https://spacewatch.global/space-for-earth-1/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Fri, 06 Nov 2026 11:31:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/space-for-earth-1/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/11/czech-space-week-adela-boranova-on-growing-startups-bigger-funding-and-why-europe-needs-upstream/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 13:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79955 From Czech Space Week in Prague, ESA BIC Czech Republic Programme Manager Adéla Boranová joins Daniela Jovic to share the growth of the Liftoff Challenge, news of a third incubator programme with increased funding per startup, and her call for more upstream innovation in Europe.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/11/ohb-secures-e554-million-esa-contract-for-next-generation-sentinel-3-topography-mission/ Thu, 05 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79860 OHB System AG has secured a €554 million contract from the European Space Agency to develop the Sentinel-3 Next Generation Topography mission for the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program. The mission will comprise two identical satellites, with OHB serving as prime contractor and leading a European industrial consortium responsible for developing the spacecraft and their onboard instruments.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/11/ermis-3-demonstrates-1-gbps-optical-downlink-in-milestone-for-greek-space-program/ Tue, 03 Nov 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79767 Greece's ERMIS-3 CubeSat has successfully established an optical communications link with a ground station in the country, demonstrating laser-based data transmission between a small satellite in low Earth orbit and Earth. The achievement marks Greece's first successful optical link with a LEO satellite and represents a step toward validating high-capacity laser communications on smaller spacecraft.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/11/spacewatchgl-opinion-europes-window-on-the-world-is-wide-open-thats-the-problem/ Mon, 02 Nov 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79453
Written by Torsten Kriening .
At IABG’s 3rd Space Symposium in Ottobrunn, Nicolaus Hanowski, ESA’s incoming Director of Space Operations, nailed ten theses to the church door: ten on the strengths of Europe’s Earth observation, ten on its vulnerabilities. Torsten Kriening was in the room. The diagnosis is right; the cure is too gentle.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/eshailsat-and-arabsat-partner-to-expand-satellite-broadcasting-and-communications-services/ Fri, 30 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79625 Es’hailSat and the Arab Satellite Communications Organization have signed a strategic partnership agreement to expand cooperation in satellite broadcasting and communications services. The agreement was signed during the Arab Radio and Television Festival in Tunisia, and establishes a framework for joint initiatives across broadcasting, satellite communications and connectivity.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/esa-orders-four-more-galileo-second-generation-satellites-to-expand-europes-navigation-fleet/ Wed, 28 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79506 The European Space Agency has extended contracts with Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space to procure four additional Galileo Second Generation satellites, bringing the number under contract to 16. Announced on October 27, 2026, the procurement adds two satellites to each manufacturer’s existing order and forms part of Europe’s effort to upgrade its global satellite navigation system. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-opinion-space-is-not-the-hero-its-the-infrastructure/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79451
Written by Torsten Kriening.
Wildfire is testing whether Europe’s space sector can stop selling pixels and start acting like infrastructure. At a Munich Climate Week panel hosted by OroraTech and Airbus Defence and Space, firefighters made clear what they need from orbit: knowledge, connectivity and training, not just more data.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/earthdaily-secures-3-million-nasa-task-order-to-advance-landsat-integration-with-commercial-eo-data/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 07:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79460 EarthDaily has secured a $3 million NASA task order to assess whether data from its commercial satellite constellation could be incorporated into the Landsat programme, a joint U.S. government effort that has monitored changes across Earth’s land surface for more than five decades.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/deftech-day-2026-daniel-seidel-of-liveeo-on-germanys-first-truly-sovereign-imagery-capability/ Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79442 From DefTech Day 2026 in Erding, LiveEO co-founder Daniel Seidel joins Torsten Kriening to discuss the new alliance with Airbus, IABG and IBM Germany, demonstrate 3D terrain models built from satellite data in minutes, and explain why Germany still lacks its own commercial high-resolution optical imagery capability.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/iceye-nokia-explore-sovereign-satellite-communications-with-ukraine-as-iceye-partners-with-ororatech/ Fri, 23 Oct 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79345 ICEYE and Nokia have signed a Letter of Intent with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense to explore cooperation on sovereign satellite communications, potentially giving Kyiv greater control over connectivity supporting its defense operations. Separately, ICEYE has partnered with German space technology company OroraTech to integrate thermal satellite data with radar observations for wildfire detection, progression monitoring, and damage assessment. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-opinion-satellites-tell-you-where-to-look-then-someone-has-to-go-and-look/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78933
Written by Waqas Jamil
. He argues that Earth observation has become very good at showing where change is happening and much less comfortable with what, why and what to do about it - and that the commercial value is shifting from the pixel that raises the alarm to the verified answer that closes the file.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/reflect-orbital-books-two-skyroot-launches-to-deploy-sunlight-reflecting-satellite-network/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=79012 Reflect Orbital has booked two dedicated launches with India’s Skyroot Aerospace for its planned constellation of sunlight-reflecting satellites, designed to redirect sunlight to selected locations after sunset.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-analysis-the-sovereignty-test-what-happens-when-earth-observation-dependencies-fail/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78925
Written by Fernando Kalleder
Sovereign Earth observation is not defined by ownership alone. The real test begins when a supplier, service or system fails. This analysis examines what Europe can learn about preserving decision-making and operational capacity under pressure.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/esa-selects-planet-subsidiary-to-develop-slovenias-satellite-based-disaster-response-system/ Wed, 14 Oct 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78964 ESA has selected Planet’s Sinergise Solutions to develop the Slovenia Space Resilience Node, a 12-month pilot linking automated Earth observation with rapid tasking of higher-resolution imagery, starting with wildfire management.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/cassini-entrepreneurship-days-fiammetta-diani-on-building-a-space-market-not-just-space-technology/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78545 From the CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days in Prague, EUSPA's Fiammetta Diani joins Daniela Jovic to chart the event's growth from four investors in a lobby to hundreds of startups, explain why excellent technology is no longer enough, and introduce Make It With Space - a new demand-driven scheme for European scale-ups.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/cassini-entrepreneurship-days-weiyi-ding-on-what-cities-actually-need-from-space-data/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78536 From the CASSINI Entrepreneurship Days in Prague, Weiyi Ding, data scientist at the City of Amsterdam, joins Daniela Jovic to explain the Space for Cities project, how five European cities are piloting satellite data for urban challenges, and the gap still separating what startups offer from what public institutions need.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/10/spacewatchgl-opinion-carbon-offsets-pay-for-the-status-quo-part-ii-fixing-the-market-wont-fix-the-carbon/ Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78261
Written by Karolina Sarna
Carbon markets were built to direct money towards climate action. But what happens when their incentives reward the cheapest certified tonne rather than the most meaningful emissions reduction? Karolina examines why fixing individual credits may not fix the market itself.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-carbon-offsets-pay-for-the-status-quo-part-i-a-tonne-is-not-a-tonne/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 08:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78256
Written by Karolina Sarna
Most carbon offsets pay for a reduction that would have happened anyway, and even the real ones store carbon only temporarily against a fossil emission that lasts for centuries. The cleanup is making the credits look more trustworthy without changing what they are: a claim the atmosphere never registers.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/indian-startup-takeme2space-to-launch-orbital-computing-satellite-on-spacex-transporter-18-mission/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78271 Indian space startup TakeMe2Space is preparing to launch what it describes as India’s first orbital computing satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, as it seeks to process Earth observation data in orbit rather than send raw imagery back to Earth for processing.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/scotlands-aurora-avionics-prepares-for-first-flight-test-with-german-research-partnership/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78143 Aurora Avionics has integrated its PF1 computer into a German research rocket ahead of its first flight test, expanding the Scottish firm's European footprint.]]>