Space

Rocket Lab acquires Planetary Systems, a spacecraft separation systems company based in Maryland, for $42 million in cash and a 1.7 million share package, Rocket Lab said. The deal includes a nearly one million Rocket Lab share option as a performance earnout. Planetary Systems is a provider of mechanical separation systems and satellite dispensers.

The Russian Federation conducted a destructive test of a direct-ascent anti-satellite (DA-ASAT) missile against one of its own defunct satellites. The resulting space debris endangered the crew on the ISS, who had to be evacuated. The test has generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris.

Astroscale Holdings revealed a universal docking device, the Docking Plate, at Space Tech Expo Europe in Bremen. The technology works like a car “tow hook” and is designed to future-proof space missions. Over 12,000 satellites were launched in the last 6 decades and tens of thousands are to be deployed within the next 10 years.

In this Space Café Radio – on tour, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke in this episode with Thomas Gruebler, Co-Founder and CEO of OroraTech direct after Thomas and his team received The Spark award in Berlin. In this interview, they spoke about the award, the mission of OroraTech

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 8-14 November 2021”. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Aero/Space News Roundup! A special shout-out to our friends at SpaceWatch.Global,

Space technology has become an integral part of global commercial industries and as a result several nations are keen on developing space capabilities for commercial, civil, and military purposes. Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Russia, and the United States are some of the most prominent players in the space industry;

Mayday.ai and ConstellR, developing agricultural, risk and disaster management monitoring technologies, have entered a partnership. Mayday users will thus benefit from a higher spatial and temporal resolution to reduce climate change disaster risks.  Mayday.ai provides real time risk and disaster intelligence.

The 4th edition of the Paris Peace Forum announced the release of the Net Zero Space Initiative on which occasion Astroscale signed on as an official supporter. The Initiative involves private sector, civil society, academia, public authorities and regulators.  The goal is to support “the sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind by 2030.”

One of Blue Origin's astronauts, 49-year-old Glen de Vries, who flew to space last month alongside actor William Shatner, died in a small plane crash in New Jersey. De Vries, was the vice chairman of life sciences and healthcare at Dassault Systèmes and co-founder of the Medidata team.

OroraTech, the first NewSpace start-up to provide global wildfire detection and monitoring services, is the 2021 winner of The Spark - German Digital Award presented by Handelsblatt and McKinsey.  This award is a high recognition of OroraTech’s mission on protecting our forests and keeping our Earth sustainable by detecting global wildfires and reducing CO2 emissions.