Military/Aerospace Electronics

The latest report of the Space Foundation – The Space Report 2023 Q4 – outlines what the organisation sees as the busiest year yet for space. As well as a record number of launches (for the third consecutive year), highlighted figures include commercial launch activity growing 50% year-over-year, a 23% increase in satellite deployment year-over-year, and 14 new launch vehicles ...

ClearSpace – which specialises in in-orbit servicing – is partnering with Orbit Fab – an on-orbit refueling specialist – to create new in-space refueling and servicing capabilities. Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) they will work to “accelerate the availability of propellants in space by creating a refueling service architecture”. This will involve pairing an Orbit Fab fuel depot with ...

Belgium has become the 34th country to sign up to the Artemis Accords, a space governance agreement between the United States and other national governments. Signees to the Accords can participate in the Artemis space programme lead by Nasa, which has – for example – long-term goals to revisit the Moon, establish a lunar base and travel to Mars. Basically, ...

Share My Space, a Space Situational Awareness (SSA) specialist, has closed its Serie A funding round, securing €10 million in equity investments. The tracking company – which advises space operators on real-time collision threats – also rebranded to become Aldoria, which is a former name of the Pleiades nebula The latest investors included Starquest Capital, the European Innovation Council Fund, ...

Viasat has demonstrated a UK satellite-based augmentation system (UK SBAS) for the first time, to deliver more precise, reliable navigation data from current GPS offerings. A test flight, flown from Cranfield Airport using the National Flying Laboratory Centre’s Saab 340B aircraft, demonstrated the system in an aviation context. Following Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU’s similar ...

Impulse Space – a Californian in-space transportation startup – has unveiled design specifications for its Helios high performance “kick stage” vehicle. It is designed to take payloads of over 5 tons directly from Low Earth Orbit (LEO, 300km from earth) to Geostationary Orbit (GEO). This would be in less than 24 hours says the company. Helios “The Helios vehicle unlocks ...

Rohm has added a lineup of 600V super-junction mosfets in 6.5 x 7 x 1.66mm SOT-223-3 packaging. “In recent years, power supplies for lighting and motors for pumps are required to be smaller as devices become more sophisticated – spurring the demand for compact mosfets that are essential for switching operation,” said the company. “Generally, however, it has been difficult ...

John Deere, the agricultural machine and heavy equipment specialist, has turned to SpaceX to provide a satellite communications service for farmers. The service, using the Starlink network, will support farmers facing rural connectivity challenges “to fully leverage precision agriculture technologies”, said the company. For example, Starlink will enable real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, self-repair systems, and machine-to-machine communication, cites the ...

Spectrum Control has introduced a family of modular power EMI filters for designs meeting MIL-STD-461. 52F1825 filters operate across -55° to 75°C and the “rugged design includes a convenient, environmentally sealed input interface that withstands moisture, dust, and other contaminants to ensure durability and longevity”, according to the company. The models come with a 89 x 127mm footprint in a ...

The UK Space Agency is launching a £1.2 million Aqualunar Challenge to design technologies to purify the water buried beneath the lunar surface. It’s an international challenge prize, taking place in collaboration with both the Canadian Space Agency and Impact Canada. The idea is that it will award UK-led start-ups with seed funding to develop the technologies to purify the ...