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The King has unveiled the Astra Carta seal to mark the launch of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Astra Carta framework. The seal was designed by Sir Jony Ive. The Astra Carta seal was revealed during a Space Sustainability Event at Buckingham Palace in front of astronauts, business leaders, environmentalists, and scientists. 

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has announced the appointment of Aarti Holla-Maini of the United Kingdom as Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in Vienna. She will succeed Simonetta Di Pippo of Italy. The Secretary-General also extended his appreciation to the Chief, Committee, Policy and Legal Affairs Section, Niklas Hedman, who will continue to serve as Acting Director of UNOOSA until Ms. Holla-Maini assumes this position.

Earth Blox, a Scottish geospatial platform for businesses and financial institutions, announced on the 27th of June that it has joined the Google Cloud Partner Advantage program as a technology partner and authorised Google Earth Engine trainer. The collaboration provides Google Cloud customers with climate and nature analytics to accelerate their sustainability transition and meet regulatory requirements. 

The Board of The Global Satellite Operators Association (GSOA) has announced the election of Telesat’s CEO, Dan Goldberg, as its new Chair. The body also elected Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat, as co-Vice Chair, alongside Ali Al Hashemi, CEO of Yahsat, whom the body appointed earlier this year.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson led a ribbon cutting ceremony on the 21st of June to showcase a new Earth Information Center at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The centre is partly a physical space as well as a virtual experience that will show how NASA can improve lives in the face of disasters, environmental challenges and our changing world. 

This Space Café Brazil will feature Manuel Heitor , professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), the engineering school of the University of Lisbon, in conversation with Ian Grosner, Correspondent of SpaceWatch.Global for Brazil. Space for People: How? The next Space Café Brazil will take place on Thursday, June 22 at 10 am (BRT) / 2 pm (WET) / 3 pm (CEST).

Virgin Galactic has announced the four-person crew and target date for its Galactic-01 commercial spaceflight. The three-person crew from the Italian Air Force and National Research Council of Italy will board VSS Unity for a 90-minute flight to conduct a series of suborbital science experiments.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded GMV a contract to develop the ground segment responsible for in-orbit control and validation of the Galileo Second Generation (G2G). The new contract comes on top of those GMV has already signed for the Galileo First Generation (G1G), bringing the total contract value since 2018 to more than €500 million.

In this Space Café Radio -  SpaceWatch.Global's Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Dr Rune Floberghagen, Head of Science, Applications and Climate Department at ESA. The 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).

OQ Technology and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) have announced their partnership for the launch of the PHI-Demo satellite, part of the Payload Hosting Initiative (PHI). The satellite will carry technologies into space to undergo testing for the very first time, marking a milestone achievement for both organizations.