Region

The Saudi Ministry of Education has approved the teaching of earth and space sciences as part of the curricula for the secondary school system, starting the academic year 1445, corresponding to 2023-24, according to local reports. This is because the ministry aims to cultivate positive attitudes toward space science among male and female students. This will be in accordance with international best practices for academic courses, as well as recent developments and scientific and national standards in this field.

On the first day of the FT Live Event Investing in Space, SpaceWatch.Global CEO Torsten Kriening had the chance talking with European Space Agencys Director General, Dr. Josef Aschbacher about the status of commercialization at ESA, lessons learned from NASA and “why space is an area to invest?”

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Dr.-Ing. Sandra Häuplik-Meusburger  from TU Wien, Institute for Architecture and Design during the opening of the exhibition Room with a View in the Science Corner at the Technical Museum in Vienna in March 2023.

Westinghouse Electric Company and Astrobotic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore collaboration on space technology programs for NASA and the Department of Defense. The collaboration will consequently focus on developing space nuclear technology and delivery systems. The joint effort will also include strengthening the space nuclear supply chain and workforce in the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia regions.

A bold ambition for Europe in space exploration has received enthusiastic support from politicians, business leaders, and independent experts from across Europe at an event held today in Vienna. Delegates discussed the immense international, economic, and societal importance of space exploration for Europe – and how to establish the way forward.

Azista BST Aerospace will launch its first satellite ABA First Runner (AFR), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on 12th June 2023 as part of the Transporter 8 Mission. This follows from the Company's creation of a 50,000-square-foot facility capable of supporting the production of two satellites per week.

Launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) has successfully hot-fired its upper stage for a full duration of 280 seconds. This marks the successful completion of the Integrated System Test (IST) campaign, in which the Company integrated a staged combustion Helix engine into an upper-stage tank system and hot fired several times prior to completing the full duration in the final test. 

Inmarsat Maritime, a Viasat business, has announced its new Fleet Reach coastal LTE service for maritime connectivity, which brings uninterrupted high-speed broadband to merchant, offshore, energy, and fishing customers – even when they are sailing near the coast or are docked in-port.

The Maldives hosted its first ever space conference last month. The Space for Island Nations Conference 2023, or ‘SINC’ for short. Of course the name ‘SINC’ was chosen with a wink. Small island nations are in trouble. As the flattest country on Earth (an average of 1.2 metres above sea level and only 0.4% of land area), the threat posed to the Maldives by climate change has been known for decades.

On the 1st of June following the opening session of  the European Navigation Conference (ENC) the main procurement batch of Galileo Second Generation initiated last summer has been finalised. The system is ready for its In Orbit Validation development phase.