Government

NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have selected three design concept proposals for a fission surface power system design to advance space nuclear technologies, NASA said. The design could launch by the end of the decade for a lunar demonstration. The contracts are valued at approximately US $5 million each and will fund the development of initial design concepts.

The Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG) conference took place from May 31 to June 3 in Singapore, the Lion City. Composed of several events such as the Asia Satellite Business Week, BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia, ATxAI and others, it constituted a golden opportunity to catch up with the state-of-the-art technology and emerging trends across many parts of the tech sector.

George Freeman, UK Minister for Science, Research and Innovation announced a new commercial framework and additional space sector funding from the UK Government at space exhibition ILA 2022 today. The country aims to become an industry-led, government backed pioneer of commercial space sustainability.

South Korea’s domestic KSLV-2 rocket developed by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), successfully deployed a performance test satellite into low Earth orbit for the first time during its second flight. The spacecraft will put four smaller satellites into orbit in the next few days.

Moon company, Astrobotic and wireless charging platform develpoer, WiBotic’s wireless charging system successfully demonstrated that it can function and provide enough power for technologies to survive the 14-Earth-day-long lunar night. Developed with assistance from Bosch, the University of Washington, and the NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher signed two agreements at the latest ESA Council meeting in Noordwijk, Netherlands, to advance cooperation on Earth science and the Artemis lunar missions, NASA said. ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder mission will contribute to the progression of the lunar communications infrastructure, necessary for a long-term human presence.

Brussels may shut the UK out of the Horizon science programme, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, and block the UK’s involvement in the EU’s Copernicus environment monitoring Earth observation programme as part of post-Brexit trading agreements for Northern Ireland. Britain’s participation in the Euratom nuclear research partnership is also likely to change.

The Rwandan Space Agency (RSA) and the Global Satellite Operator’s Association (GSOA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance satellite communication services and fast-track Africa’s digital inclusion plans, Africa News reported.  The agreement was signed by Aarti Holla-Maini, Secretary-General of GSOA and Colonel Francis Ngabo, RSA’s Director-General.

Ball Aerospace selected launch and space systems company, Rocket Lab, to manufacture the Solar Array Panel (SAP) to power NASA’s Global Lyman-Alpha Imager of Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) mission spacecraft planned to launch in 2025, Rocket Lab announced. The heliophysics mission will study variability in Earth’s atmosphere.

NASA has selected two science instrument suites during the second selection through the agency’s Payloads and Research Investigations on the Surface of the Moon (PRISM) call for proposals, to explore the Moon under the Artemis program. The Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) and the Lunar Explorer Instrument for space biology Applications (LEIA)