Space Resources

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 European Space Agency (ESA)'s CHaracterizing ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops) mission has observed a dwarf planet in our Solar System, contributing to the discovery of a dense ring of material around it. The mission discovered that the Dwarf Planet Quaoar had a ring of almost seven and a half times the radius of the Dwarf Planet. This consequently opens up a mystery for astronomers; why has this material not coalesced into a small moon?

Airbus has launched two defense research and development projects as part of the 2021 European Defense Fund (EDF). The EDF promotes cooperation among European companies and research institutes across the EU to strengthen Europe's resilience and strategic autonomy. In July 2022, the European Commission selected 61 R&T and R&D projects involving new technology areas and funded with €1.2 billion, including eight collaborative projects that Airbus is part of.

Capella Space has announced the formation of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Capella Federal. The new entity enables the company to further support its U.S. Government and defense agency customers by providing expanded access to its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery with increased security and continued on-demand reliability.

Space Foundation has released The Space Report 2022 Q4, showing shattered records for launches and the number of satellites and spacecraft to reach orbit despite difficult market conditions and international tensions, including the Russia-Ukraine war.

AstroForge Inc. has announced that it has signed a contract with Orbital Astronautics Ltd (OrbAstro), a satellite and in-orbit service provider, to fly a 100kg-class spacecraft into deep space for an asteroid survey mission. The spacecraft will tentatively launch in late 2023 with Intuitive Machines, a space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission serves as a prospecting activity and stepping-stone towards AstroForge’s ambitions for asteroid mining.

In this German Space Café Radio – Space Café Germany Host Andreas Schepers spoke with Prof. Dr. Matthias Sperl, Group head at the DLR's Institute of Material Physics in Space,  and Professor for Physics of granular materials at the University of Cologne. The interview was conducted during this year’s ILA Berlin which is the largest aerospace trade show in Germany which took place June 22 – 26, 2022. 

The coming of the end of the ISS era brings forward a series of fundamental questions: what will happen after the ISS is discontinued? Is a new epoch of privately-owned, low orbit on the rise?

Airbus has signed a contract with the Belgian Ministry of Defense to provide tactical satellite communications services for a 15-year period. The Armed Forces will utilize channels of the Airbus UHF (Ultra High Frequency) military communications hosted payload on board a commercial telecommunications satellite manufactured by Airbus.

Astrobotic has announced that its Peregrine lunar lander has successfully completed its entire flight acceptance campaign. As a result, Peregrine is now ready to ship to Cape Canaveral, Florida, when Astrobotic’s rocket provider, United Launch Alliance (ULA), gives the green light to receive it.