Asia Pacific

Global satellite communications firm, GapSat has newly acquired British consulting firm, QBX. This move will expand the frequency range at which they will be able to operate.

Director-General Timo Pesonen on behalf of the European Commission signed a Copernicus Cooperation Arrangement with the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan.

Synspective and Insight Terra have entered into a strategic partnership to deliver a new space-enabled data and monitoring solution for the mining industry. The solution uses satellites and earth observation, and ground sensors to monitor mine tailings facilities.

Galactic Energy, a rocket startup in China, launched five satellites into orbit on Monday, January 9, improving the private company’s ambition to become the Chinese rival to SpaceX.

The Republic of Djibouti has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited and Touchroad International Holdings Group to develop an international commercial spaceport in its northern Obock Region of Djibouti. 

The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander, which was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on December 11, 2022, completed its first orbit control maneuver on December 15, 2022. A second orbital control maneuver followed this on January 2, 2023.

Indonesia has successfully deployed the SS-1 (Surya Satellite-1), its first student satellite from the International Space Station (ISS) with the help of JAXA, the United Nations said. SS-1 was constructed by the awardees of the 3rd round of the KiboCUBE program, the students of Surya University.

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Michael Byers” about the International open letter "Reducing risks from uncontrolled reentries of rocket bodies and other space objects" took place on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023. Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia.

Sony has adopted Pale Blue's water thruster for its new nanosatellite program, STAR SPHERE. The water thruster will prolong the satellite’s life by 2.5 years with the ability to enter and keep the orbit at 500-600 km altitude. Furthermore, Pale Blue will conduct its first space demonstration at the end of January 2023.

The Space Café Podcast #71: Joel Spark - GM Space Services at Spire, unlocking the digital frontier and the quest to build a second earth. Spire Global is a data and analytics company that uses nanosatellites to track global data sets, such as maritime, aviation, and weather patterns. It operates a fleet of over 110 CubeSats, the second-largest commercial constellation by the number of satellites, and the largest by the number of sensors.