Europe

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.

As part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth observation FutureEO programme, the agency selected Harmony as the tenth Earth Explorer research mission to help better understand the transport and exchanges of energy and matter within Earth’s complex dynamic system, ESA said.

The European Space Agency (ESA) selected Moon company Astrobotic, and NewSpace start-up Lunar Logistics Services (LLS), to fly the LandCam-X innovative landing sensor camera to the Moon in 2024 on Astrobotic’s Griffin Mission One (GM1). The contract will be the first ever commercial delivery to the Moon procured by ESA.

British Earth observation company, Satellite Vu has signed a second SpaceX launch contract to launch its second satellite, doubling its thermal data collection capacity, the company said.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and satellite operator SES, signed a contract with support from the European Commission for the development of Eagle-1, Europe’s first space-based quantum key distribution satellite system, the companies announced at a press conference at the International Astronautical Congress 2022 in Paris last week. 

Satellite manufacturer Reflex Aerospace, and space-tech company HPS (High Performance Space Structure Systems), signed a letter of intent to prevent space debris, the companies announced. According to the agreement, Reflex will remove all its satellites from orbit at the end of their operational life.

 The UK Space Agency granted a €1.9 million funding boost to the UK and European subsidiary of on-orbit servicing company Astroscale, to continue developing its space debris removal technology, the firm said. This next phase of the Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture (COSMIC)