Space

Satellite telecommunications operator Sateliot, partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build a cloud native 5G service designed to provide customers with secure and reliable narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) connectivity over non-terrestrial network using its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, Sateliot said. 

Space startup ClearSpace has been awarded a US $2.46 million contract by the UK Space Agency to conduct the next design phase of the “Clearing of the LEO Environment with Active Removal” (CLEAR) mission. The phase will finish with the preliminary design review at the end of 2023.

Diversity is difficult to measure and quantify, given all the aspects and shapes it takes, yet it is easy to witness and observe the lack of it in many fields including the space sector. If the space sector and all its disciplines should be used to help improve life on earth and observe it (amongst other purposes), shouldn't it be represented by all terrestrial individuals equally? In an ideal world, yes! But history and social biases have prevented our progress towards this perfect world, and we find ourselves today with a space sector still dominated by cis white-male individuals.

Being part of a growing economy is where you want to be these days. And Space promises to be among one of the fastest growing sectors, with huge spillover potential into other industries. Currently, the space economy has been estimated to be at around 386 billion USD in revenue, and expectations predict it to be at 1 trillion USD by 2040. The outlook is attractive and moving within the space sector one could have the impression of booming space businesses. But are those numbers legitimate?

Hi-tech startup Celestia UK, has won a €800,000 ESA NAVSIP (Navigation, Innovation and Support Programme) contract to develop LEO-SYN+, an innovative PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) solution based on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations for 5G networks and applications, the company said. The project’s aim is to boost the reliability and performance of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).

The Queensland Government and SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) have launched the Queensland Earth Observation (EO) Hub, a partnership for two new Earth observation research projects. The Government and SmartSat CRC are both investing about US $1 million in the project.

In this Space Café Radio – SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Cafè Italy Host Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Dr. Namrata Goswami, an independent scholar on space policy and Great Power Politics. Dr. Goswami  is a Faculty Associate at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University. She is also a consultant for Space Fund Intelligence and a guest lecturer at the seminar on “India Today: Economics, Politics, Innovation & Sustainability”.

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev handed over command of the International Space Station to ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who became the first European woman in charge of the orbiting laboratory. The traditional handover ceremony took place yesterday, with the symbolic passing of a key from the outgoing commander.

The cooperative initiative between the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) to develop comprehensive approaches and proposals for Space Traffic Management (STM) has been successfully concluded, the IISL announced.

Satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability provider, Astroscale has opened its new Zeus satellite manufacturing and operations facilities at the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire. The new site will enable Astroscale to build satellite debris removal servicer satellites, and develop its commercial offering in the future.