NASA, Artemis Accords Signatories Progress on Sustainable Exploration

A record number of Artemis Accords signatories, including the United States, gathered at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), the world’s largest global space conference taking place in Milan this week, furthering discussions on the safe and responsible use of space for the benefit of all.

 

During the space conference, top space agency leaders and other government representatives met Oct. 14 to continue advancing the implementation of the Artemis Accords, marking the most comprehensive engagement yet among Accords signatories.

“As we send humans further into the solar system, collaboration and shared responsibility among nations are more critical than ever,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “The Artemis Accords provide a common sense set of principles to guide our work together, and our recent efforts to further their implementation is fostering a remarkable environment of trust and cooperation where all nations can contribute to and benefit from these endeavours.”

The high-level meeting was co-chaired by NASA, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Italian Space Agency. With 42 of 45 signatories participating, established and emerging spacefaring nations from every region of the world were represented to help create a foundation for future space exploration for the Artemis Generation.

Leaders from each nation reflected on how the group can contribute to and advance existing multilateral forums, further technical discussions to inform policy deliberations, and promote and encourage the participation of emerging space nations including the adoption of the Artemis Accords by additional countries. They agreed on recommendations on non-interference, interoperability, release of scientific data, long-term sustainability guidelines, and registration to advance implementing the Artemis Accords. A method of operations was established for the ongoing work of the signatories.

Liftoff! NASA’s Europa Clipper Sails Toward Ocean Moon of Jupiter

NASA’s Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. The spacecraft launched at 12:06 p.m. EDT Monday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The largest spacecraft NASA ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the first NASA mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) on a trajectory that will leverage the power of gravity assists, first to Mars in four months and then back to Earth for another gravity assist flyby in 2026. After it begins orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, the spacecraft will fly past Europa 49 times.

“Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for beginning the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA leads the world in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no different. By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our Sun.”

Approximately five minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s second stage fired up and the payload fairing, or the rocket’s nose cone, opened to reveal Europa Clipper. About an hour after launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket. Ground controllers received a signal soon after, and two-way communication was established at 1:13 p.m. with NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia. Mission teams celebrated as initial telemetry reports showed Europa Clipper is in good health and operating as expected.

“We could not be more excited for the incredible and unprecedented science NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will deliver in the generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper’s scientific discoveries will build upon the legacy that our other missions exploring Jupiter — including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager — created in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”

The main goal of the mission is to determine whether Europa has conditions that could support life. Europa is about the size of our own Moon, but its interior is different. Information from NASA’s Galileo mission in the 1990s showed strong evidence that under Europa’s ice lies an enormous, salty ocean with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists also have found evidence that Europa may host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface.

Vast unveils its Final Haven-1 space station design

Vast, the US-based space habitation technology company pioneering the path to long-term living and thriving in space, today unveiled its interior design features aboard Haven-1, the world’s first commercial space station. Vast’s inaugural station combines the functionality of its state-of-the-art facilities for scientific research, technological advancement, and global collaboration in low-Earth orbit (LEO) with its remarkable dedication to sophisticated and human-centric design.

Reflecting Vast’s commitment to prioritizing the well-being and experience of its astronauts and its vision for making space accessible to all, Haven-1 will launch in 2025 with a specific focus on ensuring form and function merge to provide greater comfort and quality of life for long-term missions. The interior design is warm and welcoming, while the exterior extends this design element by introducing a key new exterior element: a centralized window, allowing astronauts to experience a full view of Earth.

Guided by the expertise of Peter Russell-Clarke, a world-renowned designer who has shaped some of Apple's most iconic products, Haven-1’s human-centric industrial design introduces new dimensions of bold creativity and efficiency, creating a new standard for interior design in space.

"Astronauts living in zero gravity pose unique design challenges. Creating an environment that is both highly efficient and naturally comforting leads to totally new results. Haven-1 interiors are unprecedented, precisely engineered and sensitively designed to ensure its occupants thrive in space," said Russell-Clarke.

Andrew Feustel, a veteran NASA astronaut with over 23 years of experience who has logged over 225 days in space on the ISS, played a critical role in advising the team as they developed the interior. “I’ve flown three missions to space, and we are learning from those experiences and innovating to improve the way we can live and work on a space station. From communication and connectivity to private space and interacting with others aboard, to advancing human progress on Earth and beyond, every detail has been designed with the astronaut experience at the core of our work,” added Feustel.

Every detail of the Haven-1 interior has been implemented with an eye for detail, creating a visual hierarchy that allows the astronauts to focus on the task at hand, monitor the station's systems, and enjoy their experience onboard. After docking with a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Haven-1 crew members open the Haven-1 exterior hatch and are greeted by a sleek, functional layout upon entry. A real-time display shows the station status with temperature and lighting controls, and optimized cargo compartments ensure essential supplies are stored efficiently. Notably, Haven-1’s interior surfaces are soft and padded to provide an added safety component for crew and visitors as they float throughout.

America's secret space plane X-37B begins novel space manoeuvres

.The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) will begin executing a series of novel manoeuvres, called aerobraking, to change its orbit around Earth and safely dispose of its service module components in accordance with recognized standards for space debris mitigation. Since December 28, 2023, the United States Space Force, supported by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, has conducted radiation effect experiments and has been testing Space Domain Awareness technologies in a Highly Elliptical Orbit.

The use of the aerobraking manoeuvre- a series of passes using the drag of Earth's atmosphere- enables the spacecraft to change orbits while expending minimal fuel. Once the aerobrake manoeuvre is complete, the X-37B will resume its test and experimentation objectives until they are accomplished, at which time the vehicle will de-orbit and execute a safe return as it has during its six previous missions.

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall stated, "This novel and efficient series of manoeuvres demonstrates the Space Force's commitment to achieving groundbreaking innovation as it conducts national security missions in space."

Report into the Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne failure caused by dislodged fuel line.

The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has released a statement on the failure of LauncherOne rocket dispatched from Vrigin Orbit's Cosmic Girl failied to put its satelite payload into orbit in January last year.

The AAIB was acting in its guize as the UK’s Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) which is responsible for the investigation of spaceflight accidents in accordance with The Spaceflight Activities regulations.  

It was on 9th January 2023, when Virgin Orbit attempted the first orbital launch from England's Spaceport at Newquay Airport in Cornwall. The plan was to use LauncherOne, a two-stage orbital launch rocket which was designed to be carried under the wing of a modified Boeing 747-400 named Cosmic Girl. Once the 747 flew to the release or launch zone, the LauncherOne would be released and head up to orbit and dispatch its satelites payload.

The rocket had been carried to the launch area and dropped from Cosmic Girl as planned, but a fault in the second stage engine caused it to shut down before the stage achieved orbit. The mision was a failure, although at the time, Virgin Orbit downplayed the event as a 'mishap'. it would prove to be that so much of a 'mishap' that it would cause the company to enter into bankruptcy.

The cause of the launch 'mishap' is likely to be that a fuel filter within the fuel feedline dislodged from its normal position from the beginning of the first burn of the second stage engine, the statement confirms, following an investigation by Virgin Orbit and others involved. It was a conclusion that was supported by ground testing that matched the observed flight data. 

The dislodged fuel feedline caused the fuel pump downstream of the filter to operate at degraded efficiency, resulting in fuel flow to the Newton 4 engine being lower than expected. This, in turn, caused the engine to operate at a temperature significantly higher than expected. This in turn caused the second stage engine to shut down prematurely. The rocket then fell back to earth, landing within the approved flight corridor in the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Canary Islands. 

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Airbus Ventures invests in Impulse Space’s $150M Series B Funding Round

The round is the latest in a series of recent milestones that include Impulse’s selection for STRATFI and SBIR awards by SpaceWERX, the unveiling of a new GEO Rideshare Program, and the successful completion of the LEO Express-1 mission.

Airbus Ventures has announced its follow-on investment in Impulse Space, a leader in the development of in-space transportation services, which has just raised a $150 million Series B funding round. The funding, which follows a series of recent milestone moments for the company, will be used to further grow the Impulse team and to support the ongoing production of both their Helios and Mira vehicles. The Series B round brings Impulse’s total funding to date to $225 million.

“This funding is not only a testament to our team's achievements over the past year but also a validation of our vision for the in-space transportation industry,” said Tom Mueller, founder and CEO of Impulse Space. “We’re proud to have so many partners who understand and support the importance of our work to accelerate humanity’s future in space by unlocking reliable, affordable, and efficient access to any orbit.”

The Series B funding adds further momentum to Impulse’s continuing advances. This year alone, the company has been selected by SpaceWERX for a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) award, two Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) awards, announced a new GEO Rideshare Program, and completed their record-setting LEO Express-1 mission. The team is currently preparing for the upcoming launch of the LEO Express-2 mission, which will see a Mira vehicle support deployment and hosting services for multiple customers.

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, crewmates return from Space Station

NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson completed a six-month research mission aboard the International Space Station on Monday, returning to Earth with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.

The trio departed the space station aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft at 4:36 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 23, making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 7:59 a.m. (4:59 p.m. Kazakhstan time), southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Dyson conducted multiple scientific and technology activities including the operation of a 3D bioprinter to print cardiac tissue samples, which could advance technology for creating replacement organs and tissues for transplants on Earth. Dyson also participated in the crystallization of model proteins to evaluate the performance of hardware that could be used for pharmaceutical production and ran a program that used student-designed software to control the station’s free-flying robots, inspiring the next generation of innovators.

NASA picks lunar relay contractor for Near Space Network Services

NASA has awarded a contract to Intuitive Machines, LLC of Houston, to support the agency’s lunar relay systems as part of the Near Space Network, operated by the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

This Subcategory 2.2 GEO to Cislunar Relay Services is a new firm-fixed-price, multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task order contract. The contract has a base period of five years with an additional 5-year option period, with a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion. The base ordering period begins Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2029, with the option period potentially extending the contract through Sept. 30, 2034.

Lunar relays will play an essential role in NASA’s Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. These relays will provide vital communication and navigation services for the exploration and scientific study of the Moon’s South Pole region. Without the extended coverage offered by lunar relays, landing opportunities at the Moon’s South Pole will be significantly limited due to the lack of direct communication between potential landing sites and ground stations on Earth.

The lunar relay award also includes services to support position, navigation, and timing capabilities, which are crucial for ensuring the safety of navigation on and around the lunar surface. Under the contract, Intuitive Machines also will enable NASA to provide communication and navigation services to customer missions in the near space region.

Airbus selected by MDA Space to deliver over 200 Sparkwing solar arrays

Airbus has been selected by MDA Space Ltd. to supply solar arrays for MDA AURORA, the software-defined satellite product line enabling constellations to extend communication networks to every corner of the world.

Airbus will supply more than 200 Sparkwing solar arrays that will be built on a designated line at Airbus' high-capacity production facility in Leiden, the Netherlands. The solar array is the largest Sparkwing to date, consisting of two wings with five panels each and providing a photovoltaic area of well over 30 sqm. 

The MDA AURORA supply chain will help support product deliveries for anchor customer Telesat’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation Lightspeed, an innovative, advanced global network that will bring enterprise-class connectivity to customers worldwide.

“We are delighted to be selected as the supplier of solar arrays to partner with MDA Space for Telesat Lightspeed. Our industrialised Sparkwing solar array product not only meets the demands of this ground-breaking constellation project, but is also tailored to ensure optimal performance in space. The Sparkwing solar arrays are designed for series production, ideally suited for constellations, and we will accordingly contribute to a project enabling space connectivity,” said Rob Postma, Managing Director of Airbus in the Netherlands.

Airbus gives companies a boost on their journey to space

Teamwork makes the dream work. Nowhere is this more true than in the space sector. With space missions being highly complex, close collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders is essential to ultimately ensure their success. 

Our Space Accelerator programme is designed to help emerging companies by giving them a boost on their journey to space. They can directly benefit from the extensive space heritage and technical expertise of Airbus, the largest space company in Europe and the UK’s major sovereign space company. The 2024 cohort is now underway and we take this opportunity to introduce some of the participants. What are they up to?

Driving innovation in spacecraft propulsion

Propellants and mobility restraints are a major cost driver in the space sector. Accordingly, this is a key area for innovation. One company tackling this subject is Applied Atomics. It is working on a propulsion system that uses one of the most ubiquitous resources in the universe as a fuel: water.

“Today, either chemical or electric propulsion is used in space,” explains Ashley Johnson, Founder and CEO of Applied Atomics. "Electric propulsion is extremely efficient, using small amounts of fuel, but provides very little thrust. Chemical propulsion, on the other hand, is extremely high thrust but uses a lot of fuel, which makes it expensive.”

Applied Atomics is working to combine both types of propulsion in one system. The unifying element is water: "On the chemical side, we split the water into hydrogen and oxygen to create a powerful rocket burn. On the electrical side, we create a water plasma that is ionised and then ejected very quickly by electromagnetic fields.”

With this two-in-one-approach, Applied Atomics aims to make it easier to get around in space. "Currently, it is often cheaper to travel from Earth to space than to manoeuvre within space itself," Johnson says. Going forward, his company envisions a rapid-response network that provides satellite imagery, telecommunications or weather information on-demand – all based on vehicles that are able to move quickly in space and refuel in orbit using water.

 

Working with Airbus as part of the accelerator programme, Johnson and his team expect to make progress on both a technical and business level: "We want to raise the maturity of our hardware and software, and we also hope to get support in commercialising our products.”

Fighting cancer with drugs made in space

BepiColombo’s fourth Mercury flyby: the movie

Watch the closest flyby of a planet ever, as the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft sped past Mercury during its latest encounter on 4 September 2024.
This flyby marked BepiColombo’s closest approach to Mercury yet, and for the first time, the spacecraft had a clear view of Mercury’s south pole.
This timelapse is made up of 128 different images captured by all three of BepiColombo’s monitoring cameras, M-CAM 1, 2 and 3. We see the planet move in and out of the fields of view of M-CAM 2 and 3, before M-CAM 1 sees the planet receding into the distance at the end of the video.
The first few images are taken in the days and weeks before the flyby. Mercury first appears in an image taken at 23:50 CEST (21:50 UTC) on 4 September, at a distance of 191 km. Closest approach was at 23:48 CEST at a distance of 165 km.
The sequence ends around 24 hours later, on 5 September 2024, when BepiColombo was about 243 000 km from Mercury.
Video ESA/BepiColombo/MTM  Image processing and video production by Mark McCaughrean

Polaris Dawn mission blasts off

There were more than a few storm clouds early this morning which could have caused a postponement of the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission.  However,  the clouds cleared and the launch went ahead, with everything seeming to go rather smoothly and with little cause for concern. 

Rather than crewed by professional astronauts with thousands of hours of training, this mission is staffed by a billionaire entrepreneur, a retired military pilot and two SpaceX employees in stylish spacesuits that seemed more like the ones seen in 70s sci-fi shows than reality. 

The risky mission will see two of those onboard doing at least one spacewalk,  an activity that's been fraught with danger, in fact, it is so risky, it is a wonder they ever got insurance for it.  Although, it is not 100% clear that SpaceX actually has full coverage for the whole mission and not just the launch and landing phases of the mission. 

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Musk claims first Mars flight to take off in two years.....

Elon Musk wearing his CEO of SpaceX hat has said the company will be launching uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. The first mission will be to see if they can land a craft on Mars, then if that mission is a success, the first crewed operation will take place in four years. 

However, you don't need to wait that long for the next SpaceX launch,  the firm is hoping to launch of Polaris Dawn to low-Earth orbit. tomorrow, Tuesday, 10th September at 03:38 U.S. Eastern time.

The event will take place from launch complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, bit if the weather conditions are not favourable, there are two additional launch opportunities within the four-hour window at 05:23 and 07:09 If needed. There will also be another chance, on 11th September at the same time. 

The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew Crew-1 to and from the International Space Station, and Inspiration4, the first all-civilian mission to orbit. This will be the fourth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8 and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on the 'Just Read the Instructions' droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX says the multi-day mission to orbit, Dragon and the crew will endeavour to reach the highest Earth orbit ever flown since the Apollo program and participate in the first-ever extravehicular activity (EVA) by commercial astronauts wearing SpaceX-developed EVA suits. They will also conduct 36 research studies and experiments from 31 partner institutions designed to advance both human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight, and test Starlink laser-based communications in space.

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Boeing's troubled Starliner returns to earth

Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft has completed its journey from The International Space Station, weeks later than planned and without its key payload -  the crew!

The empty spacecraft, which developed many faults on and just after liftoff and during the flight to the ISS, completed the journey in autonomous mode,  unmanned because it was considered too dangerous for the two crewmembers to use.  

NASA said the Starliner craft's return took place over six hours. After it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, controlled parachutes were deployed to slow its descent at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Saturday. Some believe NASA brought the stricken craft back earlier than its contingency plans after the craft was reported to be making strange noises. 

The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams that originally went up on Starliner for what was planned to be an 8-day star on the ISS, remained in space, and after not due to come back now till February next year.  NASA say they are in good spirits and in regular contact with their families. But,  such a long deployment of 8 months rather than 8 days is bound to have some psychological impact on them and their loved ones. 

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew programme manager, said: "We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system, There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months."

Ken Bowersox, Associate Administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington commented:  “I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased to see Starliner’s safe return. Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station."

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Airbus built Sentinel-2C satellite successfully launched

         The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite has been successfully launched on a Vega rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. The Airbus-built Sentinel-2C satellite will enter service in low Earth orbit at 780 km following initial testing and commissioning. Then, it will replace Sentinel-2A, which will retire and operate in tandem with Sentinel-2B.

Marc Steckling, Head of Earth Observation, Science and Exploration at Airbus, said: “This launch gives the world another important sensor to monitor our changing planet and provides crucial continuity since the first Sentinel-2 satellite launch in 2015. Equipped with a high-resolution multispectral imager the satellite will collect vital imagery for a myriad of applications from agriculture to water quality monitoring.”

The Sentinel-2-mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites, flying in the same orbit but 180° apart for optimal coverage and revisit time. The satellites orbit the Earth every 100 minutes covering all Earth’s land surfaces, large islands, inland and coastal waters every five days.

Offering "colour vision" for the Copernicus programme, Sentinel-2C – like its precursor satellites Sentinel-2A and -2B – will deliver optical images from the visible to short-wave infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The 1.1 ton satellite will enable continuation of imaging in 13 spectral bands with a resolution (per pixel) of 10, 20 or 60 metres and a uniquely large swath width of 290 km.

Rocket Lab sets launch date for second dedicated Kinéis mission to deploy IoT constellation

Rocket Lab USA, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced it has set the launch window for its 53rd Electron Launch. The mission will be the second of five dedicated launches for the French company Kinéis.

The ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a 14-day launch window that opens on September 17, 2024, NZST.

This mission will launch just three months after the ‘No Time Toulouse’ mission, Kinéis’ first launch with Rocket Lab. ‘Kinéis Killed the RadIOT Star’ will be the second of five dedicated Electron launches for Kinéis, a company backed by private and public investors including the French government’s space agency CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales) and CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), an international space-based solutions provider, to improve global Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity.

Kinéis’ constellation will connect any object anywhere in the world and guarantee the transmission of targeted and useful data to users, in near-real time, with low energy consumption with more powerful 30kg-class nanosats that integrate IoT technology. The constellation also includes a second mission: a ship-tracking Automatic Identification System (AIS). Once deployed, these technologies will allow Kinéis to expand across multiple industries and scale from 20,000 devices connected to millions. The second constellation launch will add an additional five new satellites to its planned 25 and will enhance Kinéis’ ability to connect the planet and address essential challenges for humanity, its activities, and its environment.

“We’re excited to welcome the Kinéis team on board Electron again as we help them build out their constellation," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Sir Peter Beck. “Dedicated launch is key for the kind of precise orbital deployment requirements many constellation operators need, so we’re proud to make that possible once again.”

“The Kinéis teams are ready to build on the success of the first launch. They have capitalized on this first and delicate technical experience of putting our first five satellites into position and are delivering a real technical performance in managing the five new satellites simultaneously, in addition to the five already in the air,” said Alexandre Tisserant, Chairman of Kinéis. “Rocket Lab's Electron launcher made a major contribution to this success, thanks to the precision with which it injected our nanosatellites into their positions. The IoT revolution is underway. Thanks to our space-based connectivity, we'll be able to connect any object anywhere in the world in near real time. Go Kinéis!”

Airbus ships the third European Service Module to Cape Canaveral on behalf of ESA

Moon mission awaits - ESM-3’s essential support for astronauts and vital contribution to NASA’s lunar exploration programme

 

Orion’s third European Service Module (ESM-3) is leaving Airbus’ facilities in Bremen, Germany, and heading to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, where it will be assembled and tested with the Crew Module. This third mission of NASA’s Artemis programme will mark the first human return to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.

ESM-3, built by Airbus under contract to the European Space Agency (ESA), will play a critical role in supporting four astronauts during their three-week mission aboard the Orion spacecraft: from the moment they leave Earth, their journey into lunar orbit, docking with the lunar landing system Starship HLS, and their safe return to Earth.

Ralf Zimmermann, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus, said: “Today’s delivery of the third ESM marks the beginning of yearly ESM deliveries, underlining the importance and reliability of Europe in this transatlantic partnership.” Airbus Defence and Space is under contract up to ESM-6 and long lead items procurement up to ESM-9.

Space is an incredibly harsh environment with temperatures dipping as low as -200°C. To keep the astronauts safe and comfortable Airbus has developed comprehensive thermal energy control systems to keep the crew module between 18 and 24°C by radiating excess heat out of the ship but also keeping the cold at bay.

Sierra Space takes artificial intelligence to U.S. Space Systems Command’s Space Domain Awareness TAP Lab Accelerator

Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defence tech prime that is Building a Platform in Space to Benefit Life on Earth has been selected to participate in the U.S. Space Systems Command’s Space Domain Awareness (SDA) Tools Applications and Processing (TAP) Lab Apollo Accelerator Cohort 4. 

Sierra Space will be working on AI and Machine Learning capabilities to proactively detect potentially dangerous events that could threaten friendly satellites in orbit.

The accelerator program is dedicated to enhancing space domain awareness and advancing space defence capabilities. It provides a vital platform for collaborating with industry experts, defence agencies and technology partners with the goal of improving the safety and security of space operations.

By joining Cohort 4, Sierra Space will work in parallel with other forward-thinking companies to address the key challenges in space defence. Throughout the program, Sierra Space will develop new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities, ensuring that our country remains at the forefront of space domain awareness and defence innovation. Sierra Space shares the SDA’s commitment to safeguarding the future of space operations and exploration.

“At Sierra Space, we are deeply committed to revitalizing the U.S. defence industrial base,” said Sierra Space Chief Executive Officer, Tom Vice. “Our participation in the SDA TAP Lab underlines the work we are doing to develop and deploy Sierra Space Black OS, the next generation, highly scalable and secure software operating system powered by advanced AI.”

UK Space Command successfully launches first military satellite

Cutting-edge new satellite launched by UK Space Command to provide crucial space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

A UK satellite to support military operations successfully launched into space last Friday night. 

Named Tyche, the satellite is UK Space Command’s first satellite which can capture daytime images and videos of the Earth’s surface.  

The satellite will strengthen the UK’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.   

As the conflict in Ukraine has shown, the use of space is crucial to military operations. Tyche is the first satellite to be launched under the Ministry of Defence’s space-based ISR programme, which will deliver a constellation of satellites and supporting ground systems by 2031.  

These satellites will not only support military operations, but also contribute to other government tasks, including natural disaster monitoring, the development of mapping information, environmental monitoring and tracking the impact of climate change around the world.   

Designed and built in the UK through a £22 million contract awarded by Defence Equipment & Support to Surrey Satellites Technology Limited (SSTL), Tyche is the first satellite to be fully owned by the Ministry of Defence.

ICEYE launches four new satellites into orbit, expanding its own constellation and serving customer missions

The latest successful satellite deployment strengthens the Earth observation capabilities for ICEYE’s customers and includes the first ICEYE satellite mission for Bayanat and Yahsat.

ICEYE, the global leader in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite operations for Earth Observation, persistent monitoring, and natural catastrophe solutions, successfully launched four new SAR satellites on August 16,  2024. The new satellites further expand the world’s largest SAR constellation, owned and operated by ICEYE. The satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and successfully lifted off aboard the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with Space X from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA. Each spacecraft has established communication, and early routine operations are underway.

The satellites serve both ICEYE’s commercial and dedicated customer missions and were manufactured by ICEYE in Finland and ICEYE US in the United States. The satellites include the first ICEYE satellite launch for Bayanat (a leading provider of AI-powered geospatial solutions)  and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (Yahsat – the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider) for their earlier announced Earth Observation Space Program.

“With frequent and steady deployment of new satellites into the ICEYE constellation, we are making progress towards our vision of improving life on Earth by becoming the global source of truth in Earth Observation. The powerful and capable satellite constellation ensures fulfilling our commitments to working as a trusted partner with a growing number of governments and commercial industries to deliver timely, accurate, and actionable insights for faster and better decision-making. We are proud to launch the first ICEYE satellite for our customer Bayanat and Yahsat and look forward to continued successful cooperation on their missions”, said Rafal Modrzewski, CEO and Co-Founder of ICEYE.

Hasan Al Hosani, Managing Director of Bayanat, said: “The launch of our first satellite marks a highly anticipated milestone for both our collaborative efforts and for the UAE. This is a triumphant moment for Bayanat and a defining step toward our future as Space42. Inaugurating our Earth Observation capabilities, including the debut of our SAR satellite constellation, will further strengthen our position as a leader in AI-powered geospatial analytics. Our ongoing partnership with ICEYE, building on our shared ambition with Yahsat, continues to prove invaluable, enabling us to leverage space insights for informed decision-making on Earth.”