Space

United States Strategic Command and the Polish Space Agency signed an agreement for space situational awareness (SSA) services and data at the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 10 April 2019. Agreements like these lay the foundation that allows the United States to share information with allies and partners.

Bridgestone Corporation has announced that it will take part in an international space exploration mission together with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Toyota Motor Corporation.

Following its 27 March 2019 direct-ascent antisatellite (ASAT) missile test that destroyed a target satellite in low-Earth orbit (LEO), the head of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – G. Satheesh Reddy – has outlined to Indian media his organisation's counterspace technology ambitions for the coming years.

Air Chiefs and senior space officials from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States held a meeting at Headquarters Air Force Space Command to discuss the future of the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative on 10 April 2019.

Astroscale Holdings Inc., the market-leader in developing a space debris removal service to secure long-term orbital sustainability, has announced the opening of a new office in Denver, Colorado (“Astroscale U.S.”), adding a strategic United States base to already established entities in Singapore, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The UAE's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced that it has selected Hazzaa Al Mansoori as the prime astronaut and Sultan Al Neyadi as the backup astronaut for the International Space Station (ISS) mission.

Germany's TESAT, Norway's KSAT, and Denmark's GomSpace have partnered up to introduce full optical communications capability for new innovative small satellite missions and space-based services.

EXOLAUNCH, a leading Germany-based launch services provider and cluster integrator for small satellites, and Virgin Orbit, a California-based launch vehicle provider for small satellites, have announced the signing of an MOU for transporting EXOLAUNCH customers’ payloads on dedicated and rideshare missions with Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne as early as 2020.

Secure World Foundation is pleased to announce the inaugural Summit for Space Sustainability, which will be held in Washington, DC, on 25-26 June 2019.

While SpaceIL's Beresheet lunar lander met with a tragic end on the Moon's surface, it has paved the way for a number of other private Moon missions that are currently in the works. Among these is Japan's ispace, and SpaceWatch.Global's Editor-in-Chief Helen Jameson spoke with Kyle Acierno about the company's plans.