Military/Aerospace Electronics

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 ...

Terran Orbital, the small satellite specialist, has announced the formation of a new Optical Solutions Group (OSG) focused on electro-optical (EO) satellite imaging products. The new group will concentrate on development of new EO products and provide custom-made systems, for Earth Observation and Space Domain Awareness. Alex Pertica Based in Boca Raton, Florida, the company has recruited industry veteran and ...

The UK space regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has given its go ahead to Virgin Orbit to carry out space launches from Spaceport Cornwall. This will represent the first satellite launch from European soil. Specifically, it has issued launch and range licences to Virgin Orbit to undertake launch activities from the UK. Public safety, the environment and international obligations ...

SWOT, a UK-backed mission to observe huge swathes of ocean and surface water in unprecedented detail, has launched into space. Dubbed SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography), the international mission‘s satellite took off from Vandenberg in California on 16 December. It is the first to measure all the water on earth both on land and the oceans, and it will ...

Euroconsult, the Paris based consultancy specialising in space, has released its 2022 Government Space Programmes report. Headline points for 2022 include government space funding reaching $103bn, which is an increased of 9% from last year. According to the organisation, 86 countries have been recorded to invest in space activities this year, with the Middle East notably increasing their expenditure. Furthermore, ...

SaxaVord Spaceport, in the Shetland Islands, has announced partnerships with Lerwick Engineering and Fabrication (LEF) and T12 Consultancy to deliver its rocket launch rail. The launch rail – as its name suggests – is the critical component for directing launch vehicles and allow for suborbital launches. The installation work is being supported by £378,000 of funding from the UK Space ...

The UK Space Agency and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) – the UK’s national laboratory for nuclear fission – are to collaborate on building a UK space battery. It is described as the first space battery to be powered by Americium-241, a radioactive isotope of the synthetic element americium. The work, funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and delivered ...

Wyld Networks has officially launched its satellite IoT service, enabling battery-based applications to be deployed in remote locations without terrestrial connectivity. Example applications using the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites could be utility and energy companies monitoring their systems and equipment without site visits, data being collected for agriculture and environmental management, and goods and assets being tracked on sea ...

The long-anticipated first satellite launch from European soil – involving a Virgin Orbit launch from Spaceport Cornwall – has been put back once again, this time into 2023. While not all licensing for the launch has been completed, it also seems that technical issues have arisen, delaying the process. The Virgin Orbit LauncherOne rocket is air-launched from Cosmic Girl – ...

Reflex Aerospace, the German startup satellite manufacturer, has announced it has raised €7 million in a first funding round. The company – along with Mynaric, Isar Aerospace and SES – is part of the joint venture UNIO, which aims to build a European satellite constellation for broadband internet access. This was actually the first of two rounds of funding as ...