North America

McLean, Integrated satellite and terrestrial network operator Intelsat, has chosen David Wajsgras as its next chief executive officer (CEO), effective April 4th. Wajsgras succeeds Stephen Spengler, who announced his plans for retirement in October last year.

The Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University is invigorating its work on the McGill Encyclopedia of International Space Law (MESIL), the university said. The McGill Encyclopedia was first announced in November 2020. Its aim is to be the go-to authoritative, peer-reviewed and reliable online resource on international space law. 

A rogue 3-ton rocket stage crashed into the far side of the Moon after spending seven years in space. The collision was out of view for ground-based telescopes and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was not in position to record the event either. Scientific American suggests that the impact crater will be near the naturally formed 570 km wide Hertzsprung Crater. 

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening caught up with Emmanuelle David, the Executive Manager of EPFL Space Center (eSpace) and Dr Minoo Rathnasabapathy, a Research Engineer within the Space Enabled Research Group at the MIT Media Lab.

Romania became the 16th nation to sign the Artemis Accords for cooperation in space exploration. Marius-Ioan Piso, President and CEO of the Romanian Space Agency, signed the document on behalf of the country in Bucharest. The NASA-led Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding commitments, based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

During the fifth Space Café Canada event, host Jessica West of Project Ploughshares sat down with Paul Meyer, a global expert on arms control and diplomacy in outer space, to discuss why efforts to agree to restrictions on the use of weapons and other military restraints has been so difficult.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Dr. Andreas Wittmer, Program Director of the Space for Business Program, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. What can space (regulation) learn from the Aviation sector? In addition to being the Programme Director of the Space for Business Program and at the University of St.Gallen (HSG)

Privateer, co-founded by Steve Wozniak (Apple), Alex Fielding (Ripcord, Apple), and Dr. Moriba Jah (University of Texas at Austin), has formally come out of stealth mode to launch its proprietary knowledge graph technology to map and track space debris and satellites in Earth orbit, the company said. The firm’s aim is to create a vital data infrastructure for sustainable new space economy. 

Space logistics and orbital transportation company D-orbit signed a contract with US launch provider Spaceflight to deploy the Kleos Patrol Mission (KSF2) satellites aboard D-orbit’s next ION Satellite Carrier mission, the company said. The four satellites of Radio Frequency Reconnaissance data-as-a-service company, Kleos Space, will launch with SpaceX’s Transporter 4 mission.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. International Women's Day 2022 - A Conversation on Women in Space.