Space

Australian in-space transportation and logistics startup Space Machines Company (SMC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global launch services company Arianespace, to study the available options to ensure an optimal compatibility between the launchers and SMC’s OTV family.

This year the 23rd AMOS (Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies) Conference, held in Hawaii from the 27th to the 30th of September 2022, hosted 1212 in-person attendees at the Wailea Beach Resort and 259 guests virtually. The conference sold-out way in advance. Maybe a sign of a post-Covid desire to travel, or maybe a sign that Hawaii never loses its exotic allure, nevertheless the enthusiastic attendance also reflected a growing interest in space sustainability and space commerce initiatives across all sectors, from national governments to private companies, from non-governmental entities to the science community.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Navigation Directorate is planning an in-orbit demonstration with new low Earth orbit (LEO) navigation satellites supplementing Europe’s 23 Galileo satellites. The LEO-PNT satellites will investigate a new multi-layer satellite navigation system-of-systems approach to deliver seamless Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT). ESA states that the technology could enable much more accurate, robust and available-to-all services.

ICEYE, a provider of natural catastrophe solutions and insights, has provided crucial flood insights over the past several months to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The company delivered its rapid flood extent and depth information through its partnership with New Light Technologies (NLT) and Bana Solutions (Bana).

Environment information services enterprise NorthStar Earth & Space, stated that the first three spacecraft of its 24-satellite constellation dedicated to commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) will be among space-to-cloud data and analytics company, Spire Global’s satellite payloads to be launched by Virgin Orbit in mid-2023.

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Xavier Pasco, Director of the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique in Paris, during the 6th PSSI Space Security Conference, held in Prague, from the 19th to the 21st of June 2022. During this episode Xavier discusses the threats in the space domain, the European space safety and  security capabilities with Torsten. Tune in to hear more!

The hard reality of energy dependency has since February hit the European continent, which has decided to give a decisive push to the search for alternative methods to generate green and independent energy. Space is part of this huge technological challenge, with Space Based Solar Panels (SBSP) being discussed more and more as a viable method to generate electricity directly from Space-based infrastructures. Needless to say, the technological, economical, political and environmental challenges are enormous.

CYSEC, a European company specializing in data protection, in particular confidential computing, has announced raising €2m with the support of Karista. The company has earmarked the additional funding to spur the company’s growth in the NewSpace market, where it already has a large footprint.

Space sustainability company Privateer, is partnering with telescope manufacturer Celestron to crowdsource the transparency and predictability of space, Privateer said. Dr Moriba Jah, Co-Founder & Chief Scientist at Privateer ha been advocating for transparency, predictability, and accountability in space for years.

Space launch systems operator Virgin Orbit (VO), and the Luxembourg Minister of Defence signed a Letter of Intent to begin the process towards developing responsive space capabilities inclusive of a Luxembourg-based mobile launch infrastructure available for NATO partners, and other Allies across the European continent, VO said. As part of the agreement, VO will assess how such a space capability could be based in the country and optimized for various needs.