Space Missions

KBR has selected Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) to provide all Outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) SWFO Antenna Network (SAN) services. The KBR and KSAT team are developing a blended network, including U.S. government ground station sites with KSAT-owned capabilities delivered as a service.

NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. has closed a $35 million Series C funding round with US-based private equity lead Cartesian Capital Group, LLC, through an affiliated entity, Pangaea Three Acquisition Holdings III, LLC. NorthStar will use the funding to launch an advanced Space Situational Awareness service by mid-2023

Aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%) published a log of the company’s successes and achievements in 2022.

The Caltech Space Solar Power Project (SSPP) successfully launched a prototype into orbit atop SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission. The Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD) will test harvesting solar power in space and then beaming the energy back to Earth, Caltech said.

By virtue of Sweden assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (first semester, 2023), the Country has released its Swedish Presidency program that covers its plans for space. The program sets out the priorities and main direction for the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January until 30 June 2023. The priorities cut across many facets, including space. 

Space technology company, Voyager Space, and advanced aerospace and defence solutions provider, Airbus Defence and Space, entered into a partnership to develop and operate Starlab space station. The station will serve NASA as well as a global customer base of space agencies and researchers, Voyager said.

Sony has adopted Pale Blue's water thruster for its new nanosatellite program, STAR SPHERE. The water thruster will prolong the satellite’s life by 2.5 years with the ability to enter and keep the orbit at 500-600 km altitude. Furthermore, Pale Blue will conduct its first space demonstration at the end of January 2023.

Commercial satellite design, manufacture, launch, and data collection company, Sidus Space, has been selected by engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company, Bechtel Corporation, to manufacture cables for the NASA Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) project, Sidus said.

Viasat Inc, a global leader in satellite communications, has completed the sale of its Link 16 Tactical Data Links (TDL) business to L3Harris Technologies for approximately $1.96 billion in cash. Viasat expects the net proceeds from the sale to be approximately $1.8 billion after estimated taxes, fees, and other expenses. Furthermore, Viasat intends to use the proceeds to reduce net leverage and increase liquidity.

The Space Café Podcast #71: Joel Spark - GM Space Services at Spire, unlocking the digital frontier and the quest to build a second earth. Spire Global is a data and analytics company that uses nanosatellites to track global data sets, such as maritime, aviation, and weather patterns. It operates a fleet of over 110 CubeSats, the second-largest commercial constellation by the number of satellites, and the largest by the number of sensors.