Region

Spire Global, a space-to-cloud data and analytics company based in Virgina US, announced on the 3rd of April that they have been awarded a contract by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) for commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing. This contract is part of the NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancements (SCE) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) program in September 2022. 

Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy after the satellite launch firm was unable to secure the funding necessary to keep operating and cut about 85% of its staff. The company listed $243 million in assets and $153.5 million for its total debt in a Chapter 11 petition that it filed in Delaware. However, Virgin Investments Ltd has committed to offering an additional $31.6 million to keep the Company's operation going while it seeks a buyer.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has announced the successful initial launch of Tranche 0 (T0) of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). These will make up the Transport and Tracking Layer satellites that demonstrate the low-latency communication links to support the warfighter with a resilient network of integrated capabilities, including tracking of advanced missile threats from low-Earth orbit (LEO).

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) has announced its intention to launch Kenya's first operational 3U Earth Observation Satellite, Taifa-1 ("one nation" in Swahili) satellite, on April 11, 2023. The launch, through SpaceX, will take place in Vandenberg Base, California, UDA aboard Falcon-9 Rocket. Kenyan engineers from SayariLabs constructed and designed the Taifa-1, while EnduroSat aided in the testing and manufacturing of the parts. To this end, EnduroSat organized a two-week educational training for SayariLab’s engineering team, dedicated to space systems and engineering, covering all aspects of mission analysis, design, and spacecraft assembly.

The European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA) has renewed the mandates of the current Chair of the EUSPA Administrative Board, Mr. Vaclav Kobera, and Deputy Chair, Mr. Juan Manuel Codosero Bolaños, for another two-year term after a unanimous vote.

The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) has successfully concluded its spring meetings that held from March 28-30, 2023, in Paris. During the IAF Spring Meetings, the International Program Committees (IPC) of both the 74th International Astronautical Congress – IAC 2023 and the IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change 2023 – GLOC 2023 met and agreed upon the Plenary and Technical Programs.

Exotrail has signed a contract with Astro Digital for the delivery of multiple spaceware™ electric propulsion systems that will go on satellites that Astro Digital manufactures for an undisclosed customer. Astro Digital will integrate the spaceware™ - micro L into the Corvus platform, its flexible and cost-effective product ranging from 6U to ESPA class missions. Exotrail propulsion systems will tentatively deliver the spaceware™ to meet Astro Digital's objective to begin services in 2024.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Héloïse Vertadier and Christopher Johnson in a conversation with Torsten Kriening about "Lunar Policy Handbook: Guiding Responsible and Sustainable Development of the Moon". This document is a reference guidebook for government personnel and private actors in the space industry. It is designed to be a high-level guide that is useful for a broad audience of space actors, outlining policy issues and operational considerations related to lunar activities.

In his conversation with Lukasz, Maciej will talk about his experience in the space sector, focusing primarily on the use of Earth observation data to support various economic sectors and public policies. He will describe how this data supports social development and is useful for everyday life.

X-Energy Reactor Company and Kinectrics have announced a partnership to design, construct, and operate one of the first commercial-scale Helium Test Facilities (“HTF”) in North America. This facility will test and verify the performance of critical structures, systems, and components of X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor in helium-based high-temperature and high-pressure environments.