Entrepreneurship

Africa, much like the US, Europe, and China, has demonstrated its interest in using space as a means to a societal end. In Africa’s case, the continent has awakened to how space, specifically space science and technology, can assist in addressing Africa’s social and economic challenges. The way the African Space Strategy puts it, Africa needs “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena." The rapid global development of spatial activities is a nifty representation of the fact that the same awakening happened in other parts of the world way before Africa. This may mean that Africa is late to the party, but perhaps it's more encouraging to see it as Africa being able to learn the best model for space development from other more advanced spacefaring nations.

Polaris, a German aerospace start-up, successfully ignited their AS-1 engine on the 22nd of November. This Hot Fire Test was the first time the engine had been ignited. The test took place on an airfield at a former airport in northern Germany. The main material of the engine is Inconel and this engine is a heavy ground test version, with lighter versions of the engine for in-flight testing. 

Amini, a Kenya-based climate-tech startup aiming to bridge the environmental data gap in Africa, has raised $4 million in seed funding. Salesforce Ventures and the Female Founders Fund led the funding round, with further participation from VC Satgana, Pale Blue Dot and Superorganism, who had previously backed the startup in its $2 million pre-seed round earlier this year.

Arcfield, a government technology and mission support provider, announced on the 29th of November that it has completed its acquisition of Orion Space Solutions, a developer of end-to-end space mission capabilities and solutions. Arcfield intends for the acquisition to enhance their space exploration and hypersonic detection and tracking capabilities for agencies in the Department of Defence (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC).

UP42, a geospatial developer platform and marketplace, and OroraTech, a space-based thermal intelligence company, announced on the 30th of November that they have signed an agreement. Under the agreement they will grant easy and fast access to global high-resolution thermal-infrared imagery. 

Tata Advanced Systems Limited, India’s private sector player for aerospace and defense solutions, and Satellogic Inc. have announced their collaboration to establish and develop local space technology capabilities in India. This collaboration is a first step in TASL’s satellite strategy and a significant milestone for Satellogic as it enters the fast-growing Indian defense and commercial market.

Spire Global, Inc. has announced the launch of its High-Resolution Weather Forecast model, a differentiated regional high-resolution weather forecasting service to meet the critical demands of the energy and commodity markets. The solution provides precise and customizable weather forecasts extending up to six days, with the capability to be run at resolutions as fine as 1 kilometre, covering any point on the globe, including the most remote regions and the open oceans.

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, will present its innovative space technologies at the upcoming COP28 in Dubai. One of the conference's primary aims is to address the challenges of global climate change. Yahsat is already working closely with various UAE Government entities and international organisations, including the United Nations. The company also actively commits to providing advanced, affordable, resilient, and reliable solutions that will address the challenges of global climate change. 

The UK is aiming to join Portugal and Spain as a member of the Atlantic Constellation and is contributing a new pathfinder satellite designed and built by a UK-based company adding to the innovative Earth and coastal monitoring and data sharing network. This new commitment will further strengthen the UK’s national capabilities in Earth observation technology and complement the UK’s contributions to the EU Copernicus program, European Space Agency and bilateral missions.

L3Harris Technologies has successfully deployed reflectors onboard the Hughes JUPITER™ 3 ultra high-density satellite to provide HughesNet® internet access across the Americas and to support enterprise networks, in-flight Wi-Fi, cellular backhaul and community Wi-Fi solutions.