Region

By Jessica West and Gilles Doucet Specialists in space security constantly call for more responsible norms of behavior in outer space. As the number of users and uses of space grows, the calls get louder and more urgent. Meanwhile, many states claim to want the same thing. Canada’s national defense …

Dear SpaceWatchers, Access to space matters. The race to space that commenced in the 1950’s has accelerated at an unprecedented pace. Dozens of countries invest in space missions, launch capabilities, and sophisticated systems. Entrepreneurs pour billions into space travel, audacious satellite constellations, and missions to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. …

By Raphael Roettgen With approximately US$56 million of space-related funding rounds, July was slightly stronger than June 2020, but still on the weak side, and lacking any large rounds (except as noted below). On the positive side, the monthly rounds represent a good cross-section of geographies and subsectors. SpaceX is …

GomSpace Luxembourg SARL and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract to continue development and implementation of the Juventas CubeSat, in support of the Hera mission. The contract value, approximately EUR 11,000,000, is focused on delivery of the Juventas spacecraft and its associated payloads for launch with Hera in …

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received members of the Emirates Mars Mission, Hope Probe, team including …

Rocket Lab has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume launches this month, after identifying an anomalous electrical connection as the cause of an in-flight failure on July 4, 2020. With corrective measures underway, the next Electron launch has been scheduled for August from Launch Complex 1. …

by Thys Cronje Over the next decade, Earth Observation (EO) satellites will stop streaming simple image data to the earth. Instead, the instruments onboard the EO satellites will tell us more detailed information about what is happening below. In addition, these satellites will be able to take control of their …

By Daniel A Porras* The US and Russia just met in Vienna for the Space Security Exchange, a bilateral discussion between two of the world’s biggest space-military powers, to discuss what might be done about growing space-security threats. This comes amid considerable turmoil in space politics, as the US and …

by Kiran Mohan Vazhapully Last month, based on a Reuters report, Chris Borgen wrote in Opinio Juris about the White House chalking out details of a United States (US) sponsored international framework dubbed “Artemis Accords”,  to facilitate commercial mining on the Moon. They are conceived as inter-agency bilateral agreements similar …

The UAE’s space programs, especially the successful launch of its Mars Mission, will give a boost to Asia’s lead in Industry 4.0, and make the Emirates “a big stakeholder in the development of developing countries across the globe,” a senior academic told Emirates News Agency, WAM. “Asians are leading the race …