Space

Intelsat and MaxIQ Space, a company in space-focused STEM education, have now completed this year’s STEM Space program with student project presentations and an awards ceremony. The innovative program, which Intelsat sponsors, has made major strides in inspiring and empowering young African participants who are looking to be future innovators and industry leaders in the African space sector.

As a response to wildfires which have spread across Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, and Canada an updated version of ESA’s World Fire Atlas is now available. It provides a detailed analysis of wildfires across the globe. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) has reported that, as of 29 Jul 2023, more than 234,516 hectares of land across the European Union has been burned this year.

SatSure, an Earth Observation space data application leader, announced on the 1st of August its equity investment in Astrogate Labs. SatSure aims to make use of Astrogate’s laser communications system, Astro-Link, for their subsidiary KalediEO. Astro-Link has a satellite-to-ground communications speed of 1 Gbps. 

Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC) has announced NASA Astronaut & Geophysicist Andrew J. Feustel (Ph.D.) to its team. This strategic hiring marks a significant milestone for CSMC as it strengthens its position at the forefront of space exploration and infrastructure development. In addition to his position, Dr. Feustel has also joined the core team as the Executive Vice President of Strategy for the organization.

In this Space Café Radio -  SpaceWatch.Global's Rika Valluri spoke with Muhamad Nurazmi Abbas, the Chief Executive Officer of Gading group, a group of companies are involved in providing services to the Aerospace, Marine, Defence, Energy, Technology, Waste Management, and related markets based out of Malaysia.

Dr. Kate Calvin, NASA’s chief scientist, and senior climate advisor, has become co-chair of a working group on climate change mitigation at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is the United Nations body responsible for assessing the science related to climate change. Prior to the selection, Calvin contributed to five reports by the IPCC.

Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation will begin work on Australia’s first permanent commercial suborbital space launch facility after planning consent was granted for the Koonibba Test Range. The Koonibba Test Range is one of the largest commercial rocket testing facilities in the world.

Voyager Space and Airbus Defence and Space announced on the 2nd of August a new agreement to pave the way to develop, build, and operate Starlab, a commercial space station planned to succeed the International Space Station. The US-led joint venture will bring together world-class leaders in the space domain, while further uniting American and European interests in space exploration. 

Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (iRocket) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) West. As a result, It will develop engines and stage technology for the laboratory's next-generation fully reusable Shockwave launch vehicle. Members from AFRL’s Rocket Propulsion Division at Edwards AFB, California, and iRocket, a privately-owned corporation, agreed on the collaborative effort in June 2023.

 The Space Café Podcast #86: Guillermo Soehnlein - From Titan Tragedy to Venus - The Audacious Journeys of Ocean Gate's Original Co-founder. In this riveting episode, Markus welcomes Guillermo Soehnlein, the audacious visionary who, beyond his original co-founding role at the tragically ill-fated Ocean Gate company responsible for the Titan submersible, now sets his eyes on Venus