North America

Satellite imagery and spatial solutions provider, Planet Labs, shared its financial results for the third quarter for the period ending October 31, 2022, demonstrating continued growth and momentum, the company said.

Canadensys Aerospace Corporation has announced that its multi-camera AI-enabled lunar 360-degree imaging system is now on its way to the Moon.  On December 11, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the imaging system launched into space aboard the Japanese ispace Hakuto-R lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As part of the in-space check-out procedure on its way to the Moon, one of the cameras in the system captured this spectacular image of our home planet. Also visible in the image is the spent 2nd stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, as it falls away from the Hakuto-R spacecraft.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has approved a resolution to halt one type of anti-satellite (ASAT) testing, a largely symbolic move intended to support broader space sustainability initiatives. The U.N. General Assembly approved the resolution, which the United States and several other nations introduced, on December 7, among other resolutions on arms control and related topics, with little discussion or debate. A total of 155 nations voted in favor of the resolution, with 9 voting against it and 9 others abstaining.

NASA has signed the US $3.2-billion SLS Stages Production and Evolution Contract with Boeing for the manufacture of the core and upper stages of future Space Launch System (SLS) rockets for the Artemis missions going to the Moon and beyond, NASA said.

Online fashion retailer Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire who purchased all the seats aboard SpaceX’s Starship, has picked eight crew members to accompany him on the journey. for the first-ever artist-centered mission.

Sidus Space, Inc., a Space-as-a-Service company focused on mission-critical hardware manufacturing combined with commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection recently signed an agreement with Exolaunch. The agreement will see Sidus Space use Exolaunch's CarboNIX separation system to deploy LizzieSatTM satellites during the LizzieSat rideshare missions with SpaceX in 2023 and 2024. This agreement includes comprehensive technical support that ensures safe, reliable LizzieSat microsatellite deployment.

Yesterday, December 11, 2022, marked the end of the first Artemis mission as NASA’s Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 17:40 GMT/18:40 CET after traveling around the Moon and farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans and return them to Earth.

In this week’s Space Café Brazil, Ian Grosner talked with Bruno Sarli, a Brazilian Aerospace Engineer. Bruno Sarli is a PhD Aerospace Engineer with 13 years of experience, most recently focused on space flight dynamics for the past seven years.  After graduating in Aeronautics in Brazil and Space Engineering in Europe, he moved to Japan where he obtained a PhD in Engineering while working for ISAS/JAXA as a researcher. In 2016, Bruno joined NASA Goddard Space Flight Center where he focused on mission design and planetary defense.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has granted OQ Technology patents for its “frequency synchronization” and “timing synchronization” technology. The two synchronization technologies are already in use for communicating with the satellites in the company’s growing 5G IoT (Internet of Things) constellation connecting IoT devices globally.