TOP STORIES: November 2019

2 December 2019

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

Here’s our round-up for November:

ESA ministers commit to biggest ever budget

 
 
ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level, Space19+, has concluded in Seville, Spain, with the endorsement of the most ambitious plan to date for the future of ESA and the whole European space sector. The meeting brought together ministers with responsibility for space activities in Europe, along with Canada and observers from the EU. Read the ESA press release here.

French startup ThrustMe found fast route to orbit through China’s Spacety

 

French propulsion startup ThrustMe unexpectedly made it into orbit last month with its innovative propulsion system placed aboard a Chinese cubesat. Read more at SpaceNews.

ThrustMe’s Dmytro Rafalskyi, left, with a NPT30 thruster and ThrustMe CEO Ane Aanesland, right, with one of the I2T5 cold gas thrusters it sent to orbit Nov. 2 onboard a cubesat built by Spacety of China. Credit: ThrustMe

How NASA is evolving through partnerships with private space companies

Companies are increasingly looking to space as a place of business, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been changing in several different ways, especially by partnering with corporations to develop new technologies. Read more at Space News.

Is SpaceX’s Monopoly on Reusable Rockets Eroding?

China wants to build a reusable rocket. This we already know. And Rocket Lab wants to make its small rockets just as reusable as the Falcon 9s launched by SpaceX. Read more at The Motley Fool.

“Rocket Lab Electron Rockets Sure Are Pretty — But Can They Be Made Reusable? Image Source: Rocket Lab

Virgin Galactic rides out early struggles on Wall Street

Nearly a month after Virgin Galactic’s debut on public markets, the investment community is largely taking a wait-and-see approach to whether it will be a model for other space companies seeking to go public. Read more at SpaceNews.

Since Virgin Galactic started trading on the New York Stock Exchange Oct. 28, share prices have fallen about a third. Credit: Virgin Galactic