Space

Saudi Arabia is the newest country to join the Artemis Accords, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable space exploration for the benefit of all mankind guided by a common set of principles, NASA said. The Accords was signed by the CEO of the Saudi Space Commission, Mohammed bin Saud Al-Tamimi, on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

CEO of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), Dr Alice Bunn OBE, has been named as the new President of UKspace, the trade association of the British space industry, the institution said. She takes over the role from Will Whitehorn from September. Dr Bunn joined IMechE a year ago; prior to that, she served as the UK Space Agency’s International Director.

Imagine walking on a remote beach away from the polluting lights of a city. You look up and see thousands upon thousands of stars blanketing the heavens, bisected by the pale glow of our Milky Way—the galactic disc in which we live. You pick up a grain of sand and hold it at arms’ length to cover a minuscule portion of the night sky. What might lie in that tiny patch?

Green propulsion system supplier, Dawn Aerospace, has been awarded €1.4 million from the European Commission to help develop its transformative, green in-space propulsion technology, the company said. The grant was awarded by the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator programme. The funding be invested in hydrazine-replacement technology which

OneWeb has asked the FCC to reject satellite broadcaster Dish Network’s and spectrum holder RS Access’ proposal to run two-way mobile services in the 12 GHz band. OneWeb sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) backing Starlink’s concern about terrestrial 5G interference with satellite broadband networks.

Launch and space systems company, Rocket Lab USA, has supported a significant milestone for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Mandrake-2 mission, the company said. Able and Baker, the two Mandrake-2 spacecraft, successfully closed and maintained an optical communications link at a range of 114 km.

SpaceWatch.Global Senior Editor and Space Café Italy Host Emma Gatti spoke with Joe Dodd, Senior Vice President and Corporate Development of LinQuest Corporation, during the 6th Space Security Conference, held in Prague between the 19th and the 22nd of June 2022.

Euroconsult published the latest update of “Prospects for the Small Satellite Market” forecasting further growth in the global supply and demand of small satellites weighing a maximum of 500 kg. The 8th edition of the market intelligence report expects about 18,500 smallsats to be launched over the next decade.

New European launch vehicle designed and manufactured by Avio, Vega C (Consolidation), successfully launched for the first time from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana under the supervision of ESA. Vega C can now begin its operational phase targeting at least four launches per year.

Launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), successfully tested its Helix engine in flight configuration for a total of 74 seconds, the company reported. The test included long-duration hot firings of 30 and 40 seconds each, preceded by a short test of four seconds of the same engine. The tests reached the desired duration, Helix operated nominally and was shut down safely.