Space

ESA’s astronaut selection has been progressing as planned, with the cognitive, technical, motor coordination and personality testing (Phase 2) ending in March, while psychometric testing, group and individual exercises and practical tests (Phase 3) ended in June this year. Over 400 applicants took part in the psychological assessments of Phase 3, carried out by an international team of experts.

The first company to 3D print entire rockets, Relativity Space, has signed a multi-year, multi-launch Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with global communications network company, OneWeb, the companies said. According to the LSA, Relativity will launch OneWeb’s low Earth orbit satellites on its Terran R rocket from 2025.

A Minotaur II+ rocket exploded approximately 11 seconds after launch, Vandenberg Space Force reported. No one was injured in the explosion and the debris fell back onto the immediate vicinity of the launch pad. Investigation is currently underway to determine what caused the malfunction.

In this Space Café Radio, SpaceWatch.Global Event coordinator and Space Café Young Global Talents Host Chiara Moenter spoke with Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN (D/EOP) at the Living Planet Symposium in Bonn.

Secure communications cubesat, Speqtre, has passed its critical design review meaning that a full scale model of the satellite can now be built. Speqtre is being developed by the UK-based Science and Technology Facilities Council’s RAL Space and Singaporean quantum communications company, SpeQtral.

Mynaric and L3Harris signed an agreement according to which L3Harris will invest in Mynaric to gain 7.2% of Mynaric’s total shares and as a result widen the scope of their current collaboration to cover all domains including space, air, maritime and ground, Mynaric said. L3Harris will invest approximately €11.2 million by means of a capital increase

Airbus U.S. Space & Defense has been contracted to assemble, integrate, test, and launch 42 satellite platforms as well as provide space vehicle commissioning support services to Northrop Grumman to satisfy the U.S. Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer prototype constellation (T1TL) award, Airbus said.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #058 - Erik Wernquist, the man behind the space video hit "Wanderers" on YouTube. Episode 058 features a special guest: Erik Wernquist. When he uploaded his 3:51 minute vision of humanity in space to Youtube, Erik didn't realize the way it would change his life and, according to the comments, the lives of many others. In the latest edition of the Space Cafe Podcast,

In-orbit mobility solutions provider, ThrustMe, is renovating a 900-square-meter building in an industrial zone in the southern outskirt of Paris to turn it into a smart manufacturing site supporting high volume production of its propulsion systems, the company said.  The premises will accommodate a new production line and an increased number of employees

John Auburn, former Managing Director and CCO of Astroscale, joins ReOrbit as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and as a Member of the Board, said Sethu Saveda Suvanam, Founder and CEO or ReOrbit. The company welcomes Mr Auburn’s expertise in building solutions and upscaling start-ups. He will help to identify the necessary steps and lead the way in making ReOrbit a market leader in its field.