Tag: Space Sustainability
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Space Inventor and Astroscale Japan Develop Architecture for In-Orbit Satellite Servicing and Repair
Danish satellite manufacturer Space Inventor and Astroscale Japan announced on September 16, 2026, that they are developing a joint spacecraft architecture intended to enable in-orbit satellite servicing, maintenance and repair. The system combines Space Inventor’s modular small-satellite platforms with Astroscale’s rendezvous, proximity-operations and docking technologies, aiming to address spacecraft failures and propellant depletion in low…
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ESA and ISRO Extend Space Cooperation Agreement Through January 2032
The European Space Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation signed an exchange of letters in Paris on September 10, 2026, extending their bilateral Cooperative Agreement for five years, through January 8, 2032. Signed during the International Space Summit, the extension adds space weather and human and robotic exploration to a framework that already supports…
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ESA Records Final Cluster Satellite Reentries in South Pacific Airborne Campaign
The European Space Agency’s final two Cluster satellites, Samba and Tango, reentered over a remote part of the South Pacific on August 31 and September 1, 2026, ending the four-spacecraft mission after 26 years. Scientists aboard a research aircraft flying from Tonga recorded both breakups with 29 of their 30 instruments, gathering data to improve…
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Scientists Watch Two ESA Satellites Burn Up from a Private Jet
The European Space Agency’s Tango satellite disintegrated above the Pacific Ocean on Sept. 1, 2026. observed by a team of researchers from aboard a private jet. (Image credit: ESA/ROSIE/University of Stuttgart (HEFDiG)) Scientists aboard an instrumented Falcon 900 business jet recorded the atmospheric destruction of the European Space Agency’s Samba and Tango satellites over the South…
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UK Launches £7.8 Billion Space Strategy Focused on Defence and Resilient Satellite Communications
The UK government launched a new national space strategy on September 8, bringing £7.8 billion in planned investment through 2030 under a single framework covering economic growth, defence and national security. The plan prioritises military space capabilities and calls for a resilient, integrated national satellite communications system to support government and defence operations. The strategy…
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When a Satellite Fails, Will Insurers Pay the Claim or Fund a Repair Mission?
In 1984, two communications satellites, Westar 6 and Palapa B2, were placed into incorrect orbits due to an upper-stage malfunction. Their insurers were already facing a massive loss, but instead of simply paying out the claims, they signed an agreement with NASA to have the Space Shuttle retrieve the two satellites from space and return…
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The Key Forces Shaping the Space Economy: Who Is Really Growing—and Who Is Just Telling a Story?
If launch costs have fallen to a fraction of their level 20 years ago, why has the global space economy not grown at the same pace? Over the past decade, reusable rockets have reduced the cost of reaching orbit by an order of magnitude, while the number of satellites launched has increased severalfold. Yet the…
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Pegasus Rocket to Launch Mission to Extend NASA Swift Observatory’s Orbit
A Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket is scheduled to launch a robotic servicing spacecraft this weekend on a mission to extend the operational life of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory by boosting it into a higher orbit. The mission will carry Katalyst Space’s LINK servicing spacecraft, which is designed to rendezvous with the Swift Observatory…
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Astroscale France, Exotrail Partner on LEO Deorbiting Capabilities
Astroscale France, a subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc., has formed a strategic partnership with Exotrail to develop controlled deorbiting capabilities for satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), the companies said on Thursday. The partnership aims to strengthen European end-of-life satellite management as congestion in LEO increases due to growing demand for telecommunications, Earth observation, navigation…
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SES Signs Deal for Europe’s First Commercial Satellite Life-Extension Mission
Satellite operator SES has signed an agreement with French startup Infinite Orbits for a life-extension mission involving one geostationary satellite, marking the first commercial satellite life-extension operation in Europe, the companies said on Thursday. The mission will use Endurance™, a 750kg servicing vehicle developed by Infinite Orbits to provide in-orbit support functions including station keeping,…