Belgium signs Artemis Accords
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 00:52
Belgium is the 34 th country overall, and first so far in 2024, to sign the document. The Artemis Accords outline best practices for responsible behavior in space exploration. Non-binding document describes procedures signatories should follow. Belgium is a major contributor to the European Space Agency.
U.S. bracing for tougher satellite radio wave negotiations
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 20:31
U.S. Ambassador says it will become more difficult to protect national interests. Steve Lang led a U.S. Delegation at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference. WRC-23 ended Dec. 15 after four weeks of talks with a mixed bag of resolutions.
Orbital Spectrum Clash
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 19:38
The United Nations-run quadrennial conference wrapped up Dec. 15 after four grueling weeks of treaty-level negotiations. Rules include limits on how closely satellites must stick to the orbital positions they have registered with regulators. Measures to prevent NGSO services in countries that have not authorized them were also put on the agenda for WRC-27.
Booz Allen Ventures makes its first space investment
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 17:50
Albedo on Tuesday announced it raised $35 million to build and launch a network of ultra-high resolution Earth imaging satellites. Several venture firms participated in the funding round, including Booz Allen Ventures. Booz Allen intends to take an active role in working with Albedo to bring its technology to defense and intelligence users.
DoD’s satcom evolution
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 15:00
The United States military aims to harness these new networks in the skies to bolster communications for troops on the ground, ships at sea, and drone aircraft patrolling far-flung regions. Military satcom buyers are also eyeing emerging capabilities such as small geostationary satellites and direct-to-device satellite connectivity.
Internet from space: U.S. Air Force bets on commercial networks
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 13:00
The Air Force Research Laboratory in 2023 awarded $250 million worth of contracts to commercial satellite operators and defense contractors for various experiments. The projects are part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet. The program made news in late 2018 when it awarded SpaceX a $28 million contract to experiment with Starlink.
Latitude raises $30 million for small launch vehicle development
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 12:04
French company Latitude has raised $30 million to produce its first rockets. The company is developing Zephyr, a small launch vehicle designed to place up to 100 kilograms into low Earth orbit. The company is planning a first flight of the rocket in 2025, and the funding will support manufacturing.
UPDATE #4: SpaceX has technical issues filming launch but shows booster landing – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 00:00
Falcon 9 launched 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This was the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, Transporter-7, Iridium OneWeb, SDA-0B.
NOAA satellites helped save 350 lives in 2023 – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-24 00:00
NOAA satellites are part of the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system. Of the 350 U.S. Rescues last year, 255 people were pulled from the water. Florida had the most people rescued with 83, followed by Hawaii with 52 and Alaska with 49.
Dutch satellite instrument achieves milestone in laser data transfer to Earth – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 00:00
Researchers from TNO have successfully connected a satellite to a ground station on Earth via self-developed laser communication technology. This is the first time this has been achieved with a Dutch laser satellite instrument. The technology enables much faster and safer data transfer than the radio frequencies currently used for communication.
ELA’s value offering to launch vehicle providers and payload customers — spaceport of the future – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 00:00
ELA has revealed completed designs for the company’s Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) buildings. The purpose-built buildings offer a 40m (L) x 26m (W) x 12m (H) in standard configuration. This announcement comes on the back of the release of ELA’s ‘game changer’ ASCALP launch pad designs.
Ovzon’s CFO is departing the company – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 00:00
Ovzon’s CFO Noora Jayasekara has decided to leave the company. A process to recruit a new CFO has been initiated. Jayasekara will continue in her current role until June 2024 or until a new CFO is in place.
NASA’s IXPE Awarded Prestigious Prize in High-energy Astronomy
Original Publication Date: 2024-01-23 10:03
IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) team has been awarded a top prize in high-energy astronomy. The High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society awarded the 2024 Bruno Rossi Prize. IXPE orbits Earth some 340 miles up to observe X-ray emissions from powerful cosmic phenomena hundreds or thousands of light-years from Earth.
University High Wins L.A. Ocean Sciences Bowl at NASA’s JPL
University High School of Irvine, California, wins Ocean Sciences Bowl. Eight schools from Los Angeles and Orange counties competed. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has hosted annually since 2000. Contestants tap “Jeopardy!”-style buzzers before answering questions.
Ciencia destacada del año en el espacio del astronauta Frank Rubio
Frank Rubio llegó a la Estación Espacial Internacional el 21 de septiembre de 2022. Rubio and sus compañeros de tripulación llevaron a cabo decenas of investigaciones científicas.
New U.S. Postal Service Stamps Feature Iconic NASA Webb Images
The U.S. Postal Service stamps honor Webb’s achievements as it continues its mission to explore the unknown in our universe. The other stamp, a Priority Mail stamp, features an image of the Pillars of Creation captured by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) The Pillars of Creation is set within the vast Eagle Nebula, which lies 6,500 light-years away.