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Skyrora has signed a multi-launch deal over the next decade with SaxaVord Spaceport (formerly Shetland Space Centre) on Unst, the Shetland Islands. With the agreement, Skyrora is to become the first company to launch a rocket from UK soil. The company is aiming to deliver up to 16 launches a year by 2030.

LatConnect 60 is to use Spire Global’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data as a foundation for better predicting maritime traffic patterns, the companies announced. LatConnect will layer other data sources like satellite imagery, drones, and IoT sensors on Spire’s maritime data.

South Korean Intellian Technologies signed a US $60M supply deal with satellite fleet operator SES, Intellian announced. The company will equip SES with antennas that are a “mix of products operating on the ground and in the ocean,” said Intellian. The firm will provide Ka-band antennas for SES’s MEO broadband constellation, O3b mPOWER.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Dr. Agnieszka Lukaszczyk, Senior Director for European Affairs at Planet, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together - how cooperation in space can foster progress on Earth.

In this Space Café Radio - on tour in Geneva, SpaceWatch.Global event coordinator Chiara Moenter spoke with Aila Raquel from Alya Nanosatellites Constellation Brazil during the UNIDIR Outer Space Security Conference 2021 about her company, the need for space data for local farmers, and her expectations and lessons learned from the conference.

The market for Earth Observation is to grow steadily to $7.5 billion by 2030, with defense as the most significant driver, Euroconsult says in a new study. Value-added services represent the largest part and are expected to undergo an accelerated growth driven by constellation supply, topping $5 billion by 2030 with 7% CAGR through the decade, Euroconsult says.

The Austrian Space Forum awarded the thirteenth Polar Star Award to Thomas Grübler, M.Sc., CEO and co-founder of OroraTech. The company uses satellite imaging for early detection of wildfires. First awarded in 2009, the Award honours personalities who are committed to get people excited about space.

Andøya Space is to receive US $42.9 million from the Norwegian government to build a small satellite launch base at Andøya in Northern Norway, the government announced. The project will add 150 new positions in the territory. It will also put Norway on the list of countries that are capable of launching satellites from their own land.

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Editor-in-Chief Markus Payer met with Mike Simmons, a medical research scientist at the University of California turned avid astronomer whose passion for watching the universe has spanned over four decades.

Finnish Kuva Space raised € 4.2 million (US $4.85 million) to establish a constellation of commercial hyperspectral CubeSats, Kuva announced. The seed round brought investments from Voima Ventures and Nordic FoodTech VC, ESA Φ-lab’s InCubed programme and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The funding enables the company to build