Earth observation

SayariLabs, the first Kenyan space start-up to provide satellite services and space-based solutions, and software-defined nanosatellite and space services provider, EnduroSat, signed a commercial agreement to launch TAIFA-1, the first Kenyan 3U nanosatellite.  East Africa has experienced heavy droughts and wildfires, causing water crisis, and damage to agriculture and local food supplies.

Iceye signed a contract in the U.S. with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to participate in the evaluation of commercial remote sensing companies operating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, the company said. It will focus on modeling and simulation and also support NRO’s detailed assessment of imaging modes, image quality, geolocation accuracy and coverage.

Satellogic announced that private equity firm, Liberty Strategic Capital, led by former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, is investing US $150M into Earth imaging company Satellogic. The funding will help to close a delayed merger with CF Acquisition Corp. V., a special purpose acquisition corporation for the company to go public.

The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to accelerate the use of space in Europe with an annual budget of € 7.15 billion, the agency said. The largest envelopes are invested in Earth Observation (€ 1.6 billion), Navigation (€ 1.5 billion), and Space Transportation (€ 1 billion). Copernicus suffers a budget shortfall of € 750 million due to the withdrawal of the UK.

In this Space Café Radio – our Review 2021 series, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Jenni Tapio, Chief Specialist, Head of the Space Office at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland, Delegate to UN COPUOS, ESA and EU Space Programme about her space highlights in 2021 and what to watch out for the upcoming year in space.

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening sat down – virtually – with Professor Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chair of the Executive Board of the German Aerospace Centre – otherwise known simply as the abbreviated “DLR”. A German materials scientist and mechanical engineer by trade,...

The Spanish satellite operator Hispasat partners with the Repsol Foundation to develop technologies for the reforestation sector to offset CO2 emissions. Hispasat and Repsol signed a strategic partnership agreement to use the satellite operator’s technology in Repsol’s Green Engine project, Spain’s largest reforestation program for offsetting emissions.

SpaceX successfully launched 105 spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 launch vehicle yesterday during its third dedicated smallsat rideshare mission, Transporter-3. The rideshare program was announced in 2019, offering small satellite operators to launch for a combined price of US $1M. Transporter-3 carried CubeSats, microsats, PocketQubes,

Euroconsult, the space consulting and market intelligence firm, estimates the Earth Observation (EO) manufacturing market to grow to US $76.1B in revenue by 2030. The data were released in the company’s ''Earth Observation Satellite Systems Market'' report. Between 2011-2020, 65% of EO satellite launches were commercial but only captured a negligible 4% of the market value.

Space consulting and market intelligence company, Euroconsult, estimates that the global space economy totaled US $370B last year. The figures leading up to the estimation can be found in their Space Economy report for 2021. These include the commercial and governmental space market (US $337B), internal costs and R&D of government organizations (US $33B).