TOP STORIES: November 2018

29 November 2018

Each month we round up some of the top stories in space, entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and technology.

Here’s our round-up for November:

The new space race is all about satellites: Pros and cons of each orbit

For most people, satellites probably bring to mind things like weather forecasts, GPS, or satellite TV broadcasting. Other common satellite applications, such as extending cellular coverage, connecting ATM machines, and restoring communications infrastructure quickly, among others, often go unnoticed since they’re not visible to users. TNW takes a look at the pros and cons of each orbit. Read more here.

Photo from orbit via TNW.

Skyrora moves to larger Edinburgh HQ

The business’s switch to Princes Street is praised by City of Edinburgh Council leader as a sign of the capital’s attraction to ‘innovative tech firms’. Read more at Insider.co.uk.

The Skyrora team in its new Princes Street office. Via Insider.co.uk

NASA to pay private space companies for moon rides

Under a programme called Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS), NASA will buy space aboard a couple of launches a year, starting in 2021. See more at ScienceMag.

NASA is seeking proposals for scientific and technology demonstration payloads that could fly on commercial lunar landers as soon as 2020. Credit: Astrobotic

Chinese start-ups push into space business, plan to challenge SpaceX

Landspace needs roughly a further $115 million in capital to reach the stage where it can start commercial operations. Read more at Business Standard.

Chongqing Liangjiang Star rocket, developed by Chinese private firm OneSpace Technology, takes off from a launchpad in an undisclosed location in northwestern China.

Why would a blockchain company buy a satellite company?

This month ConsenSys entered the satellite business. It befuddled the company’s observers to see a blockchain company, tasked with promoting Ethereum’s use, lay down what was likely hundreds of millions of dollars to buy one of the world’s premiere space startups. But the answer might lie in what ConsenSys can do for data and information, not just blockchain technology or Ethereum. Read more at Hackernoon.

Banner by Rachel Skiba (Image from Planetary Resources)