Stories around the biggest global space news, including from Europe, India, and Japan.
The mission is a significant step towards India’s pursuit of its aggressive space goals, including servicing satellites, transferring Moon samples between spacecraft for return to Earth, and assembling its space station in orbit.
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.
Starlab Space GmbH will provide boots on the ground and legal toeholds to open up business development and engineering opportunities to European companies, space agencies, and research institutions.
The new system will continue to address problems wrought by humanity’s impact on the climate: biodiversity loss, poaching, and the transmission of zoonotic diseases.
“Space dominance is the new frontier of military superiority,” Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) posted recently on X. “By having a presence this far north, we maintain the edge in satellite communications, navigation, and situational awareness.”
These nations represent three of the top four contributors to ESA, which collects nearly two-thirds of its income from member states.
The award comes as European allies look to boost their independent space and intel capabilities, in this case doing so by working with a commercial partner.
The satellite, which will be named by children in the Balearic Islands school system, is expected to launch in the final quarter of this year.
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.
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.
The constellation is the latest effort by the EU to advance its autonomy in space.
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.
