Policy and Law

In this first pilot episode of Space Economy Insights, Kevin O'Connell and Emma Gatti interviewed Claire Jolly, Head of Ocean Economy & Space Economy, Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The European Parliament has greenlit the new network of European Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) telecommunication satellites. The Parliament endorsed the network with 603 votes to 6 and 39 abstentions, and the text will undergo formal adoption by the Council before its signature and publication in the Official Journal. As a result, the network will be active from 2024. 

On the 16th of February, Astroscale Ltd. (“Astroscale UK”) announced it has won funding from Dstl (The MOD Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) to explore space-based space domain awareness (SB-SDA) mission concepts for launch in the 2030s. 

Japan will test its next-generation rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre this Thursday. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a prime contractor have developed the H-III rocket.

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #74: Carissa Christensen of BryceTech talks commercial potentials in the space industry and its latest innovations

The UK Space Agency is set to fund 18 projects that intend to boost the space sector across the UK. The funding sum of £6.5 million includes support for high-impact, locally-led schemes and space cluster development managers to help the space sector grow across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

In this Space Café Radio - SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with  Dr. Jessica West, Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, and Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director at Secure World Foundation. In this episode, Torsten talked with Jessica and Victoria about the third session of the Open-ended working group on reducing space threats through norms, rules, and principles of responsible behaviors, held in early February 2023 in Geneva.

Spaceflight is undergoing revolutionary changes, and the net effect is that the sustainability of our orbit is at risk. The growing quantity of space debris located in economically and scientifically crucial orbits poses a serious hazard to functioning satellites.

The second episode of this special series of Space Cafe Black Ops with Dr. Namrata Goswami as resident guest is focused on the US. How did the nation build its space power, what are the differences between the space race during the cold war and today?

The Hague Institute for Global Justice has introduced The Washington Compact on Norms of Behavior for Commercial Space Operations, marking a historic milestone for the global space industry. The unveiling happened at the Metropolitan Club, D.C., on 7 February 2023. As a result, the Washington Compact demonstrates the international community's commitment to the sustainable commercial use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind.