The contract covers InOrbit NOW Launch Service for two AAC Clyde Space’s 6U CubeSats built for the Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) Constellation

FINO MORNASCO, Italy, October 8, 2020 (D-Orbit PR) — Italian in-orbit transportation company D-Orbit has announced a launch service agreement with Swedish-British small satellite manufacturer AAC Clyde Space. The contract covers launch and deployment of two Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) 6U CubeSats in 2021 developed and built by AAC Clyde Space.

Eutelsat’s ELO is a constellation that aims at providing global Internet of things (IoT) coverage from low Earth orbit to support sectors like transport, oil and gas, and agriculture. The constellation, in combination with ground infrastructures, will enable companies to gather data from tens of millions of objects, irrespective of their geographic location.

BERLIN, GERMANY, October 7, 2020 (Exolaunch PR) – Exolaunch, the leading rideshare launch and deployment services provider for the New Space industry, signed a long-term launch agreement with SpaceX to secure Falcon 9 capacity for launching small satellites as part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program. Under the agreement, Exolaunch manifests multiple microsatellites and cubesats on Falcon 9 rideshare missions to a sun-synchronous orbit throughout 2020 – 2021.

Exolaunch is accommodating 30 small satellites on the first SpaceX dedicated rideshare mission scheduled for launch this December, and is gearing up for its launch campaign next month at the SpaceX launch facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Additionally, Exolaunch is planning to open an office in the U.S. to provide more flexible launch and deployment services to its growing list of stateside customers.

MONTREAL (GHGSat PR) — GHGSat has signed an agreement with the leading global technology company, ABB to deliver the payloads for GHGSat’s next 3 methane detecting satellites – a significant milestone in the firm’s plan to have a constellation of 10 spacecraft in orbit by the end of 2022.

GHGSat is unique in operating satellites able to detect greenhouse gases (GHG) in high-resolution, a technology the company has demonstrated in space since 2016. While government GHG sensors in orbit provide regional scale measurements and global trends, GHGSat’s satellites are specifically designed to detect and quantify methane emissions from individual facilities. GHGSat’s sensor technology enables unprecedented leak monitoring capability as detection of sources 100 times smaller is possible with a resolution that is 100 times higher.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 7, 2020 (Boeing PR) — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Space Force successfully completed the first major engineering design review for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS)-11+ communications satellite. This successful review demonstrates that Boeing is ready to proceed to the final system design phase. Production will begin next year at Boeing’s El Segundo factory, with delivery scheduled for 2024.

WGS-11+ features a modern digital payload that performs at twice the operational capability of its predecessors, increasing the availability of military-grade communications. Leveraging advances in Boeing commercial technologies, it will provide secure communications to connect U.S. and allied forces globally.

COLOGNE (ESA PR) — What would a satellite look like as it burns up in the atmosphere? Researchers attempted to duplicate this fiery fate for a bulky satellite electronics box using a plasma wind tunnel.

International space projects in robotics, disaster relief and space debris could be among the new pioneering collaborations backed by £5 million of new Government funding.

SWINDON, UK (UK Space Agency PR) — Through the Government’s new domestic space fund, the National Space Innovation Programme, the UK Space Agency will fund innovative technologies and services to support UK trade, science, and  security with major space players like Australia, France, Japan and the United States.

Funding – from £250,000 to £2.5 million – will be given to the best international collaborative projects from UK industry, academia and research organisations.

Video Caption: We could realistically see people starting to live and work on the Moon in the next decade — and how we do it matters, says space policy researcher Jessy Kate Schingler. In this fascinating talk, she discusses the critical issues that arise when we consider civilization in outer space — such as governance, property rights and resource management — and shows how the Moon can be a template […]

by Brittany Enos
University of Arizona

NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission now knows much more about the material it’ll be collecting in just a few weeks. In a special collection of six papers published today in the journals Science and  Science Advances, scientists on the OSIRIS-REx mission present new findings on asteroid Bennu’s surface material, geological characteristics, and dynamic history. They also suspect that the delivered sample of Bennu may be unlike anything we have in the meteorite collection on Earth.

WASHINGTON (DOD PR) — In June, the Defense Department released its Space Strategy document. That document lays out the department’s four-pillar strategy for work that needs to be done in space within the next decade and beyond.

Justin T. Johnson, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, discussed that strategy at a virtual Heritage Foundation event today.

The first line of effort, he said, is for the U.S. Space Force to build a comprehensive military advantage in space.

Indian startup Agnikul Cosmos Launch Vehicles has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to test its Agnibaan booster at the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska on Kodiak Island.

The agreement commits Agnikul and Alaska Aerospace Corporation to working together to obtain regulatory and export control approvals from the Indian and American governments for an initial test launch in 2022, CNBC TV18 reports.

“We are thrilled Agnikul has partnered with Alaska Aerospace for high inclination flight testing. Agnikul has established itself as a leading rocket technology company, and we are pleased Alaska’s proven launch infrastructure and expertise continue to attract new space launch companies from around the world,” said Mark Lester, president and CEO of Alaska Aerospace.

Video Caption: The second qualification model of the P120C solid rocket motor, configured for Ariane 6, completed its hot firing on 7 October 2020 in a final test to prove its readiness for flight. Depending on the configuration, two or four P120C motors, developed in Europe, will be strapped onto the sides of the future Ariane 6 launch vehicle as boosters for liftoff. The P120C will also be used as […]

ROME (Serco Europe PR) — Serco Europe, a leading provider of services to the space sector, has just launched a research incubator at its Italian Head Office near Rome.

The Red Lab is a research hub which aims to strengthen Serco’s relationships with universities and research institutes and encourage cooperation in space research and innovation.