Babcock secures UK Military Skynet satellite contract
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded Babcock International Group a six-year contract to manage and operate Skynet, the MOD's military satellite communications system, on February 15.
The contract is called Skynet Service Delivery Wrap (SDW), it is valued at 400 million pounds ($486.6 million), and it is expected to support 400 jobs in Corsham, Bristol, and Plymouth, U China, Europe cooperate in satellite-rocket test
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
A China-Europe joint space mission, Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), has successfully completed a satellite-rocket test, according to the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
A Chinese satellite team from the SMILE mission recently traveled to the European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) of the European Spa stc and Omnispace sign MoU to bring seamless Direct-to-Device satcom to Saudi Arabia
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
stc Group and Omnispace have signed of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop space-based 5G mobile communications voice and data services. stc will leverage the Omnispace 3GPP-compliant non-terrestrial network (NTN), offering customers cost-effective global connectivity beyond its existing cellular land-based network.
The initiative would expand stc's coverage areas to include und Yahsat and Cobham SATCOM complete CDR for Thuraya's Next satellite
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
Yahsat, the UAE-based satellite communications company, has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for its Thuraya 4-NGS Programme's Next Generation Service Platform and Broadband Products. This development marks a crucial milestone in the ongoing transformation of Thuraya 4-NGS, an initiative that has become integral to Yahsat's growth strategy and the advancement of its mobility satcom bus NuSpace and GomSpace signs MoU to develop an extended value proposition in Singapore NewSpace
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
GomSpace, a satellite company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NuSpace Pte. Ltd, a Singapore-based company providing space-based infrastructure services. The partnership will allow the parties to develop space projects in Singapore, leveraging NuSpace's expertise in satellite as a service and GomSpace's experience in delivering space missions and equipment.
The combinat Fortuna Investments announces US expansion and first space investment
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
Fortuna Investments ("Fortuna"), a venture capital and advisory firm founded by Justus Parmar, is pleased to announce its expansion to the U.S. market with the opening of an office in Miami Beach, Florida. From this strategic vantage point, the firm plans to invest in companies and entrepreneurs in both the burgeoning space industry as well as clean-tech and other emerging industries.
In c Sols 3744-3745: The One That Got Away
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
The team was eagerly awaiting our downlink this morning to hear how the drill attempt from Sol 3742 went. The images came down and indeed there was a drill hole... a mini drill hole... and sadly not deep enough to get to a sufficient depth for the drill assembly to start collecting sample. This was our fourth attempt to drill this marker band, and we gave it our best shot from both a geology and China releases Chang'e-4 payloads' scientific datasets
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 10:31
China has released a new batch of datasets from the payloads installed on the Chang'e-4 probe on the official website of the Lunar and Planetary Data Release System.
The datasets include 3,991.1 MB of 803 data files obtained by the four scientific payloads on the Chang'e-4 lander and rover between December 26, 2021 and January 10, 2022.
The Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec 8, 2018, m FAA forecasts surging commercial launch activity
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 09:04
The FAA forecasts that commercial launches it licenses could more than double in the next several years, putting an additional strain on the handful of spaceports that host them.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 helps explorers unearth rare 7.6 kg meteorite in Antarctica
Tuesday, 21 February 2023 09:03
Copernicus Sentinel-2 helps explorers unearth rare meteorite
Secretive military space agency stepping out of the shadows
Monday, 20 February 2023 21:00
When a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launched a national security mission to geostationary Earth orbit Jan. 15, the Space Force revealed that three of the payloads onboard were developed by one of its most secretive agencies, the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
Space Force considers public-private partnerships to respond to crises
Monday, 20 February 2023 18:30
If a conflict with a rival power like China broke out, the U.S.
South Korea joins space race in tech drive as Russia's isolation deepens over war in Ukraine
Monday, 20 February 2023 17:37
South Korea is preparing a domestic rocket development program as part of an ambitious drive to carve out a larger slice of the global space economy following the implosion of its partnership with Russia.
Seoul last month revoked a contract with Moscow in favor of a European operator to launch a satellite into space. Having relied on Russia for years to send its probes into orbit, the move is a tangible impact of sanctions on the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.
"Our plans to launch a multipurpose satellite with Russia have entirely gone awry," Korean Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-Seog said in an interview. "From the perspective of not only space industries but also national security, owning the ability to lift a satellite we want into space when we want is important."
South Korea's breakup with Moscow will be a harsh blow to Russia's rocket program, one of the nation's strongest post-Soviet industries outside oil, and highlights the impact of international pressure. Space is also a natural next step for South Korea's sophisticated economy, led by its high-tech sector.
Mercury’s black disc helps sharpen Solar Orbiter’s view
Monday, 20 February 2023 13:00
This year started with a nice imaging opportunity for Solar Orbiter, and a chance to further improve the quality of its data. On 3 January 2023, inner planet Mercury crossed the spacecraft’s field of view, resulting in a transit where Mercury appeared as a perfectly black circle moving across the face of the Sun.
Planetary radar captures detailed view of oblong asteroid
Monday, 20 February 2023 11:57
On Feb. 3, an asteroid more than three times as long as it is wide safely flew past Earth at a distance of about 1.1 million miles (1.8 million kilometers, or a little under five times the distance between the Moon and Earth). While there was no risk of the asteroid - called 2011 AG5 - impacting our planet, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California closely tracked the