Europe

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and the European Space Policy Institute, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs No. 17: ‘Next Steps to the Moon: What Role for Europe? ’, originally published in November 2017.

Space activities within the United Nations Member States are growing apace and the amount of space faring nations is increasing. Enabling these countries to find their path to space is a key part of the work of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) which works to promote ‘international cooperation in the peaceful use and exploration of space science and technology for sustainable economic and social development’. The Office is on hand to offer help to Members that wish to establish legal and regulatory frameworks to enable them to become active in the space arena.

OHB System and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed an agreement that will see the companies collaborate on a commercial Lunar Surface Access Service (LSAS). The agreement, signed during the Ilon Ramon Space Conference on Tuesday, will provide a lunar lander that can allow payloads up to 150kg to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Airbus Defence and Space has successfully completed the Telesat LEO Constellation System Requirements Review and is now working on the detailed design of the system. Development of key technologies for both space and ground segments will enable Airbus to offer solutions that not only meet Telesat’s ambitious requirements but also provide cost effective and stable approaches for its longer term business objectives.

Thales Alenia Space, the Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) and Space Systems Loral (SSL), a Maxar Technologies company, have completed an important milestone for the Telesat LEO constellation.

Some unnamed European Union member states are discussing the possibility of creating a European space force according to Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, and Entrepreneurship and who is also in charge of EU space policy.

Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Kingdom of Belgium, and Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, signed a joint declaration at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels on 23 January 2019 in which the two countries commit to collaborate on the development of an international framework for the exploration and utilisation of space resources.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and the European Space Policy Institute, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs No. 21: ‘On the importance of narratives in outer space ’, originally published in March 2018.

Airbus Defense and Space Inc. has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus in support of the Blackjack program.

Kleos Space S.A. reports that the company's first cluster of satellites has entered the Integration Phase after successfully undergoing Critical Design Review (CDR) with Gomspace A/S.