Space Exploration

Arianespace is strictly abiding by the sanctions decided by the international community (EU, USA and UK) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the company said. The operation of the Soyuz launcher from Europe’s Spaceport, French Guiana and from Baikonur, Kazakhstan through Starsem have been governed by the France-Russia inter-governmental, and the ESA–Roscosmos agreement. 

Romania became the 16th nation to sign the Artemis Accords for cooperation in space exploration. Marius-Ioan Piso, President and CEO of the Romanian Space Agency, signed the document on behalf of the country in Bucharest. The NASA-led Artemis Accords are a set of non-binding commitments, based on the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

Fleet Space Technologies announced that the Australian Government has committed US $20 million to the development of the Space Manufacturing Hub in Adelaide, South Australia. The funding is in addition to the US $14.6 million the Government of South Australia and a consortium of space, aerospace and advanced air mobility companies have already committed.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present the 49th episode in our podcast series The Space Cafe Podcast #049: Urs Ganse, refreshing nerd talk about all things space you may never have heard about. Deep in a forest in Finland, miles from the nearest settlement, Urs Ganse lives in a cabin by a lake. Urs is a plasma physicist. He doesn't need much.

The intergovernmental organisation, ESA, held a meeting with its 22 Member States to discuss future cooperation with Russia reflecting European values. A statement issued by the agency yesterday says that ESA fully implements the sanctions imposed on Russia by its Member States.

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.”

In this Space Café Radio – on tour in Brussels at the 14th European Space Conference in the Egmont Palace, SpaceWatch.Global Event coordinator and Space Cafe Benelux Host Chiara Moenter spoke with Alexander Gerst, ESA Astronaut about the current situation of human space flights and his views on the conference.

Thales Alenia Space has signed a €1 million study contract with ESA for a payload concept to extract oxygen from Moon rock.  In order for humans to establish a sustainable Moon habitat, lunar resources will have to be utilized rather than transporting these from Earth. Such resources include water and oxygen among others. 

During this week’s Space Café, SpaceWatch.Global Publisher Torsten Kriening had the opportunity chance to speak with Dr Anna Christmann – a German politician and Coordinator for Aerospace Policy at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, serving under the country’s new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Dr Christmann previously studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and Bern,