News

In the last decade, space weather has become the subject of serious consideration in the scientific community and global scientific organizations. Solar activity plays an important role in both space operations and terrestrial infrastructure. Flares, storms, and coronal mass ejections are all manifestations of solar activity that can affect the operation of satellites, navigation, surveillance, radio communications, and other important structures. As a consequence, there is a need for a reliable and independent ecosystem for monitoring and forecasting solar weather. Today, the European space sector faces the challenge of creating infrastructure capable of competing with existing international initiatives.

Primo Space Fund has announced two new deals: Lithium Lasers and Ecosmic, investing about €2,6 million across both deals. This round of investments brings Primo Space Fund’s portfolio to fourteen companies. Lithium Lasers S.r.l., an Italian startup, developed a USPL called FemtoFlash for material processing, biophotonics and non-linear optics applications in several industries, and is particularly useful when dimensional accuracy and tighter tolerances are necessary.

The ClearSpace-1 debris removal mission has undergone a transformative period to achieve a faster execution pace and reviewed mission objectives. After the successful completion of its mission’s first phase, the detection of space debris objects in the vicinity of the mission’s client object, which indicates a collision of the target with untraceable debris, and the need for a change towards a more expedited and cost-effective approach prompted a pivot in the next stage of the ClearSpace-1 mission.

PLD Space has announced that it has attained 120 million euros in funding to date, thus ensuring it can meet its upcoming technological and corporate milestones, culminating in the launch of the MIURA 5 mission at the end of 2025. The Company has received 78 million euros in investment from shareholders who have invested in its technological program and business model. In addition to this sum, there are 42 million euros from the PERTE backed by the Government of Spain for a Spanish space launcher (1.5M€ in July 2023 and 40.5M€ at the end of January 2024).

For SpaceWatchers, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Thailand has manifested several of its space ambitions. SWGL has covered the last decade of the country’s space developments at the government and private sector levels. So, when in early April 2024, Thailand became the latest country to join the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program,  SWGL assessed it as a significant development in the context of Thailand’s space ambitions. But that needs to be put in perspective. What are the short and long term implications? Let’s find out.

OroraTech has announced a partnership with GREEN+ Program to provide forest fire management to safeguard millions of hectares of protected areas in the hands of sub-national governments around the globe. The partnership will enable leaders and emergency teams to monitor destructive fires within their protected natural areas, detect deforestation, save local forests, and create the right incentives.

Space Systems Command (SSC)’s Innovation and Prototyping Acquisition Delta has successfully completed the CloudSat mission after almost two decades of providing scientists with a deeper understanding of atmospheric conditions and providing key discoveries of weather patterns and precipitation observed from space. Space Systems Command’s recently launched  Weather System Follow-on Microwave (WSF-M) satellite will continue the U.S. Space Force’s space-based environmental monitoring mission.

Astroscale Ltd. ("Astroscale UK"), a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc, announces the successful completion of the Preliminary Design Review phase with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) for its national Active Debris Removal (ADR) mission, COSMIC (Cleaning Outer Space Mission through Innovative Capture). The Company also recently partnered with Space Trash Signs, an initiative to visualize the consequences of space debris on different aspects of life on Earth – highlighting the imperative need for missions such as COSMIC.

What do equatorial nations have that can interest the Space industry? Matías Campos Abad, CEO & Founder at Astralintu Space Technologies, explains Dr Emma Gatti the logistical importance of equatorial countries when it comes to Space

What can Space do to support the Maldives in their fight for climate change? Dr Emma Gatti interviews Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Energy, H.E. Hassaan Mohamed during the first day of SINC to understand how this island nation is trying to harvest Space technology to emerge as a new technological, unexpected reality withing the New Space industry