Government

European leaders confirmed their ambitious plans to work closely together to accelerate Europe as a world leader in space during the 2022 Space Summit held in Toulouse, ESA reported. ESA, the EU and their member States will join forces to utilise the potential of space and to tackle urgent societal, economic and security challenges.

The European Commission announced a number of initiatives in areas critical for defence and security within the European Union. These comprise the conventional defence industry and equipment on land, sea, air, cyber, hybrid and space threats. The Commission’s aim is to strengthen the Union's ability to counter fast-changing multi-layered threats.

Lockheed Martin Corporation announced it has terminated its agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne after a lawsuit filed last month by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition. The company said the acquisition would have benefitted the industry “through greater efficiency, speed, and significant cost reductions for the U.S. government.”

On November 14th of last year, Russia deliberately destroyed one of its satellites as a test of a new anti-satellite weapon (ASAT). According to a US State Department press briefing, “this test has so far generated over fifteen hundred pieces of trackable orbital debris and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris.”

The United States has refuted China’s diplomatic accusation that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites have endangered its crewed space station, in an official note verbale to the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs in Vienna. Beijing issued their note verbale in December to the same UN office.

The UK government announced it will invest approximately £1.4 billion to reinforce their national interests in space, as part of the first Defence Space Strategy (DSS). The DSS outlines the methods of protecting the UK’s national interests in space, stimulating growth of the sector and supporting highly skilled jobs.

The State Council Information Office of China issued its fifth white paper, titled "China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective," on the country's space program. The paper introduces China's principles, policies, measures, and mindset while also summarizing its achievements in space science, technology and application. Major achievements include improvement in space infrastructure, the BeiDou

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has confirmed the country will be joining forces with Russia to build a research Moon base by 2035. The station will rival NASA's Lunar Gateway. Russia and China announced the project in June last year, after signing an intergovernmental memorandum of understanding in March 2021.

The U.S. Air Force awarded a US $102M, five-year contract to SpaceX to demonstrate technologies and capabilities to transport military cargo and humanitarian aid on a heavy rocket, the U.S. Government announced. The contract is part of the rocket cargo program led by the Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL).

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.