Entrepreneurship

A so-called “self-eating” rocket engine is being developed by the universities of Scotland and Ukraine. It will be capable of putting small satellites into orbit at competitive price.

Taking the best of both company offerings, Planet and Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new range of satellite imagery products.

Thai New Space company, mu Space Corporation, has approved the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a manufacturer to build the company’s satellite with coverage spanning across Asia-Pacific.

Sky and Space Global (SAS), the UK-Israeli New Space company registered on the Australian Stock Exchange, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese company Beijing Commsat Technology Development Co. in order to tap the massive Chinese Internet of Things (IoT) market.

According to Sergei Sopov, S7 Space CEO (S7 Space is part of S7 Group), the company intends to build an enterprise for NK-33 rocket engines production in the city of Samara, Russia. He informed the Vedomosti paper that in order to build the enterprise the company is planning to buy out production facilities from the Russian United Engine Corporation.

Australian New Space company Fleet Space Technologies has announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and SpaceX will launch the first of its nanosatellites in the coming months; these nanosatellites will be the foundation for a constellation that will provide connectivity for the Internet of Things (IoT).

Sky and Space Global, the European-Israeli New Space satellite communications company that is registered on the Australian Stock Exchange, has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Air Traffic Automation Systems (IATAS) for the use of its satellite network by the air traffic company.

Rocket Lab, the U.S.-headquartered small satellite launch provider that launches its rockets from New Zealand, has just announced its partnership with satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight for three satellite launches through 2018 and into 2019.

On May 17, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko visited the new R&D center of the private aerospace company Firefly Aerospace in the city of Dnipro (Ukraine). The President was met by Maxim Polyakov, founder of Firefly Aerospace.

Italy’s largest private satellite manufacturer, SITAEL, is set to open its Australian headquarters on 1 July 2018 outside of Adelaide, South Australia, further cementing SA’s position as Australia’s premier New Space hub.