Europe

In the EU project “High Performance AlexandriteCrystals and Coatings for High Power Space Applications” (GALACTIC), Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) aims to develop a solely European supply chain for space-qualified high-performance laser crystals made of Alexandrite with the partners Optomaterials S.r.l. (Italy) and Altechna Coatings UAB (Lithuania). These laser crystals are to be used in earth observation satellites in space.

The Hague International Space Resources Governance Working Group announced on 3 April 2020 that Commentary on the Building Blocks for the Development of an International Framework on Space Resources is now available in hard copy and as an online version.

The Airbus built BepiColombo mission will make a fly-by past Earth on 10 April 2020 as it continues on its epic journey to Mercury.

The Frontier Development Lab (FDL) Europe applies AI technologies to science to push the frontiers of research and develop new tools to help solve some of the biggest challenges that humanity faces.

AXESS Networks (AXESS), a global leader of satellite-based communications solutions, announced on 31 March 2020 that it will further strengthen its market presence in the Middle East:

Rendezvous operations and orbital maneuvers are not new, but the political circumstances and technical possibilities are. Geopolitical tensions are increasingly replacing a relatively calm phase in space and the rhetoric relating to this domain is becoming correspondingly radicalized.

Cobham Aerospace Connectivity announces that it has been awarded a contract by the UK MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) to research Advanced Anti-Jam techniques for the protection of navigation signals received from the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

US$158 million of announced space-related financing rounds in March 2020 bring the total for the first quarter of 2020 to approximately US$550 million.

The Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency and the President and Chair of the UKspace trade body met virtually last week to discuss the space sector’s response to Covid-19.

Astroscale Ltd., a market-leader in developing a space debris removal service to secure long-term orbital sustainability, has announced the strengthening of its management team with the appointment of Kumar Singarajah as Director of Government & Regulatory Affairs (UK & Europe) effective 23 March 2020.