North America

Luxembourg, 17 December 2020. – Canada will send an astronaut to the Moon in 2023, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced. Canada and the U.S. space agency NASA signed the Gateway Treaty, a historic agreement that confirms Canada’s participation in the next major international collaboration in space exploration, the planned Lunar Gateway …

Luxembourg, 17 December 2020. – The U.S. space agency NASA has awarded a NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract to Blue Origin and its New Glenn rocket, the agency announced. “The New Glenn launch service will be available to NASA’s Launch Services Program to use for future missions in accordance …

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Martin Coleman, Member of the Advisory Board at Satcoms Innovation Group, United Kingdom talked about 2020 vision on Space Debris. Martin Colman talked about the importance of data sharing in the Space Situational Awareness context. He addressed the Space Debris issue from the data site and will share …

Seattle-based Spaceflight Inc. is a pioneer in rideshare services and offers a suite of products and services including payload integration, launch and in-orbit transfer. Spaceflight serves commercial and non-profit organizations as well as institutions and government entities to achieve their mission goals. Spacewatch.Global Editor-in-Chief had the chance to talk with …

Luxembourg, 16 December 2020. – Iridium Communications launched its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service, giving seafarers, “for the first time in history”, “a real-time emergency response and rescue service that works everywhere in the world”. “No other maritime emergency response system matches the coverage and real-time communications …

Luxembourg, 16 December 2020. – The rocket start-up Astra succeeded to reach space with its second launch attempt from Alaska, the company tweeted yesterday. Astra launched its Rocket 3.2 vehicle from the Kodiak launch pad in Alaska into a peak altitude of 390 kilometers but was “half a kilometer per …

by Guy Thomas SpaceWatch.Global asked its staff and contributors to review 2020 and provide an outlook into 2021. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is the answer of Guy Thomas, retired signals intelligence officer. In 2020 Technology took Two Steps Closer to Global Maritime Awareness via Space …

Berlin, 14 December 2020 – Last week, the Open Lunar Foundation announced a new initiative: Breaking Ground, a lunar resource trust. The purpose of the trust is to steward and demonstrate formal and effective institutional management of lunar resources between different stakeholders. In order to fulfill this goal and explore …

Paris, 15 December 2020. – The U.S. and the European space agencies, NASA and ESA, selected three astronauts to serve as crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is expected to launch in autumn 2021, the agencies said. The trio will consist …

by Dr. Malcolm Davis SpaceWatch.Global asked its staff and contributors to review 2020 and provide an outlook into 2021. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is Dr. Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst at  The Australian Strategic Policy Institute. For Australia as a new space power, 2020 …