North America

SpaceWatch.Global has been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. This is “Cyberspace and outer space are new frontiers for national security, according to an expert report”, originally published 13 August 2021 at The Conversation by Steven Freeland, Danielle Ireland-Piper, Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Jonathan Crowe, Samuli Haataja, Wendy Bonython.

The space flight startup Astra closed a launch contract with Spire Global for next year, the Nasdaq-listed company said. Spire Global plans to begin launching with Astra next spring, the launch company said, without giving further details. Spire uses its multi-purpose satellite constellations to source hard to acquire,

Rocket Lab will supply three Photon spacecraft to Varda Space Industries to integrate them into Varda´s zero-gravity manufacturing platform and return high-end products produced in space to Earth. Varda’s space-manufactured products target markets such as fibre optic cables, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.

The Canadian government invests $1.44 billion in Telesat to support its new LEO Lightspeed constellation. The government provides a loan of $790 million and makes a $650 million preferred equity investment in Telesat Lightspeed, Telesat said. In return, Telesat commits to invest in Canada and create hundreds of high-quality jobs.

A Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus resupply spacecraft has made a more than 3700 kg delivery to the International Space Station. The cargo ship was named after the first Asian American astronaut, Ellison Onizuka. Ship S.S. Ellison Onizuka delivered science investigations and cargo on behalf of NASA.

Rocket Lab’s next Electron rocket launch is the first of three dedicated missions for global monitoring provider BlackSky. Mission ‘Love At First Insight’ represents the company’s fastest launch turnarounds to date, along with the two other missions to come. The mission is part of a multi-launch agreement signed earlier this year between Rocket Lab and Spaceflight Inc.

NASA, conjoined with the U.S. Army and Navy, continues backing university research into future technologies for helicopters and other vertical lift aircraft. NASA has designated academic teams as Vertical Lift Research Centers of Excellence (VLRCOE). The teams are led by colleges in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Maryland.

The lunar cargo startup Intuitive Machines will launch its third Moon mission (IM-3) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and continues "to build a cislunar economy”, the company said. “By expanding on Intuitive Machines’ capability developed through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, we can offer an annual launch cadence,” Intuitive Machines said.

The private equity firm AE Industrial Partners (AEI) partners with Boeing to manage and increase its HorizonX venture capital fund. The partnership will focus on early-stage minority equity investments in "businesses that will transform the future of space, mobility, industrial tech, connectivity and digital solutions with an emphasis on sustainability", AEI said.

More than ever before, the promise and potential in space is available to those with the ambition to reach for it. Nowhere is this story more exciting and compelling than in Africa. Considering the goals and priorities detailed in the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063, the socio-economic and professional development many African nations seek can be facilitated and accelerated by space activities.