A lot has happened in Space over the past two months. Silicon Luxembourg has shortlisted and condensed some of the main happenings in the sector.
ClearSpace To Open Luxembourg Entity
Swiss in-orbit servicing and space debris removal firm ClearSpace is to open operations in Luxembourg after raising €26.7m at Series A in January 2023. The funding round was led by OTB Ventures, backed by the European Investment Fund under InvestEU program and Swisscom Ventures, with participation from the Luxembourg Future Fund, Lakestar, In-Q-Tel, Happiness Capital, and 600 T Space Investments.
As part of the financing, ClearSpace will have an operational presence in Luxembourg where it expects to benefit from the country’s strong space and satellite focus. The startup is ramping up operations ahead of the world’s first space debris removal mission, ClearSpace-1, scheduled to launch in 2026.
Financial Commitment, ESA Astronauts
Luxembourg committed €127m to ESA programmes for the 2023-2027 period at the Council of the European Space Agency held from 22-23 November 2022. The cash injection supports the development of the Luxembourg space ecosystem by funding grants awarded by ESA to the Luxembourg industry. During the same meeting, ESA revealed its next cohort of five active astronauts, 11 reserves and 1 parastronaut. Among the active cohort is Belgian-Luxembourg national Raphaël Liégeois, who lived in Differdange.
Luxembourg Invests in Montreal Space Firm
Luxembourg’s Space Sector Development SCSp participated in the Series C fundraising round of space situational awareness firm NorthStar Earth & Space Inc. The Montreal-based firm, whose European headquarters are based in Luxembourg, closed a $35m Series C fundraising round at the start of January.
The Luxembourg Space Sector Development SCSp fund was established as part of the renewal of the concession contract between the Luxembourg State and Luxembourg satellite operator SES. Operational since 1 January 2022, the fund aims to support and strengthen the Luxembourg space sector and to create opportunities for the development of the Luxembourg ecosystem.
A “Single-Market Moment” For Space
The European Commission is examining an EU space law to put in place common rules on safety, security and sustainability of space operations. The project was announced by Commissioner Thierry Breton at the fifteenth European Space Conference, hosted in Brussels in January 2023. Breton explained that ten member states, including Luxembourg, had already begun to regulate space operations.
“We face the risk of diverging national rules with a negative impact on the competitiveness of our industry, as well as on our security,” he said, adding: “We need for instance, common rules on collision avoidance, safety and mitigation measures, threats assessment, resilience requirement and a zero-debris approach.”
Breton described it as a “single-market moment” for space that would build a European level-playing field based on EU standards. “This is ambitious yes. But I am convinced that this is the only way to ensure that future generations will enjoy all benefits from access to space services,” he concluded.
Lux-South Korea MoU
Luxembourg’s economy minister signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korea during at the Korea Space Forum on 28 November. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the exploration and use of space resources for peaceful purposes through the exchange of information, personnel and expertise in the fields of space science, technology and applications. South Korea currently counts some 100 space companies. It increased its space budget by 19% in 2022, part of its strategy to join the world’s top 5 space nations by 2035.
For more information, see here.
Experimental In Orbit Lab
LuxSpace, the Luxembourg-based subsidiary of OHB SE and the University of German Armed Forces Munich, signed a contract for the dtec.bw SeRANIS (Seamless Radio Access Network for Internet of Space) small satellite mission. This UniBw M mission provides the world’s first publicly accessible multifunctional experimental laboratory in orbit and will use the LuxSpace-built Triton-X Heavy platform.
SeRANIS is a small satellite mission with 15 experiments to explore key future technologies in various fields, including future 6G mobile communication systems, laser communication and Internet of Things.
Appointments
Kleos
Luxembourg Earth observation scale-up Kleos appointed Alan Khalili as CEO, succeeding Andy Bowyer, effective 1 January 2023. Bowyer, a British national who launched the firm in Luxembourg in 2017, takes up the role of Chief Strategy Officer and remains a board member. Khalili is a US citizen with more than two decades of senior management experience across Data-as- a-Service, aerospace, satellite, wireless voice, and Internet of Things (IoT) industries. Prior to the appointment, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Kleos, from July 2022.
Read more here.
Spire
Space-based data analytics firm Spire Global has promoted John Lusk to the position of CEO of its maritime operations, succeeding Peter Mabsen. Lusk, who joined Spire in 2018, previously led Spire’s global data analytics and space services and oversaw the expansion of the company’s maritime, aviation and weather data solutions.
Spire Global also announced the appointment of Peter Mabson as Chief Strategy Officer. Mabsen was appointed CEO for maritime operations following the acquisition of exactEarth in November 2021. He worked as president and CEO of exactEarth for 13 years.
Read more here.
This article was first published in the Silicon Luxembourg magazine. Get your copy.
