North America

Pixxel has announced $36 Million in a Series B funding round with participation from new investors such as Google, along with existing investors Radical Ventures, Lightspeed, Blume Ventures, growX, Sparta, and Athera. The new funds will advance Pixxel’s mission to build the world’s first and highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation, delivering actionable climate insights on a planetary scale. It will also help further the development of Aurora: Pixxel’s AI-powered analytics platform to make hyperspectral analysis accessible for everyone.

Viasat Inc., a global communications company, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Inmarsat. The combined company enhances its scale and scope to continue to drive growth in the increasingly dynamic and competitive satellite communications industry. In addition, the company’s assets, once fully integrated, will tentatively increase the pace and scope of innovation in the global satellite connectivity sector. Furthermore, it will offer new and better capabilities to customers that will address the ever-increasing speed, flexibility, reliability, coverage, and security they demand.

MDA Ltd., a provider of advanced technology and services to the global space industry, has announced it is working with Thoth Technology Inc. (Thoth) to create a made-in-Canada deep space radar surveillance and space domain awareness (SDA) capability. A strategic cooperation agreement will integrate MDA's commercial data services with Thoth's ground-based radar technology to provide unprecedented levels of sovereign monitoring in deep space over Canada, providing both detection and characterization of space objects.

NASA is seeking industry proposals for a next-generation Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) which will allow astronauts to go further and explore the south polar region of the Moon during the Artemis missions. NASA will contract the LTV as a service from industry instead of owning the rover. 

Spain has become the 25th country to sign the Artemis Accords, as it signed it during a ceremony at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on Tuesday. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Diana Morant, Spain’s science and innovation minister, signed on behalf of Spain. Pedro Sánchez, President of Spain, Julissa Reynoso, the U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, and Karen Feldstein, NASA Associate Administrator for International and Interagency Relations, also were in attendance.

The United States Department of State has released the first-ever Strategic Framework for Space Diplomacy to advance U.S. global space leadership. Through this Framework, the Department will expand international cooperation on mutually beneficial space activities, including through the Artemis Accords and commitments against destructive anti-satellite missile tests. Furthermore, the Department will encourage responsible behaviour, strengthen understanding and support for U.S. national space policies, and promote international use of U.S. space capabilities.

Copernicus Space Corporation has announced that Andrew Rush has joined the Company as its President and Chief Executive Officer. The Company leverages deep knowledge of astrophysics, space systems engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a unique space technology platform for distributed, intelligent in situ Swarm Exploration™. 

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. has successfully completed the second of two dedicated Electron launches to deploy a constellation of tropical cyclone monitoring satellites for NASA. The "Coming To A Storm Near You" launch lifted-off on May 26 at 15:46 NZST (03:46 UTC) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula, deploying the final two CubeSats of NASA’s TROPICS constellation to orbit.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #81: Knicole Colon - Renowned NASA Astrophysicist and Expert in Exoplanet Exploration. The hunt for a second home. Join us in this thought-provoking episode as I sit down with Dr. Knicole Colon, a distinguished astrophysicist from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, to uncover the mysteries of exoplanets and discuss the future of space exploration.

For some, space activities are conceived only as bold exploratory missions and plans for a future on the Moon and around Mars. While these pursuits are inspiring, they do not on their own reveal the powerful potential that space affords. The truth is activities in space are vast, complex, and local, and the value of their impact might not be immediately obvious to all stakeholders.