Government

The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will see ISRO design, assemble, integrate, test, launch and operate an Earth Observation satellite for Mauritius. The signing happened in the presence of Hon. Deepak Balgobin, the Mauritian Minister of Information Technology, Communication, and Innovation, Republic of Mauritius, and Hon. Shri V. Muraleedharan, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs & Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs.

SpaceRake, Inc., has received approximately $1.8 million in Direct to Phase II SBIR funding from the Space Development Agency (SDA). The two-year agreement will consequently provide funding for SpaceRake to develop miniaturized lasercom terminals for networking satellites in space. The SpaceRake terminals will enable a wide variety of satellites to connect to orbital network links like the SDA Transport Layer currently in development, allowing cost-effective small satellites and constellations to be increasingly viable for incorporation into future resilient space communication architectures.

Sierra Space has announced the completion of its first  Dream Chaser spaceplane, which will ship to NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Ohio for environmental testing in the coming weeks. Sierra Space was able to develop the spaceplace through a substantial contract from NASA to resupply the International Space Station. The Pureplay commercial space company intends the Dream Chaser to lead the way in democratizing access to space, forging a path towards joint space exploration and international cooperation.

The Netherlands has become the newest and 31st signatory to the Artemis Accords, signing the document during a ceremony at the Dutch Ambassador’s Residence in Washington on Wednesday. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Netherlands Space Office (NSO) director Harm van de Wetering signed on behalf of the Netherlands.

The day before the official start of the 3rd Software Defined Space Conference, hosted by the Estonian Space Office, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia in Tallinn, our Publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Linda Võeras of Karma Ventures about the challenges and to-dos for startups that are looking for funding, the market and space as an area to fund.

Welcome to Tallinn, Estonia for the 3rd Software Defined Space Conference, hosted by the Estonian Space Office, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia. The next days we will discuss the critical role of software development and #cybersecurity in space, and the role that leading e-nation #Estonia plays in this area. Follow everything this week on hashtag #SDSC2023!

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received an agreement with a total potential value of approximately $732 million to design and build 38 data transport satellites, from the Space Development Agency (SDA). These satellites will support Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Alpha (T2TL-Alpha), the latest iteration of SDA’s low-Earth orbit Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Furthermore, the announcement follows an August 2023 award to Northrop Grumman of 36 satellites as part of Tranche 2 Transport Layer – Beta (T2TL-Beta)

The Governments of Australia and the United States of America have signed an agreement formalizing the Technology Safeguards Agreement between both countries. As a result, the Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) will allow US companies to carry out space launch activities in Australia and protect US technology, including rockets and satellites. The agreement signing occurred as part of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to the United States.

Qosmosys has announced a seed funding round of US$100 million to expedite its strategic goals and fortify its position as a premier private player in the burgeoning Moon economy. As a result, the Company will leverage the funding for the development of its lunar transportation vehicle, ZeusX, along with complementary technologies aimed at serving a range of lunar applications.

The Karman Project is partnering with the Maldives Space Research Organization (MSRO) and Six Senses Laamu to organize the Karman Week 2023 from November 1st to 5th, 2023. The annual Fellowship Week will feature 15 global space leaders and will consequently mark an important milestone in the Maldives' journey towards establishing a first national space ecosystem.