Space

GITAI USA Inc. and GITAI Japan Inc. (GITAI) has raised an additional US$15 million for the Series B Extension round. Together with the US$30 million funding from May of this year, the total amount of the Series B Extension round is now US$45 million. The Company will leverage the additional funds it has raised in this round primarily to expand its business in the U.S., as well as establish partial coverage of the lunar surface demonstration.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Space Rider program has begun its validation and testing phase, as it prepares for its first flight in the third quarter of 2025. Space Rider is a reusable uncrewed robotic laboratory that will provide an end-to-end integrated space transportation system for commercial customers. When Space Rider has been launched into space it will spend two months in orbit whilst experiments and technology demonstrations take place before returning to Earth. 

The Board of Directors at Space Florida has selected U.S. Space Force Col. Robert Long to succeed Frank DiBello, as president and CEO of Space Florida. Before leading the agency, DiBello was president and CEO of Florida’s Aerospace Finance Corporation. The board, chaired by Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez, opted to move forward with contract negotiations with Col. Robert A. Long, one of three finalists to replace Frank DiBello.

In this compelling episode, host Markus delves deep with Alex Fielding, the co-founder of Privateer Space and tech industry veteran, exploring not just the future of space technology but its profound implications for social evolution, climate change, and the very fabric of our human experience. Set against the harrowing backdrop of the Hawaii wildfires, this conversation serves as a poignant and urgent reminder of the interconnected challenges we face. Get ready for a multi-faceted discussion that transcends the boundaries of science, touching the heart of ethical and existential dilemmas we can no longer afford to ignore.

Space in Africa, a media, consulting, and analytics company, has published the 2023 edition of its African Space Industry Report. The report projects the African space economy to grow by 16.16% to USD 22.64 billion by 2026, and with the remarkable spurt in the economy in 2022, the industry is on track to reach this target.

Japan Manned Space System Corporation (JAMSS) used an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Snowcone SSD onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to transmit large volumes of data from space into AWS. 

SatSure has closed a Series A round of $15 million in equity capital and venture debt, with Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP) and India and Promus Ventures leading the round. The round also saw participation from Omidyar Network India and xto10X. With this investment, SatSure’s plans of launching a fleet of four high-resolution optical and multispectral satellites continue to be on track for Q4 2025.

OHB Digital Connect and Ingersoll Machine Tools announced on the 28th of August that they have reached an important milestone in the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) project. One of the three major subsystems, the Telescope Mount, has passed its Final Design Review (FDR) allowing them to proceed to the next stage of manufacturing.

Space Café "Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland" will analyse current space developments with a legal focus. It will, at the same time discuss and ‘demystify’ the law for everyone. In our next Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, Host Steven Freeland, Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, Sydney and Professorial Fellow at Bond University, Australia, and Co-Host Torsten Kriening, SpaceWatch.Global’s Publisher, welcome Ann Vandenbrouke and Martin Reynders.

Azerbaijan has adopted the Law on Space Activities on 4 August 2023, consequently developing its national space legislature. It consists of six chapters and 24 articles and regulates the legal, economic and organizational bases of space activity in Azerbaijan. In addition to relations for the implementation of national activities in space and entrepreneurial activities in the space industry, the document concludes with a thorough analysis of safety in space activities and the space industry.