Space

by Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund SpaceWatch.Global asked its friends, staff and contributors to review 2020 and provide an outlook into 2021. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is the review of Prof. Pascale Ehrenfreund, President of International Astronautical Federation.  2020 has been an unprecedented, difficult and …

Berlin, 25. Dec. 2020. – Dava Newman, an MIT professor of aeronautics and astronautics whose groundbreaking work has advanced human performance in space with the goal of interplanetary reach, has been named the new director of the MIT Media Lab, effective July 1, 2021. “Leading the legendary Media Lab is …

When wildfires broke out across northern and central California in August, a remote-sensing Earth observation satellite watched 381 miles (613 kilometers) above the planet’s surface. Built entirely in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), KhalifaSat captured imagery that could help governmental agencies and …

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 18th episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast: Dana Reizniece-Ozola, minister, satellite pioneer and chess grandmaster. The power of small nations. Episode 018 features special guest Dana Reizniece-Ozola. Dana Reizniece-Ozola is a unique personality. Not only did she hold the post of Latvian …

Paris, 24 December 2020. – While Europe mulls its own LEO, SpaceX taps the German market. The German federal telecommnunications agency Bundesnetzagentur authorized Starlink to use up- and downlink frequencies in Germany and offer satellite broadband internet, the agency said. “This is the first frequency allocation for a so-called satellite …

Paris, 24 December 2020. – The space propulsion company ThrustMe and the satellite service start-up Spacety launched Hisea-1, “the world’s first commercial C-band small satellite SAR with a phased-array antenna”, Paris-based ThrustMe said. SAR stands for Synthetic Aperture Radar and “functions basically like a bat’s echolocation system – they are …

Paris, 23 December 2020. – The U.S. ban 103 Chinese and Russian companies, labeling them as so-called “military end users”, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) will amend the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding a new ‘Military End User’ (MEU) …

Paris, 23 December 2020. – Viasat acquires RigNet, a Nasdaq-listed provider of ultra-secure, intelligent networking solutions and specialized applications, the company announced on Monday. The all-stock transaction values RigNet at an enterprise value of approximately $222 million, Viasat said. “The acquisition will help to further accelerate Viasat’s strategy to provide …

by Ken Hodgkins SpaceWatch.Global asked its friends, staff and contributors to review 2020 and provide an outlook into 2021. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is the review of Ken Hodgkins, former Director of the U.S Department of State’s Office for Space and Advanced Technology. …

by Blaine Curcio and Jean Deville As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 14 Dec – 20 Dec 2020”. Hello and welcome to another …