Space for Earth

Satellite vehicle and subsystems designer, Rogue Space Systems Corporation (Rogue), has decided to support the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution 77/41, calling on all Member States not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests. The US-led initiative has already been adopted by ten countries.

A new NASA radiometer is now in low Earth orbit, paving the way for future satellite constellations dedicated to measuring infrared energy radiating from Earth’s surface. With development happening at Leonardo DRS with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office, the SpaceX Transporter 6 launched the Multiband Uncooled Radiometer Imager (MURI) instrument on Tuesday, January 3, as one of several hosted payloads within Loft Orbital’s YAM5 washing machine-sized satellite.

Euroconsult has released the 9th edition of its annual space market overview to cover the past 12 months and forecast the next 10 years for the industry. The report charts highs that contributed to the continued growth of many aspects of the commercial sector, together with the ongoing challenges of the world geopolitical and world economic environment.

AXESS Networks and Es’hailSat have announced a Strategic Partnership Agreement to provide Teleport and VSAT services for multiple sectors in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. AXESS Networks offers teleport and satellite communications services globally to customers in various industries, including oil & gas, mining, maritime, telco, corporate, government and NGOs. In the same vein, Es’hailSat operates two GEO satellites and a state-of-the-art teleport in Doha, from where it provides independent, high-quality, advanced satellite services in the region.

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Michael Byers” about the International open letter "Reducing risks from uncontrolled reentries of rocket bodies and other space objects" took place on Tuesday, 3rd January 2023. Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia.

By virtue of Sweden assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (first semester, 2023), the Country has released its Swedish Presidency program that covers its plans for space. The program sets out the priorities and main direction for the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January until 30 June 2023. The priorities cut across many facets, including space. 

Sony has adopted Pale Blue's water thruster for its new nanosatellite program, STAR SPHERE. The water thruster will prolong the satellite’s life by 2.5 years with the ability to enter and keep the orbit at 500-600 km altitude. Furthermore, Pale Blue will conduct its first space demonstration at the end of January 2023.

Viasat Inc, a global leader in satellite communications, has completed the sale of its Link 16 Tactical Data Links (TDL) business to L3Harris Technologies for approximately $1.96 billion in cash. Viasat expects the net proceeds from the sale to be approximately $1.8 billion after estimated taxes, fees, and other expenses. Furthermore, Viasat intends to use the proceeds to reduce net leverage and increase liquidity.

The Space Café Podcast #71: Joel Spark - GM Space Services at Spire, unlocking the digital frontier and the quest to build a second earth. Spire Global is a data and analytics company that uses nanosatellites to track global data sets, such as maritime, aviation, and weather patterns. It operates a fleet of over 110 CubeSats, the second-largest commercial constellation by the number of satellites, and the largest by the number of sensors.

American public Earth imaging company, Planet, is planning to launch 36 SuperDove satellites, Flock 4y, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission. This will be the company’s eighth launch with SpaceX.