International

Forget boots on the Moon. China looks like it’s going to beat the US to extract water from the lunar surface.

Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approved a procedure to license space launches swiftly—a key milestone ahead of operations at the nation’s new Etlaq Spaceport. 

A young Indian sustainability startup is getting its feet wet in orbit during an international joint mission. OrbitAID, a Bangalore, India-based startup building satellite servicing and sustainability tech, has signed a contract to supply ground fueling services and a refueling port to Aussie firm Space Machines Company in support of the upcoming MAITRI mission, a…

China’s message to the US space agency urged the American spacecraft to stay put while Beijing maneuvered its own assets, NASA space sustainability director Drew Alvin said during a panel at the International Astronautical Congress, noting that it’s “the first time that has ever happened.”

The UK wants to build a vibrant sovereign space industry, but it knows it can’t do it alone.

Japan is among the planet’s top players in the game to get back to the Moon, and some of its most enthusiastic lunar exploration companies just announced a mission to do something Japan has never done before: lunar sample return. ispace, inc. announced yesterday that it has teamed up with Japanese in-orbit transportation startup ElevationSpace…

In the 21st century space race, the contest to reach the Moon feels less like the Cold War and more like Wacky Races.

China has parlayed its “Space Silk Road” initiative into a network of 80 international infrastructure projects by weaving its comms tech, ground infrastructure, and satellite manufacturing capabilities into worldwide space programs, according to a new report. 

Equatys will combine terrestrial networks with multi-orbit satcom infrastructure to provide global direct-to-device connectivity.

The smallsat constellation, which would likely be manufactured in Japan, would fall under a larger endeavor spearheaded by IHI to build out other types of EO satellite sensors.

The move positions ICEYE to take advantage of the Japanese government’s plans to invest ¥1T ($6.8B) in the space sector over the next ten years.