News

In a bid for Europe, through the European Space Agency (ESA), to significantly increase its autonomy in human and robotic space exploration, a 12-person High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) has presented an independent report on the state of European space exploration to the 315th session of the ESA Council at ESA Headquarters in Paris on 23 March 2023. The HLAG, which includes leaders across industry, Government, academia and civil society, came about in the summer of 2022 at the request of ESA’s Council.

The Report of the High-Level Group on Human and Robotic Space Exploration for Europe (HLAG, download here) was presented at ESA Council on 22 March 2023 and rolled out at a press conference the day after.

Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd., announced on the 23rd of March that Ovinto Sat, a provider of hazardous gases, is helping organisations and consumers to use cleaner energy. 

Heron AirBridge has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to join Inmarsat's Velaris Partner Network (VPN) to collaboratively develop regulatory and operational frameworks and technologies for the safe management of drones in urban environments and complex airspaces. The parties signed the MoU during Drone Asia 2023 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center. Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Transport, Sustainability and the Environment, also attended the signing event as the Guest of Honour.

ANYWAVES, the European equipment manufacturer announced on the 23rd of March that they have signed a contract with Maxar Technologies, an American company specialising in manufacture of telecommunication, Earth observation and other related services. 

The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) has funded Scientists to help them use the International Space Station to perform experiments seeking to improve understanding of currently incurable child brain tumors and the muscle ageing process.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has awarded six study contracts for commercial hyperspectral imagery (HSI). Companies receiving awards under NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Framework, include BlackSky Technology, HyperSat, Orbital Sidekick, Pixxel, Planet, and Xplore.

In light of Virgin Orbit's pause operations amidst financial uncertainties, the Launch Company will partly resume operations after nearing a $200 million deal with Venture capital firm Matthew Brown Companies. According to Reuters, the Texas-based company will prevent Virgin Orbit's rocket from bankruptcy via a private share placement. 

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium announced on the 22nd of March their findings on how asteroid composition will help to further understand how asteroids form and how best to alter their trajectory. Their research has been studying the outcome of the Double-Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a space mission conducted by NASA and ESA that hit the Didymos-Dimorphos double asteroid last year. 

mu Space has reached an exclusive deal with OneWeb to provide Low Earth Orbit (LEO) connectivity solutions across mainland Southeast Asia including Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Malaysia this year. The deal aims to provide internet connectivity to underserved remote areas. With mu Space being a player in Mainland Southeast Asia's aerospace industry, the company intends to provide satellite internet connectivity to remote areas for both commercial and civil governmental use.