Technology

There is some irony in the signing today of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Moon Express and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) at the International Astronautical Congress in Bremen.

Though a little clumsy in their presentation and perhaps little lacking in organizational detail, a new non-profit group headlined by space agencies and industry are starting a new moon race, one where technology development is the goal.

Kleos Space is looking to build a satellite constellation that will collect radio transmissions data that is currently hidden from detection for commercial and government civil and defence clients.

A little over two years since it launched its first satellite to monitor global gases, GHGSat took another step towards launching more satellites by raising US$10M in a Series A2 financing.

The European Union co-funded RemoveDEBRIS satellite demonstration mission led by a team at the Surrey Space Centre demonstrated their first capture of simulated debris this week.

On September 7 the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute in Washington organized a one day event titled “Over the Horizon: A New Era for Canada-U.S. Space Cooperation?” As with many events like this, discussions behind the scenes is where a lot of the action was. Though, there was one clear fact that no one could surmount.

Montreal based NorStar Space Data Inc. announced in late August that it had secured $52M in first round financing that included $13M from the government of Quebec.

Last week part two of our our three part podcast Summer Series was on the Future of Nuclear Powered Space Exploration which will one day increase our ability to explore the solar system. This week in episode 3, the topic is Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species.

Last week we began our our three part podcast Summer Series with a talk on the Parker Solar Probe which is on its way to touch the sun, a first for humanity. In episode 2, the topic is the Future of Nuclear Powered Space Travel and the the Kilopower Project.

At the recent Small Satellite Conference in Utah, the Small Launch Vehicles – A 2018 State of the Industry Survey paper was presented which stated that there are 79 small launch vehicles either operational, under development or rumoured. The number is staggering and highlights the enthusiasm and hype surrounding the small satellite marketplace.