News

In this third episode of Space Economy Insights, Kevin O’Connell interviewed Dr. Zolana Joao, Director General of the Angolan National Space Office and Architect of Angola’s Space Strategy.  Dr. Joao has a background in electrical engineering and a doctorate in engineering management from George Washington University, with a focus on productivity and efficiency in large, complex space projects.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has announced the awards of two prototype agreements with a total value of approximately $1.5 billion to build and operate the Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) – Beta variant prototype constellation. The constellation consists of 72 satellites and will form the foundation of Tranche 2 of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

Umbra has announced that AFWERX has selected it for an SBIR Phase II contract in the amount of $1.25 million. Furthermore, the contract focuses on Space-Based Moving Target Indication (MTI) to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). Umbra will consequently leverage its market-leading wide-bandwidth, affordable space systems, uniquely operating in paired flight, to develop and demonstrate Maritime and Ground MTI (MMTI and GMTI) capabilities.

Sidus Space, a satellite manufacturing and space services company, has announced its strategic acquisition of Exo-Space, a California-based firm specializing in Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) software and hardware for space applications. This transaction signals Sidus’s determination to tap into the growing AI sector and expand its offerings in the Earth and Space Observations services market.

Sierra Space, a pureplay commercial space company, has announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Redwire Corporation. As a result, both Companies will collaborate on groundbreaking commercial pharmaceutical and biotech R&D and manufacturing in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Redwire is delivering state-of-the-art, flight-proven biotechnology and manufacturing technologies that would integrate into Sierra Space's Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat platform.

Axiom Space has announced that it secured $350 million in its Series-C round of growth funding, lifting the total funds it raised to over $505 million from investors and achieving more than $2.2 billion in customer contracts. Aljazira Capital and Boryung Co., Ltd. led the round, with support from various backers, including deep-tech venture capital funds and strategic brand partners. .

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has announced that it signed a deal to launch an Earth observation satellite on Electron for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), a Japan-based Earth imaging company. The mission will tentatively lift off in September 2023 and will carry iQPS’s QPS-SAR-5 satellite "TSUKUYOMI-I" into orbit. Furthermore, it will be a dedicated Electron mission and launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. iQPS named the mission "The Moon God Awakens" in acknowledgement of Tsukuyomi, the Japanese God of the Moon.

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Maxime Puteaux, Principal Advisor at Euroconsult in Paris, about 40 years of Euroconsult, current market trends, and the forthcoming World Satellite Business Week in September 2023. Space Café Radio brings you talks, interviews, and reports from the team of SpaceWatchers while out on the road. Each episode has a specific topic, unique content, and a personal touch. Enjoy the show,

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is ready to launch on 26 August 2023 to observe the most energetic objects and events in the cosmos. In doing so, it will unveil the evolution of the Universe and the structure of spacetime. XRISM will tentatively launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 09:34 JST / 01:34 BST / 02:34 CEST. The mission is a collaboration between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA, with significant participation from ESA. In return for providing hardware and scientific advice, ESA will also receive 8% of XRISM’s available observing time.

Russia’s State Space Corporation, Roscosmos, has announced that the Luna-25 automatic lunar station collided with the moon's surface and subsequently perished. The agency pointed out that on August 19 that the lunar probe would have received propulsion thrust to descend into its landing trajectory on the Moon's elliptical orbit. However, the Agency lost contact with the probe "at about 2:57 p.m. Decree time." The Russian space agency disclosed that all measures regarding the spacecraft's location and establishing communications with it on August 19 and 20 yielded zero results.