Russia&CIS

Russia plans to create a manned space complex in LEO, Roscosmos reported. The news comes after learning that the Russian segment of the ISS is to be retired after 2024 due to ageing. This, in turn opens up the way for national space infrastructures to take over the exploration of outer space.

A software failure caused a thruster misfiring and tilted the International Space Station (ISS) during the docking of the Russian science module Nauka, space agencies and media reports said on Friday. Nauka inadvertently started to fire its thrusters after its successful docking to the ISS and tilted the station, causing a loss of attitude control for around 45 minutes, the reports said.

The European Robotic Arm (ERA) is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) after its launch from Baikonur, the European Space Agency (ESA) said. The 11-m-long robot is travelling folded and attached to what will be its home base – the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, also called ‘Nauka’, ESA said.

This piece describes the challenges posed by the increasing proliferation of orbital space debris, as well as debris falling back to Earth. It describes how a ‘business as usual’ case going forward threatens to result in outer space becoming less accessible and navigable, thus compromising future space activities. It describes the existing legal and governance frameworks that has been developed

The advent of large satellite constellations has focused attention on the risks associated with increasing activity in space. The growing space traffic and debris population, which results in more conjunctions, has made apparent the limitations of our collision avoidance capabilities and processes.

Secure World Foundation (SWF) successfully concluded its third annual Summit for Space Sustainability this past month (June 22-24, 2021), marking yet another milestone in what is becoming a marquee tradition for the space community. Even though this year’s event had to be virtual, SWF once again managed to create an engaging and interactive platform

Ready to reach out: Europe’s robotic arm for the International Space Station (ISS) is ready for its flight and task, Airbus said. Airbus space engineers have installed the European Robotic Arm (ERA) onto the Russian Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) and it is now ready for its flight to the ISS

Join SpaceWatch.Global's Space Café "Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland" #04 series where global space law experts discuss the legal issues from everyday space activities. This event will take place on 22 July 2021 at 9:30 am CEST / 5:30 pm AEDT. Space Café "Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland" will analyse current space developments with a legal focus

Space Race number two, more for Hollywood: the Russian actress Yulia Peresild and the American Tom Cruise compete to be the first to shoot a movie in space. In that race, it seems that the Russian star is in the pole position. The 36-years old actress and her director are planning to take off from Baikonur to reach the ISS in October.

The future of the exploration of Moon and Mars took center stage at the IAF Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2021) in St. Petersburg, the federation said. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, announced their plans to send a rover to the Moon by 2024/2025.