Space

Asia Pacific Satellite Inc. (APSI), and ICEYE, the global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology, announced on 15 May 2019 that the organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding about working together to support the South Korean New Space market.

Japan's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that it will assign 100 military personnel to its Space Domain Mission Unit that is expected to be stood up by Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and will based at the Fuchu Air Base, operated by the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF), west of Tokyo.

The UAE Space Agency and Exolaunch have announced a joint agreement to launch MeznSat into orbit by the end of this year. The agreement was signed during the recent Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., a worldwide leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, announced on 13 May 2019 that Honeywell has selected Gilat’s Taurus IFC modem for its JetWave™ satellite communication system.

At a press conference last week, Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson announced that Virgin Galactic’s development and testing program had advanced sufficiently to move the spaceline staff and space vehicles from Mojave, California to their commercial operations headquarters at Spaceport America, New Mexico.

Relativity, the world’s first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations, today announced it signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with Spaceflight, the leading satellite rideshare and mission management provider.

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the United States of America signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 10 May 2019 that will serve to catalyze and significantly deepen cooperation between the two countries in the field of space. Étienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy, signed the MoU for the Grand Duchy. Wilbur Ross, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, signed for the United States.

GomSpace and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed a contract to adapt and improve smallsat systems and subsystems for science missions in deep space.

Rocket Lab announced on 10 May 2019 that its next flight will launch multiple spacecraft on a mission procured by satellite rideshare and mission management provider, Spaceflight. The launch window will open in June, with launch taking place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula.

Arianespace reports it has been selected by exactEarth to launch the ESAIL satellite using a Vega as part of the launcher's Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof of Concept (POC) flight. It is the final contract signed by Arianespace for this POC flight, which is now completely booked with 42 payloads onboard.