Europe

Aerospace company Airbus’ HAPS Connectivity (High Altitude Platform Station) Business has signed a Letter of Intent with Japanese Space Compass Corporation to cooperate on servicing the Japanese market with mobile connectivity and Earth observation services from the Stratosphere with Airbus’ Zephyr HAPS platform, the company said.

Global satellite operator SES, chose to launch its EAGLE-1 satellite, which will support the end-to-end secure Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system for Europe, by commercial launch service provider Arianespace, the company said. EAGLE-1 is planned to be launched on a Vega C rocket as early as Q4 2024. 

OneWeb CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal has announced that it will become ready for service in the second half of 2023 as it will complete the launch of its constellations by March 2023. Sunil made this announcement at the ongoing Connecting the World from the Skies forum, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Saudi Arabia Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST). 

In this episode of Space Cafè Radio Editor in Chief Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Prof. Patrizia Caraveo, the Research Director at INAF, the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics, about the quest for darker and quieter skies. Prof. Caraveo, who is also the author of the book "Saving The Starry Night" (Springer), argues that light pollution is a major issue that has a severe impact on astronomical observations, devastating effects on many species of wildlife, and negative effects on human health. For this reason, she argues, light pollution needs to be discussed, the public needs to reach a level of awareness of this problem, and regulations must be implemented to find a solution. Enjoy this compelling discussion with one of the major experts in this field.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) published a position paper outlining core priorities in the field of space-based connectivity and industry requirements for the European Communication Satellite Constellation, the 5GAA said.  With the publication, the Association aims to highlight the role of NTNs (non-terrestrial networks) in the development of automotive and telecommunications industries.

D-Orbit spa, Exprivia spa, Planetek Italia srl, and Serco Italia spa have established OSIRIDE (Operational Solutions for IRIDE) to generate ideas by fostering the emergence of startups and innovative approaches for the development of the Iride satellite constellation. OSIRIDE will also extend benefits to a broad ecosystem of SMEs and startups in all Italian regions, thus ensuring innovation and further boosting the growth of aerospace districts.

Trevor Paglen is an American artist, geographer, and author, known for his artwork in the field of mass surveillance and data collection. His work was exhibited in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Barbican in London. In 2018, Trevor turned his interest to Space. He launched the Orbital Reflector, a 1.5 million dollars,

Join our next Space Café Scotland on the development of the Space Sustainability Roadmap for Scotland which was developed by AstroAgency and Optimat for Space Scotland's Environmental Task Force.

POLARIS conducted a 4-day flight campaign at the Airport of Peenemünde on the Baltic Sea, lasting from Friday, 28th to Monday, 31st of October. While previous demonstrator flight test campaigns took place at the local airport of Rotenburg/Wümme close to Bremen, POLARIS now required significantly larger airspace for high-performance testing.

Rivada Space Networks GmbH, a European network company launching a unique connectivity constellation for Government and Enterprise communications, announced that it has issued its request for proposals for 600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, having released the RFP for the associated heavy-lift launch services two weeks ago.