Military/Aerospace Electronics

Nasa has hosted the signing of a new agreement between the U.S. and Japan on future space cooperation. Described as building on a long history of collaboration in space exploration between the U.S. and Japan, it’s full title is: “The Framework Agreement Between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation in Space ...

Capella Space, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite imagery specialists, has raised $60m in funding from the United States Innovative Technology Fund (USIT). The San Francisco headquartered company says it will use the capital to expand its imaging capacity and develop new data products around its SAR imagery and analytics capabilities. For example, it has three new analytics offerings for ...

The European Investment Bank (EIB), which is the financing institution of the European Union, has loaned €300 million to SES to fund software-defined satellites enabling service reconfiguration and instant in-orbit adjustment. SES is satellite telecommunications provider and the seven-year term loan will back “investments related to the design, procurement and launch” of three satellites to deliver broadcast and broadband services ...

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has chosen the SaxaVord Spaceport on the Shetland Islands to be the location for its first launch. The two organisations have announced a multi-year launch operations partnership. Under the terms of the deal, RFA will have exclusive access to Launch Pad Fredo for orbital launches. It also includes “investments in the double-digit million pound range”, said ...

The Japanese space agency, JAXA, along with the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech), are to begin development of nanosatellite for observing cosmic background radiation, in a mission to explore the history of star formations. Using a 6U-sized (10cm x 20cm x 30cm) nanosatellite with high-precision attitude control, the work will be done under the JAXA Small Satellite-Rush Program, part of ...

Virgin Orbit’s attempt at the first European satellite launch from Spaceport Cornwall ended in failure but the UK Space Agency has put a brave face on the significance of the mission, as Virgin Orbit works promises to word work tirelessly to understand the faults involved. Following the amended Boeing 747, Cosmic Girl, reaching the designated drop zone, the two-stage rocket, ...

Seraphim, the London-based, space-focused VC, has published its predictions for the space sector in 2023, highlighting some of the biggest trends they expect to see in 2023. The seven points comprise: cell phone connectivity from space, commercialisation of the moon beginning in earnest, a trio of drivers underpinning revenue growth, a record year for new space agencies to be created, ...

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) will be building an ESPA-Grande class satellite, perform payload integration, and space vehicle test for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Oracle spacecraft programme. The San Diego-based company has announced it’s under contract to Advanced Space LLC to contribute to Oracle, which will demonstrate space situational awareness and Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) techniques. Specifically, ...

Astrocast, the satellite IoT service provider, has successfully launched four 3U spacecraft, which it describes as a significant milestone for building its nanosatellite IoT network. The launch sees the company increase its commercial constellation to 18 satellites, which makes Astrocast one of the top 3 LEO satellite operators in Europe (based on the number of commercial satellites currently in low ...

Open Cosmos, the Harwell, Oxfordshire-based company, has successfully launched its MENUT Earth Observation satellite into space. The 6U nanosatellite – which will monitor weather and environmental changes, along with the sustainable use of natural resources – was deployed into sun-synchronous orbit by Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova deployer, launched as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission. Open Cosmos was contracted by the Institut ...