Europe

There is gap between the interests of space agencies and private investors toward sustainability. While agencies build their reputation and PR campaigns on the commitment that the sector has towards sustainability – meaning here the use of space technology and data for monitoring the state of the planet- the private sector remains tepid to the entire concept.

With space as a far-reaching domain entangled with Earth issues across many industries, geopolitics affect how global alliances deal with security in orbit and beyond, and how collaborative governance motivates investment: from connectivity to Earth observation to crowded orbits and debris, to energy, space traffic management, space exploration and resources utilization.

The global space market size will raise from 340 million USD annual sales to a 1 trillion USD domain in the next two decades. It is projected that the number of people employed in the space industry as a whole will increase to 400,000 in the next few years. This enormous growth could bring some challenges and opportunities, some of which have been openly discussed at the event.

The Financial Times Live conference on Investing in Space was held in London on the 8th and 9th of June 2022, a live and digital conference promoted by the Financial Times focused on the financial and private investors opinion on the space industry. Sponsored by ViaSat and BAE Systems among others, and with the support of ESA and the UK Space agency,

Germany-based AI and smart algorithm-driven connectivity provider, NeuralAgent, has signed a cooperative research agreement with Airbus to investigate the use of AI-based algorithms for future communication systems, NeuralAgent said. The company’s software will be suitable for deployment in a variety of applications, including IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) and telecommunications.

Brussels may shut the UK out of the Horizon science programme, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, and block the UK’s involvement in the EU’s Copernicus environment monitoring Earth observation programme as part of post-Brexit trading agreements for Northern Ireland. Britain’s participation in the Euratom nuclear research partnership is also likely to change.

Willkommen im Space Café Young Global Talents - live von der ILA 2022. Was brauche ich für (m)eine Karriere in der Raumfahrt? Wer kann mir dabei helfen und den Weg bereiten? Diesen Fragen werden wir mit unseren Gästen nachgehen. Space Café Young Global Talents ist das neue Format von SpaceWatch.Global für Studenten, aufstrebende Talente und junge Weltraumliebhaber.

In this Space Café Radio, SpaceWatch.Global Event coordinator and Space Café Young Global Talents Host Chiara Moenter spoke with Kian Mirshahi, CEO of Mayday.ai about Mayday, the space ecosystem, and the importance of finding and relearning our balance and harmony with nature.

Nanosatellite manufacturer and operator, GomSpace, has been awarded a contract to deliver two 12-unit CubeSats to the German Space Agency, DLR, GomSpace said. The cubesats will serve as research objects for DLR’s Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center, RSC3, in Trauen, Germany.

Software as a service startup, OKAPI: Orbits, has raised €5.5 million in a seed funding round led by San Francisco-based MunichRe Ventures for its software aiming to make space operations safer and more efficient. US firm, Dolby Family Ventures, European VCs Herius Capital and APEX Ventures and investors also participated in the round.