North America

Satellite vehicle and subsystems designer, Rogue Space Systems Corporation (Rogue), has decided to support the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution 77/41, calling on all Member States not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests. The US-led initiative has already been adopted by ten countries.

A new NASA radiometer is now in low Earth orbit, paving the way for future satellite constellations dedicated to measuring infrared energy radiating from Earth’s surface. With development happening at Leonardo DRS with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office, the SpaceX Transporter 6 launched the Multiband Uncooled Radiometer Imager (MURI) instrument on Tuesday, January 3, as one of several hosted payloads within Loft Orbital’s YAM5 washing machine-sized satellite.

Electromagnetic and electric power generation systems manufacturer, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS), has signed a contract with spakcetech solutions company, Advanced Space, to build an ESPA-Grande class satellite, perform payload integration, and space vehicle test for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Oracle spacecraft program, the company said. 

KBR has selected Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) to provide all Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) SWFO Antenna Network (SAN) services. The KBR and KSAT team are developing a blended network, including U.S. government ground station sites with KSAT-owned capabilities delivered as a service.

NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. has closed a $35 million Series C funding round with US-based private equity lead Cartesian Capital Group, LLC, through an affiliated entity, Pangaea Three Acquisition Holdings III, LLC. NorthStar will use the funding to launch an advanced Space Situational Awareness service by mid-2023

Mobile voice and data satellite communications network company, Iridium Communications, has entered into an agreement with wireless tech innovator, Qualcomm Technologies, to enable satellite messaging and emergency services in smartphones powered by Snapdragon Mobile Platforms, Iridium said.

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Michael Byers” about the International open letter "Reducing risks from uncontrolled reentries of rocket bodies and other space objects" took place on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023. Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia.

The Caltech Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) successfully launched a prototype into orbit atop SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission. The Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD) will test harvesting solar power in space and then beaming the energy back to Earth, Caltech said.

Space technology company, Voyager Space, and advanced aerospace and defence solutions provider, Airbus Defence and Space, entered into a partnership to develop and operate Starlab space station. The station will serve NASA as well as a global customer base of space agencies and researchers, Voyager said.

Commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection company, Sidus Space, has been selected by engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, Bechtel Corporation, to manufacture cables for the NASA Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) project, Sidus said.