The Lithuania-based company will build the satellites—which will be the first batch of a planned 1,200-satellite constellation—in its newly expanded production facilities in Vilnius.
ESA has tapped Airbus to build a landing platform for Europe’s beleaguered ExoMars rover as the delayed mission hopes to reach Mars in 2030.
The purchase marks the first large-scale order for Astroscale, which has flown two test missions demoing close-proximity operations and rendezvous and docking tech in LEO.
In the mission, called RISE, a servicing vehicle built by D-Orbit will attach to one of Eutelsat’s geostationary satellites to hone the tech for in-orbit repair, relocation, attitude control, and end-of-life disposal.
In the mission, an Astroscale servicer will upgrade a client satellite made by BAE Systems to prolong its life.
The mission, funded by Singapore’s Office for Space Technology, will test high throughput laser terminals made by Transcelestial, a Singapore-based startup that has used terrestrial tech to provide internet connectivity to Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines.
The license means the company has cleared all regulatory hurdles for its RFA ONE rocket to launch from the SaxaVord spaceport off the northern coast of Scotland.
The spacecraft will host a laser communications terminal and a set of optical sensors to provide Dutch defense forces with a sovereign space-borne intelligence-gathering capability.
The UK has ordered its second military reconnaissance satellite, awarding a £40M ($51.8M) contract to small sat manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL).
The company says their aim is to empower terrestrial telecommunication providers rather than compete with them.
The Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Object mission, or DRACO, will be the first demo of a fully controlled break-up during its return to Earth.
Europe’s long-awaited Ariane 6 rocket performed an almost flawless debut flight on Tuesday, scattering a batch of experimental satellites across LEO.
