Space Missions

SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has unveiled the Compact Hybrid Optical-RF User Segment (CHORUS) prototype terminal to create more stable and secured military satellite communications at the 15th Australian Space Forum. With funding from SmartSat CRC, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and industry and academic partners, EOS Space Systems and EM Solutions, Lyrebird Antenna Research, Shoal Group, Australian National University and University of South Australia, following three years of research developed the technology in the prototype in Australia.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and Oxford Space Systems (OSS) have confirmed a partnership to build and launch an OSS Wrapped Rib antenna mounted to an SSTL CarbSAR satellite.

Airbus’ latest geostationary Eurostar Neo satellite Arabsat BADR-8 has been shipped to Cape Canaveral, ready for launch. The satellite will provide connectivity over Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia and also features Airbus’ space demonstrator TELEO to provide space to ground optical communications at gigabit speeds. Airbus’ relationship with Arabsat stretches back 20 years, and BADR-8 is the eighth satellite the manufacturer has built for the satellite services provider in the Arab world.

Virgin Galactic has announced the Virgin Galactic Unity 25 crew who will be aboard VSS Unity’s return to space later this month. Unity 25’s mission objective is to conduct the final assessment of the spaceflight system and astronaut experience before commercial service begins in late June.

Warpspace has signed a strategic partnership agreement with LatConnect 60 Ltd. to create a mechanism to monitor carbon emissions from space efficiently and in very high resolution. LatConnect 60 Ltd. is developing a constellation of satellites to measure carbon emission concentrations from space, with the sensitivity to pick up emission flow rates as low as 50kg/hr and higher. Consequently, the first satellite will tentatively launch into low Earth orbit in the second half of 2025.

In this  Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Prof Marco Beijersbergen, Founder and Managing Director of cosine, about the companies 25th anniversary, their future and the role of AI in our industry.

Rocket Lab has launched its 'Rocket Like A Hurricane,' the first of two dedicated Electron launches to deploy the TROPICS constellation for NASA. The launch took place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Pad A on New Zealand's Mahia Peninsula on May 8, deploying two of the four CubeSats that comprise the TROPICS constellation. 

Europe’s latest weather satellite, the MTG-I1, has just delivered its first view of Earth.

Orbex has announced that construction has begun at Sutherland Spaceport (formerly known as Space Hub Sutherland) in Scotland, making this the first vertical launch spaceport to be on the UK mainland.

ThrustMe and Turion Space have announced the selection of ThrustMe’s iodine electric propulsion system for their DROID.002 spacecraft. The American sustainable spacecraft company will integrate several NPT30-I2-1.5U thrusters to enable maneuverability for orbit raising and end-of-life disposal to its innovative space-debris observation and characterization mission.