Astroscale U.S. Inc., (“Astroscale U.S.”), the U.S. unit of Astroscale Holdings Inc., the market leader in securing long-term orbital sustainability, announced that Carolyn Belle and Rob Staples have joined Astroscale U.S. Belle is serving as Director, Advanced Systems as of July 2020, and Staples is serving as Program Manager as of June 2020.
Read More »VIPER Rover to use Thales Alenia Space tech for Earth comms
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) for the delivery of the X-Band Transceiver and X-Band Diplexer, which will ensure communications for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER).
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Feature: Survey on space norms highlights issues
Specialists in space security constantly call for more robust norms of behaviour in outer space. As the number of users and uses of space grows, the calls get louder and more urgent. Meanwhile, many states claim to want the same thing. Canada’s national defence policy, “Strong, Secure, Engaged,” for example, aims to “provide leadership in shaping international norms f
Read More »E2MC Update On Space Financing Rounds In July 2020
By Raphael Roettgen With approximately US$56 million of space-related funding rounds, July was slightly stronger than June 2020, but still on the weak side, and lacking any large rounds (except as noted below). On the positive side, the monthly rounds represent a good cross-section of geographies and subsectors. SpaceX is …
Read More »ESA and GomSpace to create the Juventas CubeSat for the Hera mission
GomSpace Luxembourg SARL and the European Space Agency (ESA), signed a contract to continue development and implementation of the Juventas CubeSat in support of the Hera mission.
Read More »Markus Payer joins SpaceWatch.Global as Editor-in-Chief
Access to space matters. The race to space that commenced in the 1950’s has accelerated at an unprecedented pace. Dozens of countries invest in space missions, launch capabilities, and sophisticated systems.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: The Future of EO Satellite Operations
Over the next decade, Earth Observation (EO) satellites will stop streaming image data to the earth. Instead, the instruments onboard EO satellites will tell us what is happening below. And, these satellites will be able to take control of their operations to allow for the execution of complex tasks.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Space Law at the Crossroads: Contextualizing the Artemis Accords and the Space Resources Executive Order
by Kiran Mohan Vazhapully Artist’s impression of the Gateway and Orion. The Gateway is the next structure to be launched by the partners of the International Space Station. Image courtesy of NASA.Last month, based on a Reuters report, Chris Borgen wrote in Opinio Juris about the White House chalking out details of a United States (US) sponsored international framework dubbed “Artemis Accords”, to facilitate commercial mining on the Moon. They are conceived as inter-agency bilateral agreements similar to the International Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (ISS-IGA).
Read More »ispace reveals final design for HAKUTO-R Lunar Lander
Lunar services company, ispace, revealed the final design of its lunar lander that will be used in the first mission of the company’s “HAKUTO-R” program, a multinational commercial lunar exploration program.
Read More »Latvia becomes ESA Associate Member State
This Association Agreement between ESA and the Government of the Republic of Latvia, builds on the successful results achieved under the previous frameworks of cooperation and enters into force for a duration of seven years. Comprising 18 Articles and two Annexes, it orchestrates the strengthening of Latvia’s relations with ESA.
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