Údarás na Gaeltachta’s Post

The UK Space Agency's latest announcement of more than £62 million for satellite communications and space innovation is welcome news for the sector, alongside a new National Space Innovation Programme call and early engagement for the next Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund. For Cornwall, continued investment in innovation, collaboration and regional infrastructure helps create the conditions for businesses to grow, attract new opportunities and strengthen the partnerships that underpin our space ecosystem. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dustAuQS

The Netherlands has formalised the mandate of its new space agency, setting out its objectives, governance structure and funding model. https://lnkd.in/dxVbqtSn

The Australian Government's new Statement on Space, released this week at the Australian Space Forum, marks an important evolution in Australia's approach to the space economy 🛰️ What stood out wasn't simply the ambition. It was the recognition that space is no longer a niche industry. It's critical infrastructure. From communications and agriculture to disaster response, national security, logistics and financial services, Australia already depends on space-enabled technologies every day. The new Statement acknowledges this reality and sets out a clearer framework to strengthen sovereign capability, move further up the value chain and help Australian companies compete globally. For founders, it's an important signal. Innovation policy is most effective when it gives entrepreneurs confidence that today's hard problems will become tomorrow's national priorities. The Statement's focus on trusted space services, launch capability, platforms, exploration technologies and translating space capability into broader economic benefit creates greater certainty for companies building in these areas. At Stone & Chalk, we're fortunate to work with founders who are building technologies across AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing, autonomous systems, cyber security and other deep technologies that increasingly intersect with Australia's space capability. We welcome the direction set out in the Statement and look forward to continuing to support the innovators helping build Australia's future in space 🚀

The Australian Government released its new Statement on Space today, at the Australian Space Forum in Adelaide. Our own Martin Duursma was on the ground for the announcement — and the framework maps closely to where we’ve been putting capital for almost a decade. Trusted services, launch, and platforms: these are the pillars the government has now put a formal structure around, and they’re the same pillars we’ve been backing, company by company, since before “space tech” was a category local investors recognised. Martin’s take 👇 “We’ve been building one of the largest space portfolios in the Asia-Pacific since 2017 — backing Gilmour Space Technologies before Australia had sovereign launch, Myriota for trusted space systems and Advanced Navigation when ‘space tech’ barely registered as a category for local investors, Arlula and QSAT as the ground segment and data layer matured, Skykraft on the communications side, and Paladin Space as the mission and in-orbit servicing layer took shape. Having reviewed the framework, it’s a positive step for the industry — it gives focus to where Australia has natural and technological advantages, and puts a clear structure around exactly where we’ve already been placing capital: trusted services, launch, and platforms. We look forward to working with the Australian Space Agency and government to align our commercial funding of space companies with the capabilities this statement highlights.” We’ve spent nine years building the portfolio, the networks, and the pattern recognition this statement is describing. We’re ready to put that to work alongside government to make it real.

AN UNFORTUNATE OBSERVATION: WRegSAT and the missing of Higher Airspace dimension!😔 Yesterday published 92 pages WRegSAT Foundations Paper, “Regulating Space for the Next 7 Generations: A Research Agenda”, is an ambitious and valuable contribution to the discussion on the future governance of space activities. It rightly recognizes that the space domain is undergoing profound transformation, driven by commercialisation, new technologies, sustainability challenges, and an increasing diversity of actors. However, one notable gap deserves attention: the complete absence of Higher Airspace Operations (HAO) and the - for example - emerging Air Traffic Management - Space Traffic Management (ATM-STM) interface etc. This omission is surprising because many of the future activities discussed in space governance debates will not begin in orbit, for they will operate through, originate from, or interact with the increasingly important domain between conventional aviation and outer space. This includes high-altitude platforms, suborbital systems, launch and re-entry operations, and other advanced emerging aerospace concepts. Higher Airspace Operations represent precisely the regulatory and operational bridge between aviation and space. They raise fundamental questions regarding inter alia: aviation - space regulatory boundaries, traffic coordination between ATM and STM systems, safety concepts and risk management, surveillance, communication and navigation requirements, spectrum and cybersecurity challenges, international governance and standardisation. The absence of HAO from a forward-looking space regulatory research agenda risks reinforcing a traditional separation between “airspace” and “outer space” that future operations will increasingly challenge. As space activities expand closer to, through, and across the atmospheric boundary, governance cannot be developed in isolated domains. The future regulatory architecture will require stronger integration between aviation authorities, space agencies, civil aviation organisations, and space governance institutions. WRegSAT provides an important foundation for thinking about the next generations of space regulation. However, the next generation of space governance will also need to address the airspace-space continuum. At least a word or two 😅 Higher Airspace Operations may well be the missing link between today's aviation regulation and tomorrow's space governance. P.S. I know that I sound like a parrot forgotten in the attic i.e. I keep repeating this subject, but it is important. https://lnkd.in/e8Y5NjF3

The UK government has announced £62 million in funding to advance homegrown space technologies. Managed through the UK Space Agency, the investment will support businesses and researchers in developing new satellite communications systems and innovation projects, aiming to strengthen the UK's domestic space sector. Led by Space Minister Liz Lloyd, the funding includes £42 million for the C-LEO Programme and £20 million for the National Space Innovation Programme. This initiative seeks to enhance connectivity and bolster the UK's capability to monitor and protect its assets in orbit. More at: https://lnkd.in/eKadUzAW #SpaceTech #UKInnovation #Funding

£62m funding unveiled to support UK space tech sector 🪙🚀 The UK Government has unveiled £62m funding to support new satellite communications systems and space innovation projects. Continue reading... https://lnkd.in/e5K6X6D8 #finance #investing #space #technology #innovation #deals #government #businessnews

🇫🇮 🛰️ Finland is now in the spotlight of European satellite positioning research! Satellite positioning is not only critical infrastructure. It is also a driver of innovation, new businesses and economic growth. As Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto puts it: “Satellite positioning is a very topical field of research in which a lot is happening in Europe. In Finland, we conduct high-quality research, and within the business and innovation activities in the field, we have plenty of exploitable opportunities.” Professor Sanna Kaasalainen from the Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI) also highlights the business perspective: “In Finland, there’s a lot of business activity in the satellite positioning field. Maintaining and developing a reliable and secure positioning system is also important, as it adds to the conditions for new innovations that use positioning and, through them, growth.” Finland is already home to around 200 companies operating in the space economy, and this is expected to be just the beginning. At Location Innovation Hub, we work closely with researchers at FGI and help bridge the gap between research and real-world innovation. By connecting businesses with cutting-edge geospatial expertise, we help turn new ideas into practical solutions and business opportunities. Maanmittauslaitos, National Land Survey of Finland Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (Finland) European Space Agency - ESA https://lnkd.in/dFjahQKU

Norway and Iceland set to join EU satellite programmes: EU collaboration will help the two Nordic countries prepare for “times of crisis” and boost their space industries https://lnkd.in/e4YrSKGK

The WRegSAT Foundations Paper - "Regulating Space for the Next 7 Generations: A Research Agenda" - was released at the 19th Australian Space Forum today. It marks an important step towards developing a modern, adaptable regulatory framework for Australia's growing space sector. The initiative is focused on ensuring Australia can support innovation and emerging space capabilities while maintaining sustainability, security, and global competitiveness.   Shoal Group Pty Ltd Principal Systems Engineer, Shena Howell, was part of the team working together to map Australia's space regulatory framework as it stands today, and to set the priorities for the research still to come, bringing her expertise in Space Safety and Systems Engineering to the broader group of researchers, space lawyers, and engineers.    Congratulations to the Australasian Centre for Space Governance and partners from The Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, the University of Newcastle, and RMIT University, and Series I sponsor, Gilbert + Tobin. We look forward to contributing further, to help shape the future of Australia's space governance and enabling the next generation of space opportunities. https://lnkd.in/gSt7BNFb #Space #SpaceGovernance #WRegSAT #AustralianSpaceSector #SystemsThinking #SpacePolicy #19ASF #AustralianSpaceForum #SpaceIndustry The Andy Thomas Space Foundation