Space Missions

Spacemind, the space division of the Italian company NPC, has successfully launched three Italian nanosatellites, DanteSat, Futura-SM1, and Futura-SM3, into orbit. The successful launch has also validated the operation of the new SMPod CubeSat deployer, onboard equipment, and a larger version of the Artica deorbiting sail.

The first Lockheed Martin LM 400, a flexible, mid-sized satellite customizable for military, civil, or commercial users, rolled off the company’s digital factory production line and is advancing toward its planned 2023 launch. The agile LM 400 spacecraft bus design enables one platform to support multiple missions, including remote sensing, communications, imaging, radar, and persistent surveillance.

European space tech company, The Exploration Company, has announced €40.5 million in Series A funding to enable an era of affordable, sustainable, and open space exploration. With the capital, The Exploration Company aims to commercialize its first full-scale space capsule (launch planned for 2026), finalize and test launch its second capsule demonstrator (launch planned for 2024), and expand the team.

By Meidad Pariente In the Seventh episode of Space Café Israel, Meidad Pariente is in conversation with Ram Levi.  Can you share something personal that isn’t written in your LinkedIn profile? Well, I have many secrets, but I’ll share one with you. When I was a major in Israeli intelligence, …

Capella Space has announced the formation of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Capella Federal. The new entity enables the company to further support its U.S. Government and defense agency customers by providing expanded access to its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery with increased security and continued on-demand reliability.

We're excited to welcome world-renowned photographer, Max Alexander, to the Space Cafe podcast. With over 25 years of experience in editorial and commercial photography, Max has captured the likes of Neil Armstrong, Stephen Hawking, and Nelson Mandela. He specializes in science communication through photography and has been a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The Drag Augmentation Deorbiting System (ADEO) breaking sail was successfully deployed from the ION satellite carrier in late December 2022. A sail area of 3.6 square meters autonomously deployed from a small packing size of 10 x 10 x 10 cm to demonstrate deorbiting satellite technology.

In this Space Café Radio, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN (D/EOP) at the European Space Agency (ESA) at the 15th European Space Conference in Brussels. This conference is one of the very important yearly high-level gatherings of the key stakeholders of the European space domain in the Egmont Palace in Brussels under the 2023 theme “Securing the Future of Europe in Space”.

AstroForge Inc. has announced that it has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd (OrbAstro), a satellite and in-orbit service provider, to fly a 100kg-class spacecraft into deep space for an asteroid survey mission. The spacecraft will tentatively launch in late 2023 with Intuitive Machines, a space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission serves as a prospecting activity and stepping-stone towards AstroForge’s ambitions for asteroid mining.

In this German Space Café Radio – Space Café Germany Host Andreas Schepers spoke with Dr. Kai Noeske, Communication Programme officer for science at the European Space Agency (ESA). The interview was conducted during this year’s ILA Berlin which is the largest aerospace trade show in Germany which took place June 22 – 26, 2022.