Entrepreneurship

Effective 8 April 2020, the sale transaction of MDA by Maxar Technologies to a consortium led by Toronto-based investment firm Northern Private Capital has officially closed. This marks the return of MDA to Canadian control as a private, independent company headquartered in Canada. Founded in 1969, MDA is Canada’s largest …

The UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi-based global innovation hub Krypto Labs, announced on 9 April 2020 that it would be kicking off its virtual programmes as part of the Global Space Industry Accelerator (GSIA) initiative. This shows that despite social distancing guidelines in the current COVID-19 …

The rapidly growing new space startup Rhea Space Activity (RSA), headquartered in Washington DC and with operations in Colorado Springs, has been tapped by the United States Air Force (USAF) to develop a wholly new field of intelligence to surveil “cislunar” space – that is, the volume of space between …

NASA and Masten Space Systems announced on 8 April 2020 that the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Project Office has selected Masten to deliver a suite of NASA-sponsored scientific instruments to the lunar surface by December 2022. In addition to commercial payloads, Masten’s XL-1 lunar lander will deliver nine science …

Rocket Lab, a space systems company and the global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, has successfully completed a mid-air recovery test – a maneuver that involves snagging an Electron test stage from the sky with a helicopter. The successful test is a major step forward in Rocket Lab’s plans …

This Space Café WebTalk happened on 7 April 2020, featuring Raphael Roettgen, Managing Director and Founder of E2MC, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, co-publisher of SpaceWatch.Global and COO of ThorGroup GmbH. Raphael explained and analysed the space investments in the first quarter 2020. A focussed was put on the impact …

  Demand for oil has collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic just as supply is about to strengthen because of a dispute between Russia and Saudi Arabia. As a result, oil prices have sunk to levels not seen since 2002. As storage tanks around the world fill up, ESA-backed companies …

CSS, a West African communications services provider with 20 years of experience supplying critical satellite and broadband services, together with Forsway, a leading provider of innovative solutions tapping satellite and existing terrestrial technologies to enable cost-efficient broadband, announced on 7 April 2020 the next phase of their cooperation in Mauritania …

Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group (HKATG) announced it aims to launch the “Golden Bauhinia No.1” low-orbit high frequency satellite in June from China. The planned launch marks an important milestone in the company’s “Golden Bauhinia” space remote sensing project. The rapid development of international commercial aerospace makes it one of …

Hanley Wood | Meyers Research, the housing industry’s foremost advisors and provider of rich data, has announced it acquired Bird.i, a Scotland-based company that combines the latest satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide valuable land and building insights. Bird.i’s imagery processing technology shows how things are changing …