News

constellr has secured further investment to extend its seed round to a total of EUR 17 million. Karista leads the funding extension, with participation from Einstein Industries Ventures alongside existing investors FTTF, Lakestar, Vsquared, Amathaon Capital, Natural Ventures, OHB Ventures, and OHB Ventures. The space-based temperature company will use the investment to accelerate the deployment of its new generation of thermal satellites and to meet growing demand among its US customers.

The United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) recently hosted closed meetings of the Legal Subcommittee’s Working Group on Space Resource Activity at its headquarters in Vienna. The Working Group has just completed the first year of its five-year mandate to review the regulation of such activity, including possible “additional international governance instruments”. Although it had planned to meet only during the Legal Subcommittee’s annual two-week session earlier this year, the Working Group failed at that time to agree on even a preliminary statement.

ESA has conducted extensive work on In-Orbit Servicing (IOS), including as part of its Clean Space initiative for the removal and prevention of space debris. ESA Preparation invited industry partners to outline their vision of Europe’s first IOS mission, which could be launched as early as 2028. 

Rivada Space Networks has announced on the 20th of July that they have joined MEF, a global telecommunications industry association of network, cloud, security, and technology providers working together to accelerate enterprise digital transformation. The organisation and its members work together to drive networking standards and certifications that ensure service quality and empower enterprises to leverage digital transformation and grow their business. 

The United Kingdom (UK) has published its National Space Strategy in Action policy, setting out how the government will deliver on the ambitions set out in the National Space Strategy and summarizes the government's achievements so far. Primarily, the policy paper sets out the next steps in implementing the National Space Strategy across each of its four pillars; unlocking growth, collaborating internationally, growing as a science superpower, and developing resilient capabilities. 

Telesat has announced the successful launch of its LEO 3 demonstration satellite aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. LEO 3 was one of seven satellites in the rideshare mission that launched from Mahia, New Zealand.

Astranis, an American space-based internet startup, has signed a new deal to launch and operate a dedicated satellite for the Philippines which will provide enough bandwidth to connect up to 2 million people.

OQ Technology, a Satellite communication service in Luxembourg, announced on the 19th of July the signing of the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aramco, the Saudi Arabian Oil Group. This will strengthen their existing collaboration and going forward they will concentrate on automation and Satellite IoT connectivity for Aramco’s remote site infrastructures. 

An international team of astronomers, including the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), the University of Cape Town (UCT), and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), have discovered a rare type of white dwarf pulsar. This is a rare type of spinning white dwarf star in a binary star system., and it provides a new understanding of the role of magnetic fields in stellar evolution.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the international community are marking the 2023 edition of the international moon day Today. Every year since 2021, the global community marks international moon day on July 20 to commemorate the first moon landing that happened on July 20, 1969.