Space

The first annual conference of the Swiss Space Law Forum, titled “Space Law: Key Principles and Swiss Perspectives”, took place at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law on the campus of University of Lausanne on 4 November 2022.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), UN Development Program (UNDP), and the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) have formed a partnership to boost international efforts to deliver thriving, responsible and sustainable national space economies. 

The European Space Agency (ESA) has appointed two new directors: the Director of Science and the Director for Technology, Engineering and Quality with the approval of the ESA Council. Both will start in their new role in 2023.

On 15 December 2022, ATSpace prepared a Kestrel I rocket for the VS02 mission from the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex in South Australia. During the oxidizer filling process, the launch operators discovered a leak and subsequently halted launch preparations. After further investigation, they determined that it should postpone the launch.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station experienced a coolant leak because of which Roscosmos had to cancel a spacewalk, NASA said. NASA and Roscosmos are currently evaluating the impacts of the leak to the integrity of the spacecraft. The crew members aboard the ISS are safe. 

EUMETSAT has announced the successful launch of its Meteosat Third Generation-Imager 1 (MTG-I1) from the European Space Centre in Kourou. As a result, EUMETSAT Director-General Phil Evans said the successful launch of MTG-I1 was a critical milestone for the organization, bringing the goal of delivering essential data from the satellite’s instruments to meteorologists one step closer

Satellite imagery and spatial solutions provider, Planet Labs, shared its financial results for the third quarter for the period ending October 31, 2022, demonstrating continued growth and momentum, the company said.

Quantum-safe encryption company, Arqit Quantum, has announced a significant change in its technology strategy according to which the company is no longer planning to incorporate quantum satellites into its QuantumCloud offering, Acquit said.

Canadensys Aerospace Corporation has announced that its multi-camera AI-enabled lunar 360-degree imaging system is now on its way to the Moon.  On December 11, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the imaging system launched into space aboard the Japanese ispace Hakuto-R lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. As part of the in-space check-out procedure on its way to the Moon, one of the cameras in the system captured this spectacular image of our home planet. Also visible in the image is the spent 2nd stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, as it falls away from the Hakuto-R spacecraft.

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Luca del Monte, Head of Commercialisation Department at the European Space Agency - ESA at this year's Spaceport Norway event held in Oslo, from the 25th to the 26th of October 2022. This event was a great example of combining national innovation power and the global space economy into one location.