Space Missions

By Daniel A Porras* The US and Russia just met in Vienna for the Space Security Exchange, a bilateral discussion between two of the world’s biggest space-military powers, to discuss what might be done about growing space-security threats. This comes amid considerable turmoil in space politics, as the US and …

by Kiran Mohan Vazhapully Last month, based on a Reuters report, Chris Borgen wrote in Opinio Juris about the White House chalking out details of a United States (US) sponsored international framework dubbed “Artemis Accords”,  to facilitate commercial mining on the Moon. They are conceived as inter-agency bilateral agreements similar …

The UAE’s space programs, especially the successful launch of its Mars Mission, will give a boost to Asia’s lead in Industry 4.0, and make the Emirates “a big stakeholder in the development of developing countries across the globe,” a senior academic told Emirates News Agency, WAM. “Asians are leading the race …

The first ever launch into space from British soil is one step closer, as Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced a public consultation on the regulations for the UK’s spaceflight program. The regulations to support Space Industry Act 2018 will enable a range of commercial spaceflight and associated activities to take place …

Lunar services company ispace, revealed the final design of its lunar lander that will be used in the first mission of the company’s HAKUTO-R program, a multinational commercial lunar exploration program. HAKUTO-R’s ‘Mission 1’ also reached the final hardware design phase, known as the Critical Design Review (CDR). The HAKUTO-R …

The Association Agreement between ESA and the Government of the Republic of Latvia enters into force for a duration of seven years. Comprising 18 Articles and two Annexes, it orchestrates the strengthening of Latvia’s relations with ESA. Following its approval by ESA Council, meeting at ESOC in Darmstadt on 24 June, …

In this week’s Space Cafè WebTalk, Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General for Scientific and Technical Affairs, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai, UAE and Head of the UAE Astronaut Program talked about the ambitions and the diversity of the UAE National Space Program. He highlighted the current projects, such …

Working in technology, it is easy to forget the importance of power. Electricity is like water, in that we are so awash in it we don’t realize its core value as a primary need. People from places where water is scarce often marvel at city sidewalks being washed down with …

Acting as launch service provider for DEWC Systems, Southern Launch selected the T-Minus Engineering DART rocket to launch DEWC’s prototype payload on a parabolic trajectory into space, at the Koonibba Rocket Test Range later this year. “This exciting launch was triggered by a simple chat in early 2019 about the possibility …

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet has officially been assigned to the second operational flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, launching in spring 2021 from Cape Canaveral, USA, to the International Space Station.  Thomas’ second mission to the International Space Station will be called Alpha. This is after Alpha Centauri, the closest …