Space

The Outer Space Institute is pleased to publish the International Open Letter on Kinetic Anti-Satellite (ASAT) Testing, the second Open Letter coordinated by the OSI. This letter urges the UN General Assembly to take up consideration of a treaty that would prohibit conducting debris-generating anti-satellite weapon tests.

Becoming an anchor customer: The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed up with Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) for communications services from Lunar Pathfinder, SSTL said. ESA will be the anchor customer for services from Lunar Pathfinder which will be "the first dedicated lunar communications relay spacecraft"

TiSPACE’s Hapith I rocket has failed to launch for the third time from Whalers Way site in Southern Australia. The rocket caught fire on the pad but was contained and extinguished by Country Fire Service crews on the scene, the company said. No one was injured during the incident.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has collected the first sample of Martian rock, a core from Jezero Crater slightly thicker than a pencil, NASA reported. The core is currently awaiting retrieval in an airtight titanium sample tube with serial number 266. The rover had failed to collect samples on its first try just last month.

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening got to chat with Lukasz Wilczynski – the brain, organiser, hidden champion and president of the European Space Foundation and the CEO of Polish tech publicity firm, Planet Partners. A self-confessed “space evangelist”, Lukasz Wilczynski, is also the founder of the European Rover Challenge,

Space is seen as the new economic frontier. An increasing number of entrepreneurs and “New Space” companies are building their business models around infrastructures, products or services developed for space and non-space markets. High profile entrepreneurs like Bezos, Musk and Branson have entered the scene

The Arctic is a fascinating and complex geographical, meteorological and biological ecosystem whose impact is significant and far-reaching. From its highly transited shipping routes that connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to its role in regulating global temperatures, the Arctic is responsible for much of the way we live.

Arianespace has launched more than 1000 satellites since its foundation with Flight ST35 on Soyuz for OneWeb, the company said. The launch for OneWeb placed another 34 OneWeb satellites into orbit; Arianespace has now deployed a total of 322 satellites for the global connectivity constellation, it said.

NASA announced it will grant US $146 million to five US companies to conduct studies for future lunar lander concepts. This will enable a “steady pace of crewed trips to the lunar surface under the Artemis program,” NASA said. The five companies and their awards are Blue Origin: US $25.6M, Dynetics: US $40.8M, Lockheed Martin: US $35.2M, Northrop Grumman: US $34.8M and SpaceX: US $9.4M.

BAE Systems acquired In-Space Missions to make it a fully-owned subsidiary, In-Space announced. In-Space, founded in 2015, designs, builds and operates bespoke space missions for customers. The company specialises in space services for earth observation, navigation, satellite communications, and space exploration.