Space Missions

Launch services company Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) under ESA's Commercial Space Transportation Services and Support program, Boost!, Rocket Factory said. Both parties aim for the commercialization of European space transportation, challenging current processes.

Space-resilient computing infrastructure provider Ramon.Space, and dynamic management systems provider Kythera Space Solutions, have partnered to deliver highly dynamic and flexible communications payload solutions, Ramon.Space announced at the World Satellite Business Week 2022. The partnership leverages Kythera’s Operating System as well as Ramon.Space’s space computing platform. 

Global satellite operator ABS, appointed Amit Somani as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who will assume duties on 10th October 2022.   Somani has more than 25 years of experience as an operational and strategic leader in the information and communications technology environment.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard-23 (NS-23) uncrewed payload mission encountered an issue when the booster failed, which caused a fire and a subsequent ground impact. The capsule escape system successfully separated the capsule from the booster, no injuries were reported. The company is currently examining what caused the anomaly.

The ESA-NASA Solar Orbiter observatory found clues on the origin of magnetic structures dubbed switchbacks, and also revealed insights regarding the mechanisms that are likely to accelerate solar wind, the Metis Collaboration said. Solar Orbiter’s Metis coronagraph observed an S-shaped magnetic structure in the solar corona, propagating towards interplanetary space.

At the 25th World Satellite Business Week (WSBW) taking place in Paris this week, Eva Berneke, CEO of Eutelsat, gave further details on the OneWeb-Eutelsat merger announced in July, saying that the combining of the two companies is a natural third step after an initial investment followed by becoming a shareholder.

Satellite servicing and long-term orbital sustainability provider Astroscale Japan, has been selected as one of the contracting parties for the Front-Loading Technology Study in Phase II of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Commercial Debris Removal Demonstration (CRD2), the company said.

The Moon Village Association recently created the Benefit Sharing Project to consider the sharing of benefits from the exploration and use of outer space. Following its initial meeting, there was a recommendation that “we should make explicit the need to figure out how to handle commercial confidentiality.”

Engineering consultancy EECL, has signed a contract at Space-Comm Expo 2022 with Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL), to supply low noise amplifiers (LNA) for the front-end receiver of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) HydroGNSS Scout Earth Observation payload, EECL said. 

In this Space Café Radio – SpaceWatch.Global Event coordinator and Space Café Young Global Talents Host Chiara Moenter spoke with Dr. James (Jim) Green, scientist and senior advisor in the Office of the Chief Scientist at NASA, in the first week of the Space Studies Program (SSP22) of the International Space University (ISU).