Space Missions

A European Space Agency (ESA) - funded study has reported the state of Antarctica's ice shelves, relying on information from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and ESA’s CryoSat satellite missions. The study, which has been published in the journal Science Advances, is based on 100,000 satellite radar images to produce a major assessment of the ‘state of the health’ of Antarctica’s ice shelves.

Relativity Space, an American 3D printing rocket company, announced on the 11th of October that it has signed a multi-year, multi-launch Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with Intelsat. Under the agreement Relativity will launch Intelsat satellites on Terran R as early as 2026.

ICEYE and the European Space Agency have partnered to participate in the Civil Security from Space Program (CSS) to revolutionize disaster and crisis management from the vantage point of space. This is the first CSS Partnership contract under the CSS program and aims to develop an advanced suite of natural catastrophe monitoring services.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded Skyrora, Viasat, and CGI a contract under the Commercial Space Transportation Services program to demonstrate InRange, a space-based launch vehicle telemetry relay system which will benefit launch vehicle providers across the industry globally. InRange will enable Skyrora to achieve continuous transmission of telemetry data during flight, from launch to payload deployment.

Astrobotic, an American company developing space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions, announced on the 10th of October that it has successfully completed a flight test campaign for the University of Central Florida (UCF). The flight test took place last week at the company’s facility in Mojave, California. 

ESA announced the latest focused product release from the Gaia mission. Gaia was launched in 2013 and is mapping our galaxy and beyond in great detail, completing the most accurate stellar census. 

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #91: Bridging Science and Indigenous Knowledge with Dr Laurie Rousseau-Nepton, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto. Episode 091 features special guests: Dr Laurie Rousseau-Nepton. In this episode, host Markus unravels an enriching conversation with Laurie Rousseau-Nepton a scientist and indigenous advocate, whose life's work interweaves her science, cultural roots and a strong passion for astronomy. The dialogue unfolds Laurie's unique perspective on education, tradition, and our relationship with the cosmos.

Our Space Café Scotland by Angela Mathis took place on Friday, 29th Sep 2023. Angela Mathis, CEO of ThinkTank Maths was joined by Denis Bensoussan of Lloyds Insurance, Beazley. Evolution of space industry insurance. A new space age emerges with myriads small satellites in low Earth orbit, accessible to thousands of companies and individuals. Asset protection for space activities is unique due to specific risk profiles and management considerations.

OQ Technology, a Luxembourg based satellite communication service, announced on the 10th of October that its low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, MACSAT, successfully launched aboard Arianespace’s Vega. The satellite was launched from French Guiana at 10:37 pm local time on the 8th of October. 

Aerospacelab has successfully launched the PVCC satellite with support from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Belgian Science Policy Office. This mission will support the space community's ongoing efforts in providing insightful Earth Observation data that will help in monitoring vegetation conditions and analyzing climate change.