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Arianespace has launched another Ariane 5 from ArianeGroup with two giant satellites on board and broke the record of the largest total mass injected with a single flight into the geostationary transfer orbit. For its 111th launch, flight number VA255 from Kourou, French Guiana, Ariane 5 executed the “highest performing flight by any launcher to geostationary transfer orbit”.

In this Space Café Radio – on tour on Mars (3), SpaceWatch.Global contributing editor Emma Gatti spoke in this third episode of our AMADEE-20 coverage with Alon Shikar, Vice President Research & Development at D-Mars. They talked about the new home on Mars, the evolution of the habitat and upcoming challenges.

Boost your company and enter new markets! Space4Impact is looking for startups and scale-ups offering satellite data analytics and services for versatile applications on Earth. The Space2Earth Accelerator is an international acceleration programme for downstream space applications supported by the Canton of Vaud. The programme runs from January to June 2022 and features three in-person events

Imagine if in all of human history no one had yet explored the oceans. Imagine if our first proverbial “toe in the water” was a mere 70 years ago but we had the technology of today with which to explore and exploit it. That’s very much the situation for space – the whole planet is converging on space at the same time. Let that sink in.

In this Space Café Radio – on tour on Mars (2), Emma Gatti spoke in this second episode of our AMADEE-20 coverage with Alexandra de Carvalho and Annabelle Mielitz, members of OeWF (Austrian Space Forum) and members of the Human Factor team. They discussed the wellbeing of the analogue astronauts and the important questions about alcohol, Netflix, EVA's and snoring on Mars.

Rwanda´s Space Agency (RSA) has filed a request with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to put nearly 330,000 satellites in space. The country has filed for 27 orbital so-called shells, a collection of orbits at the same altitude. The agency said the submission followed ITU regulations and procedures.

Nanoracks, Voyager Space and Lockheed Martin want to develop the “first-ever free-flying commercial space station”, Starlab, the companies said. The space station will be a continuously crewed commercial platform, dedicated to conducting critical research, fostering industrial activity, and ensuring continued U.S. presence and leadership in low-Earth orbit (LEO), the partners said.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is currently undergoing final checks after a successful arrival at the ESA launch Facility in Kourou French Guiana. Its launch is still scheduled for 18th December 2021, on an Ariane 5 rocket. The operational preparations of the world’s largest and most complex space science observatory will take two months in total.

First Eutelsat´s Belmer, then Intelsat´s Spengler: the CEO of the satellite operator Intelsat, Stephen Spengler, decided to step down and retire, the company said. “Stephen Spengler has decided to retire as CEO upon the Company’s emergence from its financial restructuring process and the naming of a successor”, Intelsat said. “Until that time, Spengler will continue as CEO and lead Intelsat

Three new directors, two more women on board: the European Space Agency (ESA) has appointed Géraldine Naja, Simonetta Cheli, and Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz as new directors at its helm, the agency said. Géraldine Naja has been appointed to the new position of Director of Commercialisation, Industry and Procurement (D/CIP), based at ESA Headquarters in Paris as of 1 November 2021.