Government

Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX would get involved if the ISS fell out of orbit and came crashing down to Earth. Russian space chief, Dmitry Rogozin, said that they would not save the ISS from an uncontrolled de-orbit due to new US sanctions against the country. 

Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has suspended launch operations from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and is recalling its technical personnel as a response to EU sanctions towards Russia. Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Space, stated that the decision had no consequences “on the continuity and quality of the Galileo and Copernicus services.”

The Australian Federal Government announced its Space Infrastructure Fund of AU $65 million, which was welcomed by Southern Launch, as the country’s only licensed company with launch facilities. The announcement confirms that Australia wants to establish a vibrant space launch capability.

Specialists from industry-led group, Space Scotland, are jointly working on a roadmap focusing on environmental issues regarding space. Space-focused strategic communications and market intelligence provider, AstroAgency, and research and strategy consultancy, Optimat, will develop the roadmap on behalf of Space Scotland’s Environmental Task Force with the backing of the Scottish Government.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 14 – 20 February 2022. Welcome to another episode of the Dongfang Hour China Space Updates! I’m Jean Deville, joined as always by my co-host Blaine Curcio. 

NASA announced two opportunities to partner with the agency and help companies finalise the development of their technologies that could potentially be used for space exploration. NASA’s ongoing program, Tipping Point, supports space technologies that can advance commercial space capabilities and benefit future agency missions.

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.”