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Being part of a growing economy is where you want to be these days. And Space promises to be among one of the fastest growing sectors, with huge spillover potential into other industries. Currently, the space economy has been estimated to be at around 386 billion USD in revenue, and expectations predict it to be at 1 trillion USD by 2040. The outlook is attractive and moving within the space sector one could have the impression of booming space businesses. But are those numbers legitimate?

Hi-tech startup Celestia UK, has won a €800,000 ESA NAVSIP (Navigation, Innovation and Support Programme) contract to develop LEO-SYN+, an innovative PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) solution based on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations for 5G networks and applications, the company said. The project’s aim is to boost the reliability and performance of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).

The Queensland Government and SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) have launched the Queensland Earth Observation (EO) Hub, a partnership for two new Earth observation research projects. The Government and SmartSat CRC are both investing about US $1 million in the project.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Dennis Stone, Commercial Space Executive at NASA and President of World Space Week Association, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. World Space Week 2022: An Insight into Space and Sustainability

In this Space Café Radio – SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Cafè Italy Host Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Dr. Namrata Goswami, an independent scholar on space policy and Great Power Politics. Dr. Goswami  is a Faculty Associate at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University. She is also a consultant for Space Fund Intelligence and a guest lecturer at the seminar on “India Today: Economics, Politics, Innovation & Sustainability”.

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev handed over command of the International Space Station to ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who became the first European woman in charge of the orbiting laboratory. The traditional handover ceremony took place yesterday, with the symbolic passing of a key from the outgoing commander.

The cooperative initiative between the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) to develop comprehensive approaches and proposals for Space Traffic Management (STM) has been successfully concluded, the IISL announced.

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb, and flat panel antenna provider Kymeta, are set to introduce a joint superyacht offering at Monaco Yacht Show with LEO connectivity and antenna combination, the companies said.

Satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability provider, Astroscale has opened its new Zeus satellite manufacturing and operations facilities at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The new site will enable Astroscale to build satellite debris removal servicer satellites, and develop its commercial offering in the future.

Episode 064 features a special guest: Dr. Annie Handmer. A strange object in Low Earth orbit that seems to belong to no one and an even stranger business model with Earth observation satellites are among the topics in the brand new episode of the Space Cafe Podcast. Space Junk podcaster and Senior Manager for Innovation and Policy at HEO Robotics is our guest in the studio.