Government

The General Assembly of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) appointed Hermann Ludwig Moeller as the Director of the Institute, effective 1st September 2022, ESPI said. Mr. Moeller is succeeding Jean-Jacques Tortora, who became ESPI’s Director in June 2016.

Several pieces of suspected space debris fell onto the rural parts of western India, Indian media reported. The time of the incident suggests these could be Chinese rocket parts re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.  The objects crashed into the ground in Gujarat within a 15-km radius, accompanied by a loud noise.

Airbus announced it has been awarded a contract from ESA to further develop the implementation of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). The mission design and final technology development are due to be completed by 2024, with a planned launch in the late 2030s.

State Secretary Martina Hirayama and Joseph Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between Switzerland and ESA establishing a joint Centre of Excellence at the Paul-Scherrer Institute in Villigen, Switzerland, ESA said.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced they are opening up the Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) facility at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to UN Member States.

Australian commercial space launch provider Southern Launch, announced it has opened its new headquarters following the expansion of its space launch services and applied space engineering consultancy operations in the country. The facilities in Hindmarsh, South Australia, include a warehouse for space vehicles preparing to launch as well as office space.

The United Kingdom and the United States signed a partnership to boost opportunities in the UK, the UK Government reported. The agreement lays the foundation for rockets, high-altitude balloons and spaceplanes to lift off from British spaceports. The UK and the US work together on future commercial spaceflight missions in the Smithsonian Institution, according to the partnership.

The Republic of Colombia signed the Artemis Accords at NASA Headquarters where Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez signed the agreement on behalf of the country. The countries also celebrate the 200th anniversary of the US–Colombia diplomatic relations.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts safely returned to Earth aboard the Dragon Endurance spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico, completing the agency’s third long-duration commercial crew mission to the ISS, spending 177 days in orbit. NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer were recovered by SpaceX recovery vessels after a parachute-assisted splashdown

The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has recently contracted Atos and OHB Digital Connect to supply the "Space Situational Awareness Center Expansion Stage 1” to the German Federal Armed Forces. The system will enable the monitoring of space and the protection of critical German infrastructure in orbit.