Space

The European Space Agency (ESA) and OHB will cooperate to boost commercial Earth Observation services, the agency said. Φ-lab, the Division in the Future Systems Department of the EO (Earth Observation) Programmes Directorate of ESA, and OHB Systems AG agreed to examine together "transformational technologies" to benefit the end-users of the commercial EO market, ESA said.

The German aerospace startup Polaris signed a four-month €250,000 contract with the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) to examine applications of its Aurora spaceplane for military observation missions, the company said. The contract allows for testing and validating the potentials of the reusable Aurora spaceplane in defense activities

Astroscale works with Mitsubishi on active debris removal and projects for improving space environmental protection, the Japanese company said. The collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will leverage Astroscale’s on-orbit servicing technologies and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ launch vehicle manufacturing and launch services capabilities.

NASA has selected SpaceX for launching its first mission to explore one of Jupiter’s 79 moons, Europa, with a total contract award amount of $178 million, NASA said. The Europa Clipper mission will launch an orbiter around the gas giant in October 2024, from the Kennedy Space Centre’s Launch Complex 39A on a Falcon Heavy rocket.

Eumetsat, Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, extends its ocean and atmosphere monitoring and becomes the largest operator of Copernicus’ Sentinel satellite missions. The European Commission signed the Copernicus.2 contract with Eumetsat, a €735 million, seven-year agreement to entrust the agency with the operation and exploitation of Sentinel.

The launch service provider Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has successfully tested its staged combustion engine and thus marked the entry of the first European player in this technology segment, the company said. RFA’s eight-second engine test was conducted in Kiruna, Sweden, the company said.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 32nd episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast: Jacques Arnould, a tricky question for the entire space industry. Episode 032 features a special guest Jacques Arnould. Jacques Arnould is paid to ask uncomfortable questions. As an ethicist at the French space agency CNES

In the latest Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, Steven Freeland and Torsten Kriening welcomed Elina Morozova and Andrzej Misztal at the wonderful ‘Coffee-Desk’ Café in Warsaw. Over blueberry cake, home-made cookies, croissants, and coffee, the panelists, along with a lively audience engaged in a revealing

Space is changing – the near-Earth environment that was once principally used for largely strategic purposes by national governments is now increasingly being used for “tactical” applications by commercial companies. This creates a number of areas of potential contention – between different satellite operators competing for access to preferred orbital slots

After months of silence, last Friday saw an update on the dearMoon selection. Yusaku Maezawa, the Japanese billionaire who purchased a SpaceX Starship flight around the Moon, currently scheduled for 2023, has shared an applicant sneak peek on his YouTube channel. According to the description, the video does not indicate who will be in the final crew.