Space Missions

The President of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Mr. Giorgio Saccoccia, announced today the guidelines and objectives of the national space agency for 2023. ASI, recently back from a very successful CM22, explained that for 2023 it intends to carry on its long-standing collaboration with ESA and NASA, open new strategic international goals, and keep pushing its national interests.

Researchers have confirmed the presence of an exoplanet, a planet that orbits another star, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. Formally classified as LHS 475 b, the planet is almost exactly the same size as Earth, clocking in at 99% of Earth’s diameter.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and SES have announced their €300 million financing agreement details. The seven-year term loan will back investments related to the design, procurement, and launch of three previously announced satellites that will deliver advanced broadcast and broadband services spanning Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The loan is the largest amount that the EIB has ever provided to a Luxembourg-based company.

The Republic of Djibouti has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group Limited and Touchroad International Holdings Group to develop an international commercial spaceport in its northern Obock Region of Djibouti. 

The World Teleport Association (WTA) has published its annual rankings for the Top Teleport Operators of 2022, with AXESS Networks emerging as one of the best teleport operators globally. The annual rankings of surveying teleport operators compile top companies by revenue and revenue growth around the world and referencing publicly held companies' published results.. The annual rankings of surveying teleport operators compile top companies by revenue and revenue growth around the world and referencing publicly held companies' published results.

Capella Space, an American space technology company with data and satellite solutions for government and commercial applications, announced $60 million in growth equity financing in a follow-on to their Series C funding round through Thomas Tull’s US Innovation Technology Fund (USIT). Capella Space is one of the first companies to close financing through Tull’s USIT Fund, bringing the company’s total funding to approximately $250M.

Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) and SaxaVord Spaceport have announced their launch operations partnership. As a result of the partnership, RFA will have exclusive access to Launch Pad Fredo for orbital launches. Consequently, the company’s first launch of its RFA ONE launch system – currently planned for the end of 2023 – will take place from the northernmost point in the UK.

The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lander, which was successfully launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on December 11, 2022, completed its first orbit control maneuver on December 15, 2022. A second orbital control maneuver followed this on January 2, 2023.

Satellite vehicle and subsystems designer, Rogue Space Systems Corporation (Rogue), has decided to support the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of Resolution 77/41, calling on all Member States not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) tests. The US-led initiative has already been adopted by ten countries.

RHEATECH’s DOVER Pathfinder satellite, designed to protect critical national infrastructure in the event of cyber hacking and jamming attacks, was on board the first-ever horizontal orbital launch from UK soil last night. The low-cost, resilient system was created to safeguard the UK’s critical national infrastructure. The launch, however, ended in failure due to an anomaly.