Vitrociset SPA is a group headquarted in Rome, Italy.

Vitrociset's activity in the space market dates back to 1982 with the awarding of a turnkey contract for the ESA (European Space Agency) Redu tracking station.
Now it has complete portfolio of products and services for key players of the space sector (ASI, CNES, Arianespace, MOD and Satellite Operators). This includes the design and development of mission-critical systems - an example of which is the development of essential components of the User Segment in the HELIOS mission, as well as of the SICRAL satellite communication system and the ESA Simulators and Control Centres.

The company is active:
- in the launch site of French Guyana
- in all operating centres of the ESA (ESOC, ESTEC, ESRIN) ; see Vitrociset Belgium

Projects, realizes and manages systems and services through value-for-money solutions able to provide quality and security based on the highest standards of innovation, in civil and military areas, for public administrations, government agencies, international organizations and private companies.

The Group on Earth Observations is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS.

GEO was launched in response to calls for action by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and by the G8 (Group of Eight) leading industrialized countries. These high-level meetings recognized that international collaboration is essential for exploiting the growing potential of Earth observations to support decision making in an increasingly complex and environmentally stressed world.

GEO is a voluntary partnership of governments and international organizations. It provides a framework within which these partners can develop new projects and coordinate their strategies and investments. As of March 2012, GEO's Members include 88 Governments and the European Commission. In addition, 64 intergovernmental, international, and regional organizations with a mandate in Earth observation or related issues have been recognized as Participating Organizations.

GEO is constructing GEOSS on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan for the period 2005 to 2015. The Plan defines a vision statement for GEOSS, its purpose and scope, expected benefits, and the nine "Societal Benefit Areas" of disasters, health, energy, climate, water, weather, ecosystems, agriculture and biodiversity.

The Group on Earth Observations is coordinating efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems, or GEOSS. 

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) is one of the world's largest designers and manufacturers of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government users.

Since the advent of the space age more than 50 years ago, SS/L has developed state-of-the-art spacecraft for applications that include satellite services, television broadcasting, direct-to-home (DTH) television services, broadband communications, military communications, wireless telephony, digital satellite radio, weather monitoring and air traffic management. SS/L is located in Palo Alto, Calif., USA.

In Nov. 2012, SS/L was acquired by MDA. 

Kelly Space & Technology Inc. (KST) is a privately-held aerospace and defense technology company with an environmental testing services capability based at the San Bernardino International Airport, California, USA.

KSt provides:

• Environmental and Dynamics Testing and Evaluation
• Ballistic Testing
• Jet & Rocket Engine Testing
• Encapsulated Ballistic Protection

[Not to be confused with Sirius Satellite Radio] 

The Sirius satellites is a constellation of communications satellites operated at 5°E in geostationary orbit by SES, owner and operator of the Astra satellites.

They broadcast digital satellite television to the countries of Scandinavia, Baltic states, eastern Europe and Africa, including the Viasat pay TV system, along with several pay TV packages for eastern Europe, the TopTV package for Africa, a number of Ukrainian channels and the national Latvian and Lithuanian channel service free-to-air.

The Sirius satellites are not the satellites used for the American Sirius Satellite Radio service, whose satellites are named Radiosat.

The Space Island Project is a project whose goal is to create a stand-alone commercial space infrastructure supporting manned business activities in Low Earth orbit (LEO) 400 to 500 miles above earth.

The Space Island Group is the organization behind this project, and plans to accomplish this through the use of technologies, vehicles and procedures developed by NASA and other aerospace companies.

ABSL Space Products is a world leading supplier of Lithium-ion batteries for spacecraft and launch vehicles.

Moreover ABSL Space Products is providing a wide range of space technologies, including Optical Product and Energy Storage.

It has been recently purchased by EnerSys, an American company.

Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) is a joint initiative of the European Commission and European Space Agency, which aims at achieving an autonomous and operational Earth observation capacity.
The objective is to rationalize the use of multiple-sources data to get a timely and quality information, services and knowledge, and to provide autonomous and independent access to information in relation to environment and security. In other words, it will pull together all the information obtained by environmental satellites, air and ground stations to provide a comprehensive picture of the "health" of Earth.

GMES is the European Union contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems GEOSS.

'Copernicus' is the new name for the GMES programme (June 2013).     

NASA's Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition is a university-level competition designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

NASA will directly benefit from the competition by encouraging the development of innovative lunar excavation concepts from universities which may result in clever ideas and solutions which could be applied to an actual lunar excavation device or payload. The challenge is for students to design and build an excavator, called a Lunabot, that can mine and deposit a minimum of 10 kilograms of lunar simulant within 10 minutes. The complexities of the challenge include the abrasive characteristics of the BP-1, the weight and size limitations of the Lunabot, and the ability to telerobotically or autonomously control the Lunabot from a remote mission control center. This year the scoring for the mining category will not be based primarily on the amount of material excavated in the allowed time but instead will require teams to consider a number of design and operation factors such as dust tolerance and projection, communications, vehicle mass, energy/power required, and full autonomy.

The Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, or Suomi NPP, is a weather satellite operated by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Originally intended as a pathfinder for the NPOESS programme, which was to have replaced NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites and the US Air Force's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, Suomi was launched in 2011 after the cancellation of NPOESS to serve as a gapfiller between the POES satellites and the Joint Polar Satellite System which will replace them. Its instruments provide climate measurements that continue prior observations by NASA's Earth Observing System.

it was previously known as the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) and NPP-Bridge.