Weekly News Highlights

A weekly round-up of Sustainable Space news highlights:

Satellite Servicing Robots developed by NRL
SpaceWatch Global reports on the development of Robotics capable of servicing Satellites by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Naval Center for Space Technology (NCST).  The a spaceflight-qualified robotics suite capable of servicing satellites in orbit, known as Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) Integrated Robotic Payload (IRP), has been developed in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). 

NSpOC October update
The UK’s National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC) has published its report for October 2024, detailing its efforts to protect both the UK and space. The report highlights a slight increase in collision alerts compared to September, while noting a decrease in the number of large objects re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. This trend is expected to continue as planned re-entry campaigns wind down. Throughout the month of October, all NSpOC warning and protection services functioned as anticipated.

International Space Station maneuvers to avoid space debris
The International Space Station performed collision avoidance maneuvers to increase the distance between it and a piece of debris from a defunct satellite.  The story was covered by numerous outlets including USA Today, Space.com, NPR, and Aviation Week. 

Orion Space Solutions receives additional funding for Tetra-6 mission refuelling mission
Orion Space Solutions (Orion) has received a 4-year award from the United States Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) to support their work on the Tetra-6 mission to address space refueling, as reported on SpaceWatch Global. 

ISAM 2025 Conference Announcement
The UK Space Agency have announced the dates and location of next year’s In-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) Conference, being delivered in partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult. The event will take place at the ICC Belfast on 4-6 June 2025, and is expected to be triple the size of the inaugural conference which was held in Harwell in May 2024. 

'Giant Cannon' launch alternative under investigation
SpaceWatch Global report on work by  Longshot Space on a "big-ass cannon" as an alternative launch method which has the potential to reduce launch costs, increase sustainability, and improve availability of launch.