2024 Top 5: Around the World
From China’s Moon landing to European investments to India’s ambitious space goals, here are five of our top international space stories of the year.
International
Stories around the biggest global space news, including from Europe, India, and Japan.
Around the World in 365 Days
From rockets taking flight to alliances forming in orbit to Space Race 2.0 with all eyes on the Moon, it’s clear that the busy year in space extended well beyond America’s borders.
Europe Lays Out Plans for IRIS2 Constellation
The constellation is the latest effort by the EU to advance its autonomy in space.
Virgin Galactic Considers Launching From Italian Spaceport
The aim is for the Grottaglie Spaceport to serve as a Mediterranean homebase for Virgin’s suborbital commercial and scientific crewed spaceflight, which has been on pause while the company works on its next-generation space tourism vehicle.
Artemis Accords Celebrate 50 Signatories
More than a quarter of the world’s countries are now part of the Artemis Accords after Panama and Austria signed on in a pair of ceremonies on Wednesday at NASA HQ in Washington.
ICEYE and Space42 Join Forces in the UAE
The venture will increase ICEYE’s footprint in the UAE and allow the UAE to build its own self-sustaining industry.
Ukrainian Small Launcher Finds Refuge in the US
Promin’s plan is to hire as many as a dozen US engineers in the coming year who will build Promin 1 with guidance from the engineers who remain in Ukraine.
Op-Ed: NATO Must Prioritize Tracking, Info Sharing in Orbit
Real-time space domain awareness (SDA) is critical to NATO for more than just avoiding collisions and promoting safe operations.
SatVu Pockets $25M for Thermal EO Constellation
Adara Ventures Energy Fund and existing investor Molten Ventures led the round, with further support from NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim, Ridgeline, and Stellar Ventures.
ANT Partners with Pinkmatter to Fix EO Calibration
The traditional process of calibrating an EO satellite is a time-consuming project of trial and error.
First Dutch Military EO Sat to Launch in 2027
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.
SEOPS Enters EU Market with Axient Systems Partnership
The partnership’s first launch will be an ISR satellite for the Dutch military, which is expected to lift off as early as 2027.