Space

House and Senate appropriators published the omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022, offering US $24 billion to NASA. The amount is US $760 million less than what the agency requested. The largest cut is in the space technology directorate, US $1.1 billion instead of the sought US $1.425 billion.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to support United Nations Member States, UNOOSA said. The cooperation will help to make the benefits of space technologies available to everyone on a global scale.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard has launched Noor-2, the country’s second satellite into orbit, on board of a Qassed rocket, according to state media IRNA. The US alleges that Iran's satellite launches go against a UN Security Council resolution. The first Noor satellite was launched in April 2020 after the country has experienced several failed launches due to technical issues.

McLean, Integrated satellite and terrestrial network operator Intelsat, has chosen David Wajsgras as its next chief executive officer (CEO), effective April 4th. Wajsgras succeeds Stephen Spengler, who announced his plans for retirement in October last year.

The Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University is invigorating its work on the McGill Encyclopedia of International Space Law (MESIL), the university said. The McGill Encyclopedia was first announced in November 2020. Its aim is to be the go-to authoritative, peer-reviewed and reliable online resource on international space law. 

Dr. Mindy Howard is a Future Astronaut, Astronaut Trainer and TEDx & Keynote Speaker. She has harnessed her academic and professional skills to create the first and only psychological space training program, “Inner Space Training”.  She is in discussions with several organizations to train, coach, and accompany commercial astronauts to space.

The entire team of SpaceWatch.Global wishes Happy International Women's Day to all the amazing women in the global space sector! Your achievements and leadership inspire us every day. Thank you. We also like to say thank you to all the powerful women that make our work at SpaceWatch.Global possible day-by-day. We admire your creativity, your editorial style,

Space4Impact, EPFL’s Space Center eSpace, E2MC Ventures, and Space Innovation joined forces to launch an online course on the New Space Economy, hosted on edX, Space4Impact announced. The program is already available as a free EPFLx course.  There are over 30 video lectures accessible for those who want to learn.

Bahrain became the second Arab country to sign the Artemis Accords, an international agreement outlining the peaceful and responsible exploration of the Moon and space in general. The announcement was made during Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad's visit to the US last week.

Two people have joined EnduroSat’s Advisory Board: Dr. Jan Wörner, to help in scaling the company’s space service and Kevin O’Connell to guide the deployment of the next generation space infrastructure, EnduroSat said. Dr. Wörner’s has previously had the role of chairman of the DLR’s (German Aerospace Center) executive board and was Jean-Jacques Dordain’s successor as Director General of ESA.