (ESA) have launched a plan to build on the success of the European Center for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT). The joint plan, unveiled during the Farnborough International Airshow, includes strengthening work on the center’s 5G/6G hub with a focus on satellite telecommunications and the wider applications of satellite services, which already support around £360 billion of UK GDP.

The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the Neo Space Group has won the competition for obtaining a permit to provide Earth Observation (EO) Platform Service. This aims to create the appropriate environment to enable the private sector to establish and develop Earth Observation services and emerging businesses in the Kingdom and to stimulate its contribution to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) by developing value-added Space products.

In a significant step towards enhancing Allied defense and technological integration across the air, space and cyber domains, Defense Ministers from 24 NATO Allies have signed a series of multinational initiatives at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum. These include the Alliance Persistent Surveillance from Space (APSS) program, and the Allied software for Cloud and Edge (ACE) service.