Russia and China are currently in talks to pool their resources for joint lunar operations, according to several Russian and international news media sources.
Read More »SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Five Thoughts On The Artemis Accords, And Another One For Israel
Last week, NASA released "The Artemis Accords: Principles for a Safe, Peaceful and Prosperous Future." The aim of the Artemis program, according to NASA, is to "[L]and the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024, heralding in a new era for space exploration and utilization". I read the short, concise document that NASA published with a great deal of interest, and a number of thoughts about international technology, economics, and politics came to mind.
Read More »U.S. Back In The Crewed Space Launch Business, Thanks To SpaceX
SpaceX has become the first private company to launch a crewed mission into low-Earth orbit. At 3:22pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), 30 May 2020, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle launched two NASA astronauts – Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley – on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
Read More »SpaceWatchGL Feature: The Space Law Context of the Artemis Accords (Part 2)
As mentioned in Part One of this article, international space law is a modest, open regime, subject to expansion and clarification. At the international multilateral level, various UN treaties on space done after the Outer Space Treaty expand on various articles of that treaty.
Read More »Airbus Wins ESA Contract To Construct Third European Service Module For NASA’s Orion Spacecraft
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced on 26 May 2020 that it has signed a contract with Airbus for the construction of the third European Service Module (ESM) for Orion, the American crewed spacecraft. The contract is worth around €250 million.
Read More »SpaceWatchGL Feature: The Space Law Context Of The Artemis Accords (Part 1)
On 15 May 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine gave the first public presentation of the Artemis Accords, a NASA initiative to develop consistent and effective norms for the Artemis Program lunar missions to be conducted in partnership with space agencies around the world.
Read More »Peru And US Space Command Sign Space Data Sharing Agreement
U.S. Space Command took another step in expanding its international space data sharing network; this time with the nation of Peru on 20 May 2020.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Opinion: Japan’s New Space Domain Mission Unit And Security In The Indo-Pacific Region
Japan’s establishment of the Space Domain Mission Unit, which is planned to become fully operational in 2023, reflects the country’s increasing reliance on space systems to meet its security needs. It could emerge as a key actor in the defence of space assets in the Indo-Pacific.
Read More »Lunapolitics: Russia’s Roscosmos Signals Openness To US-Proposed Artemis Accords
A senior official from the Russian state space corporation, Roscosmos, has indicated that Russia is open to discussions with the United States regarding Russia’s role in the Artemis lunar programme – in particular the Lunar Gateway mission – within the framework of NASA’s proposed Artemis Accords.
Read More »SpaceWatchGL Opinion: The Artemis Accords’ Proposed “Safety Zones” On The Moon A Good Start
By Merve Erdem Burger, PhD It was reported by Reuters on 5 May 2020 that the Trump administration is working on drafting an international agreement regarding mining on the Moon, to be known as the Artemis Accords. This is not surprising after the release of Trump’s Executive Order on Encouraging …
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