Space

The objective of Eurisy is to bridge space and society, and even though it is primarily an EU organisation, there is a lot of space technology and data from Europe that is available to anyone in the world. Remco Timmermans spoke with Eurisy's Secretary Ggeneral Annalisa Donati about the value her organisation can bring to emerging space nations like Maldives. #SINC2023

Remco Timmermans had the unique opportunity to have an informal chat with Dr. S. Pete Worden of the Breakthrough Initiatives. Breakthrough is one of the key supporters and sponsors of the Space for Island Nations Conference 2023 I asked him about two things that are important to emerging space nations and that were key points in the conference: 1) As a space policy advisor to the Luxembourg government, Dr. Worden shared a list of five key elements of a national space policy. These elements, adjusted to the specific national situation of a country, form the basis for a new national space ecosystem, like for island nations. 2) As a director of the Breakthrough Initiatives, which is all about the future exploration of very deep space, I asked him how students and really anyone interested in emerging and small space nations can benefit from these highly inspirational projects.

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global Editor-in-Chief Dr Emma Gatti spoke with Dr Walther Pelzer, Member of the Executive Board of DLR and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR during the 38th Space Symposium in Colorado Springs from 17th-20th April 2023, about the successful launch of JUICE, the new challenges for space in Europe, New Space and the current political environment Europe is operating

Our Space Café “33 minutes with Dr Clemens Kaiser – unlocking the potential of LEO, the data networks in the sky” took place on Tuesday, 25th April. 

Today marks one month since ESA’s newly selected astronaut class of 2022 began their basic training in Cologne, Germany. ESA astronaut candidates Sophie Adenot, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Rosemary Coogan, Raphaël Liégeois and Marco Sieber took up duty at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) on 3 April 2023 to be trained to the highest level of standards as specified by the International Space Station partners. They are part of the 17-member astronaut class of 2022, selected from 22,500 applicants across ESA Member States. 

Viasat Inc., a global communications company, has announced the successful launch of ViaSat-3 Americas aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Czech Republic has signed the Artemis, becoming the 24th country to sign the Accords, during a ceremony at NASA Headquarters in Washington Wednesday. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the Czech Republic.

Thales Alenia Space has won a contract from the Italian space agency (ASI) to conduct the development of the Space Factory 4.0 program in the frame of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Thales Alenia Space is leading a consortium, including Argotec, CIRA, and Sitael, to develop an interconnected system with facilities located across Italy, set to start operations by 2026.

Tourism is the number one industry in Maldives. At Space for Island Nations Conference 2023 Remco Timmermans spoke with Maldives Minister of Tourism Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, about how space can contribute to the development of sustainable tourism. The use of Earth observation data for spatial planning being a very tangible opportunity, especially for local students and entrepreneurs, possibly with the support of the Maldives Space Research Organisation (MSRO) In his speech, Dr. Mausoom mentioned the equatorial location and favorable weather conditions of Maldives as arguments for space launch initiatives for satellites, but also for space tourism... Of course, he promotes Maldives as a destination for space events, although does this place really need any promotion?

Sidus Space, a Space and Defence-as-a-Service satellite company, announced on the 2nd of May the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Lulav Space, an Israeli robotics company specialising in space applications, to cooperate in the US market by providing a complete guidance navigation and control (GN&C) solution for both lunar satellite and lunar lander missions.