News

Thales Alenia Space will provide the optical intersatellite links for Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation. As prime contractor for the construction of Telesat’s new LEO constellation, it will provide its Swiss Optel-C product to connect the 298 satellites, the company said.

The satcom startup Rovial wants to form a consortium with Mynaric, Reflex Aerospace and Isar Aerospace to develop, build and operate “an independent European satellite-based communications network”, the company based in Paris announced. Rovial unveiled its plan to “develop, build and operate an European-centric, secure, end-to-end, high-capacity, and scalable satellite constellation”

The electric propulsion producer Phase Four closed a $26 million Series B investment round, pushing ahead with the development of its plasma propulsion engine Maxwell, the Californian startup said. The round was led by the venture capital firm New Science Ventures, Phase Four said.

The G7 nations committed to a safe and sustainable use of space at their leaders’ summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, the UK government said. Delegates from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the USA, the UK and the EU pledged to take action to tackle the growing hazard of space debris as our planet’s orbit becomes increasingly crowded, the UK said.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Niklas Nienass, Member of the European Parliament, The Greens/EFA, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. Freedom, Science, Democracy. Europe's role in the new Space Race - Space travel is currently undergoing rapid change.

Blue Origin sold a seat on its first human spaceflight in July for $28 million, the company said. Jeff Bezos’ space venture auctioned off a seat for $28 million on its first crewed spaceflight scheduled on July 20, it said; the winning bidder will fly to space with the Amazon founder and his brother Mark on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Seraphim Capital prepares to list on the London Stock Exchange, the space fund’s co-founder Mark Boggett told the BBC. Seraphim Capital, one of the world's leading investors in space, is transferring all assets from its existing fund into the Seraphim Space Investment Trust, the report said.

Virgin Orbit is close to merging with a SPAC, valuing Richard Branson’s company at $3 billion, Sky News reported. Virgin Orbit is close to finalising a deal to combine with NextGen Acquisition II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) set up by George Mattson, a former Goldman Sachs banker, Sky News reported.

This Thursday’s Space Café "Moriba’s Vox Populi" was hosted by University of Texas academic Associate Professor Moriba Jah, an American astrodynamicist, space scientist and aerospace engineer known for his work in spacecraft navigation, space sustainability and space situational awareness.

Iceye’s radar satellite data have been fully integrated into ESA’s Third Party Missions (TPM) programme, the company said. This allows researchers and Earth Observation application developers to access synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data, the Finnish startup said.