News

Terran Orbital Corporation, a satellite bus manufacturer based in Florida, announced on the 25th of October that its subsidiary Tyvak International has been chosen as prime contractor under a $4.7 million European Space Agency (ESA) contract. Under the contract the company will be responsible for proximity operation and in-orbit servicing mission that will deploy a nanosatellite spacecraft from Space Rider, the European uncrewed robotic laboratory.

Redwire corporation, an American aerospace manufacturer and space infrastructure technology company, announced on the 23rd of October that it has been awarded a contract with OHB Italia. Redwire will provide the onboard computer for the European Space Agency’s Comet Interceptor mission- Implementation Phase. ESA’s Comet Interceptor will be the first spacecraft to visit a long-period, dynamically new comet or interstellar object. 

NASA, on behalf of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), has awarded a delivery order under the Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV (Rapid-IV) contract to Southwest Research Institute of San Antonio for the QuickSounder spacecraft. Furthermore, the total value of the order is $54 million, with the period of performance beginning Wednesday, Oct. 25, and scheduled to run until May 2029.

Lockheed Martin has awarded Terran Orbital Corporation a contract to build 36 satellite buses for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) Beta constellation. Terran Orbital will consequently deliver the buses to Lockheed Martin, which will conduct payload integration and jointly operate the satellites with SDA.

Kongsberg NanoAvionics announced on the 24th of October that Vytenis J. Buzas has stepped down from his role of CEO. He will maintain his involvement with NanoAvionics, serving as a member of the board. Under Buzas’ stewardship NanoAvionics originated as the first national satellite mission in Lithuania and has gone on to commercialise its technology. Žilvinas Kvedaravičius, previously the CSO, is taking on the role of Interim CEO. 

Our Space Café WebTalk “33 minutes with Paul Liias – Is space legal in Estonia and why should you come to Tallinn for Halloween?” took place on Tuesday, 17th October 2023. Paul Liias is the Head of Space policy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication. Paul has created the Estonian Space Policy and Program 2020-2027. Today, he is working on Estonian national space legislation and a decentralized e-government solution for Space Traffic Management.

Varda Space Industries and Southern Launch have announced a partnership to conduct re-entry operations at the Koonibba Test Range, with the goal of making South Australia a hub for an in-space manufacturing industry. As a result, Southern Launch will support Varda Space Industries in conducting high-cadence re-entry operations at the Koonibba Test Range to meet a wide range of Varda’s customer needs.

The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) and the China National Space Administration have signed a joint declaration on cooperation on the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program. The signature, reported by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, saw the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Vladimir Gusakov, and the Administrator of the China National Space Administration, Zhang Kejian, sign the document for both parties. 

Fugro's Space Automation, AI and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC) in Perth, Western Australia (WA), is to receive an additional AUD 5 million in funding from the WA Government. Roger Cook, the WA Premier, made the announcement at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth on the morning of the opening of IPSEC 2023, Perth’s Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference for leaders in space and cross-sector technologies.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the first in a series of test flights in line with the development of the Gaganyaan Mission to send Indian astronauts into space in 2025. The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (or TV-D1) aimed to demonstrate its Crew Escape System (CES), whether the crew aboard the rocket could safely escape it in case it malfunctioned. The successful launch will consequently facilitate other uncrewed missions, including sending a robot into space next year.