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In Portugal, the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) is seeking new ways to apply scientific action to support solutions both in space and on Earth.

Virgin Galactic has successfully completed its inaugural commercial spaceflight from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The Galactic 01 spaceflight carried 13 research payloads and three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy. The spaceflight took off at 8:30 am MT (14:30 GMT), rising to an altitude at release at 44,500 feet. The flight's apogee was 52.9 miles, the top speed was Mach 2.88, and the landing time was 9:42 am MT (15:42 GMT).

As today, June 30, is International Asteroid Day, Test and Radiation (TRAD) is taking the opportunity to look back at its contribution to the DART mission. DART, or Double Asteroid Redirection Test, was a C-class mission of NASA. It was the very first mission dedicated to the study and demonstration of an asteroid deflection method. Furthermore, the mission's objective was to evaluate the use of a spacecraft's kinetic impact to modify the asteroid's trajectory so that it avoids the Earth.

AIRMO, an American start-up providing close to real-time data on CH4 and CO2 emissions, announced its pre-seed round of €5.2 million. The round consists of money from investors as well as a €3.7 million contract by the European Space Agency through its InCubed co-funding program run by the ESA Φ-lab. This pre-seed round will enable AIRMO to launch its first of twelve satellites into orbit. 

Cailabs, a French deep-tech company which designs, manufactures and sells photonic solutions, and Astrolight, a Lithuanian company providing satellite-to-ground laser communication, announced on the 28th of June that they have entered into an agreement to launch a satellite mission hosting Astrolight’s space-to-Earth laser communication terminal ATLAS-1. 

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Kevin O’Connell – from zombie statistics to the trillion-dollar space economy” took place on Tuesday, 27th June. Kevin O’Connell has had a diverse career in many sectors in commerce and intelligence. He has spent over three decades working on space commercialisation, including in his role as the Director of the Office of Space commerce with the US Department of Commerce. 

In this Space Café Radio -  SpaceWatch.Global's Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Dr. Nicole Quijano-Evan, Deputy Director, Crimes that Affect the Environment Program, Border Management Branch, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, Austria. This episode was recorded in Oslo during GLOC -  Global Space Conference on Climate Change. GLOC was co-organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), and the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA).

Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), provider of ground network services and Earth Observation services, has announced the expansion of its KSATlite network with the addition of a new cutting-edge ground station in Jeju, South Korea. 

NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. and SES have signed an agreement to collaborate on the implementation of next-generation commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services. The aim is to significantly increase the precision of resident space object (RSO) tracking to enhance the safety and sustainability of operations in space.

Spire Global, Inc has signed an agreement with OroraTech to build, launch and operate an eight-satellite constellation dedicated to global temperature monitoring. Once operational, it will represent the first and largest constellation of satellites dedicated to tracking and monitoring wildfires.