Europe

Prestwick Spaceport’s representatives are to meet with stakeholders at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA 2022) this week to accelerate plans to become Europe’s premier space launch location, the company said. The spaceport has already secured more funding than any other UK spaceport, for example US $96 million from the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

End-to-end space solutions company, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, is to acquire space domain awareness, orbital analysis, space surveillance and tracking start-up, Northern Space and Security (NORSS). The UK-based startup was founded five years ago by Ralph Dinsley, a Royal Air Force veteran.

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Tim Flohrer, Head of Space Debris Office at the European Space Agency, at the LEO Kinetic Space Safety Workshop in Lausanne about threats and risks in Low Earth Orbit and how to move forward to a sustainable future in space.

CEO of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Dr Alice Bunn OBE, has been named as the new President of UKspace, the trade association of the British space industry, the institution said. She takes over the role from Will Whitehorn from September. Dr Bunn joined IMechE a year ago; prior to that, she served as the UK Space Agency’s International Director.

Green propulsion system supplier, Dawn Aerospace, has been awarded €1.4 million from the European Commission to help develop its transformative, green in-space propulsion technology, the company said. The grant was awarded by the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator programme. The funding be invested in hydrazine-replacement technology which

SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Café Italy Host Emma Gatti spoke with Joe Dodd, Senior Vice President and Corporate Development of LinQuest Corporation, during the 6th Space Security Conference, held in Prague between the 19th and the 22nd of June 2022.

Euroconsult published the latest update of “Prospects for the Small Satellite Market” forecasting further growth in the global supply and demand of small satellites weighing a maximum of 500 kg. The 8th edition of the market intelligence report expects about 18,500 smallsats to be launched over the next decade.

New European launch vehicle designed and manufactured by Avio, Vega C (Consolidation), successfully launched for the first time from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana under the supervision of ESA. Vega C can now begin its operational phase targeting at least four launches per year.

Launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), successfully tested its Helix engine in flight configuration for a total of 74 seconds, the company reported. The test included long-duration hot firings of 30 and 40 seconds each, preceded by a short test of four seconds of the same engine. The tests reached the desired duration, Helix operated nominally and was shut down safely. 

ESA set up a 12-member advisory group to provide decision-makers with independent and objective geopolitical, economic and societal assessments regarding the agency's human and robotic space exploration. The group comprises eight men and five women from political, economic, academic and explorer backgrounds.