Space

Dr David Parker, ESA’s Director for Human and Robotic Exploration, has named the “specially trained woolly astronaut”, Shaun the Sheep, Aardman’s family favourite TV series, as the first astronaut on the Artemis I mission to the Moon. “This is an exciting time for Shaun and for us at ESA.

ALL.SPACE, (formerly Isotropic Systems), has launched its fifth generation software-defined service enablement ‘smart terminal’, which is moving into initial production for release at the end of 2022, the company said. The platform is able to connect with all networks utilizing intelligent routing, edge computing, integrated modems, and cellular access.

The Space Report 2022 Q2 edition has been published providing insight into the expanding global space economy, reaching a record US $469 billion, with a growth rate that is the fastest in seven years. The edition examines 46 nations’ actualized government space spending as well as commercial revenue from last year.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #060 - Paul Taylor, Space Analyst: Is Europe losing the space race? Episode 060 features a special guest: Paul Taylor. Europe is great when it comes to space exploration. ESA can look back on spectacular missions. But is that enough? Space analyst Paul Taylor paints a bleak picture of Europe's future in space. His current report for download: Running out of Space

Parts of the first stage of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket, that launched the second, Wentian module of the Tiangong Space Station last month reentered Earth’s atmosphere over Southeast Asia six days after launch, the China Manned Space Agency confirmed.

SES and its wholly-owned subsidiary SES Government Solutions (SES GS) completed the acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES) from Leonardo DRS for US $450 million, SES announced. The combined business will create a scaled solutions provider to serve the US Government’s multi-orbit satellite communications needs.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) announced that they are looking for students from developing countries to study nano-satellite development as part of another round of the post-graduate study on Nano-Satellite Technologies

In this Space Café Radio – SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Café Italy Host Dr. Emma Gatti spoke with Temi Shogelola, Space Sustainability Lead at the UK Space Agency, at the 4th Secure World Foundation Summit in London on June 22-23. At the summit, Temi gives her perspective and opinion on the needs of the space domain to implement policies to further space sustainability.

Space infrastructure company, Masten Space Systems, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to increasing debts following its 2020 contract from NASA for a robotic lunar lander. Masten was founded in 2004 and had won a number of NASA contracts.

Congress has passed a NASA authorization bill, the first in five years, extending the operational life of the International Space Station (ISS) up until 2030 while also backing the agency’s Artemis program. The passing of the bill signals that Congress pioritizes the advancement of NASA’s technology, infrastructure, and workforce.