As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and the European Space Policy Institute, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs No. 51: ‘Quantum and Space: The ultimate solution to secured communications?’, originally published in June 2021.

A lot of global goodwill and a declaration of deterrence: The Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2021) opened in St. Petersburg with high-level commitments from different nations to continue to internationally cooperate in space. NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson announced his wish to extend the collaboration on the International Space Station (ISS) until 2030;

Brazil is next: the country signed the Artemis Accords, “affirming its commitment to ensuring sustainable space exploration that adheres to a common set of principles benefiting all of humanity”, the U.S. space agency NASA said. Marcos Pontes, Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, signed the document during a ceremony with President Jair Bolsonaro and other officials, NASA said.

GNSS.asia, a support platform for international cooperation in GNSS as well as an outreach arm for European GNSS, launches its Hub for industry collaboration on 16 June 2021. The Hub makes it easy to network with senior professionals and decision-makers across all industry, institutions, and academia, anytime and anywhere. Register to the Hub and start connecting today.

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.

ESA goes to Venus with EnVision, the European Space Agency said. The mission was selected by ESA’s Science Programme Committee as the fifth Medium-class mission in the Agency’s Cosmic Vision plan, targeting a launch in the early 2030s, ESA said. EnVision follows ESA’s Venus Express (2005-2014)

Mauritius has its first own satellite. The first-ever Mauritian nanosatellite MIR-SAT1 has docked at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX cargo Dragon rocket, the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation of the Republic of Mauritius announced.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Prof. Kazuto Suzuki , Professor of Science and Technology Policy, Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo, Japan, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. Space Policy in Japan – the new challenge for setting international norms

May 2021 saw over US$600 million raised in private fundraising for space-related companies. More than two-thirds of this amount comes from the announcement of another SPAC merger, this time with quantum key distribution company ArQit (as before, this amount assumes cash in trust, PIPE, no redemptions/repayments, and is before fees).

Space is becoming increasingly congested. The European Space Agency (ESA) has estimated that there are currently 128 million pieces of debris smaller than 1cm, about 900,000 pieces of debris 1–10cm in length, and around 34,000 pieces larger than 10cm in Earth orbit. This is in addition to the approximately 3,300 currently operational satellites.