Satellite & Space Project News - May 2017

Spacecom back on the market:Satellite operator Spacecom has confirmed that it is no longer in talks with Beijing Xinwei Technology Group and that is still looking for a buyer.   A possible acquisition by Xinwei did not proceed as a result of the loss of Spacecom's Amos-6 communications satellite when SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad on 1 September 2016.  .

Space debris: Delegates at the Seventh European Conference on Space Debris have called for co-ordinated international action to reduce space debris.  ESA estimates that there are around 750,000 pieces of debris larger than 1cm in orbit around Earth, and around 166 million pieces larger than 1mm.   According to Holger Krag, head of the ESA's debris office, "In orbit, these objects have tremendous relative velocities, faster than a bullet, and can damage or destroy functioning space infrastructure, like economically vital telecom, weather, navigation, broadcast and climate-monitoring satellites".