Space Economy

In the second episode of season 2 of Space Café Israel, Meidad Pariente is in conversation with Ella Barak, the Director of the ASTRA accelerator at Starburst Aerospace.  Could you reveal a personal aspect that hasn't been included in your LinkedIn profile, giving us a peek into a lesser-known facet of your life? I'm a proud mother of three young boys, and they are my primary motivation behind many of my personal and professional decisions. They are my guiding stars in many daily decisions and during my career path.

Researchers are using a human-machine collaborative approach to assess areas of poverty in underdeveloped nations. Providing an accurate assessment of poverty is a global challenge with 53 countries not conducting agricultural surveys in the past 15 years, and 17 countries not publishing a population census. To fill the data gap new technologies are being used to estimate poverty using alternative sources including street views, aerial photos, and satellite images. 

Spire Global, Inc. has received a multi-million euro contract from EUMETSAT, Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, to provide radio occultation (RO) data. The contract is for an initial period of two years, from 2024-2026, with three optional, one-year extensions. The award follows a successful pilot program, which demonstrated the benefits of Spire’s RO data for weather forecasting accuracy and value. The Company’s RO data provides information about the vertical profiles of pressure, humidity and temperature across all points of the globe, including in the most remote regions and open oceans.

Helicity Space, a commercial space company developing in-space propulsion and power technology based on fusion power, has raised $5 million in seed round funding from several new investors. The successful raise enables Helicity Space to advance its proprietary technology, the Helicity Drive, which consists of scalable fusion propulsion engines that should enable safer, faster, reusable, and more fuel-efficient travel into deep space.

Lunasonde has announced the launch timeline for its third satellite to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The San Xavier satellite will fly on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-11 in the summer of 2024 via launch provider Exolaunch. It is the company’s first on-orbit test of its proprietary very low-frequency radar technological stack capable of detecting subsurface mineral deposits up to two kilometers underground.

Thales Alenia Space has signed a multi-mission contract with PT Len Industri to provide a state-of-the-art Earth observation constellation combining both radar and optical sensors and dedicated to the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD). As a result, both companies will join forces to deploy an end-to-end system including space and ground segment in Indonesia.

The U.S. Space Force, the U.S. European Command, and the U.S. Africa Command have launched the U.S. Space Forces Europe and Africa component, their newest service component. The component was established to ​​support the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) in an expansion of USSF’s growing reach into combatant commands.

Amos has won an ESA contract to supply six hyperspectral spectrometers that will serve as the heart of the CHIME satellite mission (Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the Environment, also known as Sentinel-10). CHIME is an extension of the Copernicus program of the European Commission, in partnership with the ESA. 

The intersection between space exploration and climate action is becoming increasingly relevant, as advancements in technology enable us to monitor and understand our planet's changing climate from a unique vantage point.

Focus on local industries, people and communities brings #space community closer. Remco Timmermans gives us his final thoughts from the NSE ExpoForum held in Italy this past week. The highlights include : - The need for legislation and space law, nationally and internationally, - EU Space law to presented during March 2024, - Role of space in national and international security