The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable aerospace warfighting technologies; planning and executing the Air Force science and technology program; and provide warfighting capabilities to United States air, space, and cyberspace forces. It controls the entire Air Force science and technology research budget.

The Laboratory was formed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio on 31 October 1997 as a consolidation of four Air Force laboratory facilities (Wright, Phillips, Rome, and Armstrong) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under a unified command. The Laboratory is composed of 8 technical directorates, 1 wing, and the Office of Scientific Research. Each technical directorate emphasizes a particular area of research within the AFRL mission which it specializes in performing experiments in conjunction with universities and contractors.

Since the Laboratory's formation in 1997, it has conducted numerous experiments and technical demonstrators in conjunction with NASA, Department of Energy National Laboratories, DARPA, and other research organizations within the Department of Defense. Notable projects include the X-37, X-40, X-53, HTV-3X, YAL-1A, Advanced Tactical Laser, and the Tactical Satellite Program. (source: Wikipedia, Oct. 2012).

The "Orion" Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a planned beyond-low-earth-orbit manned spacecraft that is being built by Lockheed Martin for NASA based on designs and tests already completed as part of the now-cancelled Constellation program, development for which began in 2005 as the Crew Exploration Vehicle.

The MPCV was announced by NASA on 24 May 2011. The MPCV's debut unmanned multi-hour test flight, known as Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), is scheduled for a launch aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket in 2014. The first manned mission is expected to take place after 2020.

Each Orion spacecraft is projected to carry a crew of four astronauts. The spacecraft was originally designed to be launched by the Ares I launch vehicle. On 11 October 2010, with the cancellation of the Constellation Program, the Ares program ended and development of the original Orion vehicle was renamed as the MPCV, planned to be launched on top of an alternative Space Launch System. 

Eurockot Launch Services GmbH is a commercial spacecraft launch provider. It was founded in 1995.

Eurockot uses an expendable launch vehicle called the Rockot to place satellites into Low-Earth orbit (LEO). Eurockot is jointly owned by EADS Astrium, which holds 51 percent, and by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, which holds 49 percent. Eurockot launches from dedicated launch facilities at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

Swarm is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth's magnetic field.

The Swarm concept consists of a constellation of three satellites in three different polar orbits between 450 and 550 km altitude.

The launch is currently planned for mid-November 2013; in 2010, ESA awarded the contract to Eurockot.

The Faulkes Telescope Project (FTP) is supported by the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust. It provides access to 1,500 hours of observing time on two 2-metre class telescopes located in Hawaii (Faulkes Telescope North in Hawaii) and Australia (Faulkes Telescope South in Australia). This time is dedicated to education and public outreach, mainly in the UK, but also for smaller, selected projects in Europe and the US.

FTP has operated a UK-wide educational programme since 2004, and currently works with science education projects across Europe and further afield (e.g. USA, Russia, Israel), including many EU-based science, maths and ICT programmes. FTP specialises in providing physics and maths education and outreach via astronomy and space science, utilising the unique access it can provide to research-grade facilities. The basic philosophy is to engage learners in “real science”, making them active participants in a range of astronomical research projects, ranging from observations of the solar system to distant galaxies. Teacher training (both face-to-face and online) is a core component of the FTP educational philosophy, and project staff have been involved in professional development work both in the UK and overseas, with teacher training days being held in Moscow, Santa Barbara, Munich, Lisbon, Paris and several other venues in Portugal and Spain.

FTP operates a broad range of educational programmes, with a strong emphasis on teacher training and engaging students with “real science”. A variety of research projects are currently being run on the FTs, with schools often participating in the role of data gatherers, particularly in long-term monitoring or short-term intensive studies or Target of Opportunity requests for transient objects (e.g. GRBs, supernovae, NEOs or X-ray systems in outburst).

The project also provides extensive educational materials which can be accessed and downloaded free of charge from their educational resources website. These resources include astronomy video tutorials, online astronomy training, paper-based documents for use in the classroom, and pre-packaged data from the telescopes to use with the exercises detailed online.

Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) is a non-profit private operating foundation. The network's goal is to build a global network of up to 40 longitudinally spaced robotic telescopes for scientific and educational use. The longitudinal spacing would provide complete latitude coverage in both hemispheres to allow continuous observations of any astronomical object.

The network currently consists of (as of February 2012) two fully operational 2-meter telescopes, Faulkes Telescope North and Faulkes Telescope South. 

Start-1 is a Russian satellite launch vehicle based on the RT-2PM Topol, a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology.

The Start-1 launch vehicle derives its name from the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) between the United States and the Soviet Union. 

The Start-1 rocket is unique amongst launch vehicles in that its launch platform is mobile, allowing for the Start-1 to potentially launch from anywhere. The Start-1 launches from an unmodified Topol Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL). The TEL is a massive fourteen-wheeled vehicle, six of which pivot for steering. The launch vehicle is transported and launched inside a mobile Transport and Launch Carrier (TLC) carried by the TEL. The TLC consists of an air-tight composite cylinder that protects the launch vehicle and payload from variations in temperature and humidity. The TLC lays in the middle of the TEL lengthwise and bisects the driver's cab in two.

A version of the Start-1 rocket, simply called Start, was developed in parallel with the Start-1 program. Start differed from Start-1 by using the second stage of the Start-1 twice, giving it a total of five stages. With the extra stage, payload to LEO was increased to 850 kg. 

ONERA is a French aerospace research center.

It is a public establishment with industrial and commercial operations, and carries out application-oriented research to support enhanced innovation and competitiveness in the aerospace and defense sectors. ONERA is an acronym for Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales.

Since January 2007 Onera was dubbed “The French Aerospace Lab” to enhance its international visibility, and also adopted a brand baseline, “Return on Innovation”.

Onera carries out a wide range of research for space agencies, as well as for the French defense procurement agency, DGA. Onera also independently conducts its own long-term research to anticipate future technology needs. It focuses on scientific research, for example in aerodynamics for concrete applications on aircraft, the design of launchers and new defense technologies, such as drones (unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)).

Onera also uses its research and innovation capabilities to support both French and European industry. Onera’s customer-partners include EADS (Airbus, Eurocopter), Safran (Snecma, Turbomeca, Sagem), Dassault Aviation, Thalesand other major industry players. Innovative small businesses are also encouraged to call on the expertise of Onera’s scientists and engineers, and to take advantage of technology transfer opportunities.

Onera has contributed to a number of landmark aerospace and defense programs in recent decades, including Airbus, Ariane, Rafale, Falcon, Mirage and Concorde.

Critical Software is a Portuguese information systems and software company, headquartered in Coimbra (Portugal).

It is a spin-off from the University of Coimbra's business incubator and technology transfer centre Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN). The company was established in 1998 in Coimbra, Portugal, its headquarters. It has offices in Porto and Lisbon (Portugal) and subsidiaries around the world in Southampton (United Kingdom), San Jose (United States), Bucharest (Romania), São José dos Campos (Brazil), Maputo (Mozambique) and other locations.

Critical Software has participated in Earth observation related projects of the European Space Agency, such as the prevention and mitigation of forest fires, ocean monitoring and research on complex climate systems.

Liège Space Center (French: Centre spatial de Liège, CSL) is a research center of the University of Liège in Belgium. It holds a hundred people, half of whom are engineers and scientists. The activities of the CSL are specialized in optics, space technologies and space environment testing.

The activity of the Liège Space Centre is focused on three areas: 

• It is a test centre for certifying optical space equipment and payloads before they are put into orbit. Vibration, optical, thermal and even cryogenic tests are conducted in thermal environments of up to -270°C, i.e. 3 degrees above absolute zero.
• It designs, develops and certifies scientific space instruments. These optical instruments are designed to enable unique scientific observations and use the latest advances in technology.
• New technology development activities are performed on the one hand as a support service to the other space activities of the Liège Space Centre, and on the other hand within the scope of non-space regional or European projects.

The Liège Space Centre therefore brings together many specialists: opticians, mechanics, heat engineers, physicists, specialists in micro-manufacturing, as well as electronics specialists. They work in direct cooperation with the university’s laboratories, but also with major European centres such as the European Space Agency, astrophysics laboratories and technology centres. The Liège Space Centre also works in collaboration with non-space industries at regional and European level, where its skills are used for a wide range of applications such as micro-manufacturing, optical coatings, solar energy, etc.