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In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Xavier Pasco, Director of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in Paris, during the 6th PSSI Space Security Conference, held in Prague, from the 19th to the 21st of June 2022. During this episode Xavier discusses the threats in the space domain, the European space safety and  security capabilities with Torsten. Tune in to hear more!

The hard reality of energy dependency has since February hit the European continent, which has decided to give a decisive push to the search for alternative methods to generate green and independent energy. Space is part of this huge technological challenge, with Space Based Solar Panels (SBSP) being discussed more and more as a viable method to generate electricity directly from Space-based infrastructures. Needless to say, the technological, economical, political and environmental challenges are enormous.

CYSEC, a European company specializing in data protection, in particular confidential computing, has announced raising €2m with the support of Karista. The company has earmarked the additional funding to spur the company’s growth in the NewSpace market, where it already has a large footprint.

Space sustainability company Privateer, is partnering with telescope manufacturer Celestron to crowdsource the transparency and predictability of space, Privateer said. Dr Moriba Jah, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at Privateer ha been advocating for transparency, predictability, and accountability in space for years.

Space launch systems operator Virgin Orbit (VO), and the Luxembourg Minister of Defence signed a Letter of Intent to begin the process towards developing responsive space capabilities inclusive of a Luxembourg-based mobile launch infrastructure available for NATO partners, and other Allies across the European continent, VO said. As part of the agreement, VO will assess how such a space capability could be based in the country and optimized for various needs. 

The Space Café Podcast #66: Melanie Stricklan - Slingshot Aerospace, how to get order in the chaos in low earth orbit. Melanie Stricklan has a captivating history in the United States Airforce and a powerful mission: with her company Slingshot Aerospace,

Firefly Aerospace, a launch, spacecraft, and in-space services company, has announced that its Alpha FLTA002 mission successfully reached orbit and deployed customer payloads and that former NASA Administrator James Bridenstine would be joining the Company’s Advisory Board.

Kongsberg NanoAvionics has announced a multi-million investment plan to support and accelerate its goal of becoming the prime supplier for small satellite constellations globally. As a result of the recent acquisition by Kongsberg and part of its growth plan, the company seeks to significantly grow its production capacity over the next two years. Likewise, it intends to ramp up its research and development (R&D) program.

PickNik Robotics, a robotics software and engineering service company, has won a SpaceWERX contract to work on robotics for the US Space Force. The company recently won a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract for continued work on supervised autonomy for space robotics, as well as a Colorado Advanced Industries Accelerator (AIA) grant for space robotics

Airbus´ High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) Connectivity Business has signed a strategic partnership with Salam as the last batch of Airbus' Pléiades Neo satellites arrives at the European Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, following a transatlantic flight from Toulouse, France.