Tag: Luxembourg

Categories
GeekWire

SpaceX launches satellite, and rocket survives

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, sending the GovSat-1 satellite to space. (SpaceX via YouTube)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent a telecommunications satellite into orbit today for Luxembourg’s government and the SES satellite venture, setting the stage for next week’s maiden launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket.

The GovSat-1 spacecraft is the first component in a NATO satellite constellationthat’s designed to provide secure communications for tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by humanitarian crises. It was built by Orbital ATK, with anti-jamming and encryption systems, and is meant exclusively for governmental and institutional security applications.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Asteroid miners hail Luxembourg’s new law

Lawmakers in the tiny European country of Luxembourg today approved a measure affirming that space resources can be privately owned. The law, adopted nearly unanimously by Luxembourg’s parliament, also sets up procedures for authorizing and supervising space exploration missions. It will go into force on Aug. 1. Planetary Resources – which is headquartered in Redmond, Wash., but has a Luxembourg-based subsidiary – hailed today’s action as further evidence of the nation’s status as a global leader in the space resources sector.

Get the news brief on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Luxembourg and Seattle forge space links

Planetary Resources tour
Luxembourg’s Princess Stephanie and Prince Guillaume bend down to get a good look at Planetary Resources’ Arkyd 6 mini-satellites during a visit to the clean room at the company’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle)

Luxembourg’s royal heir and its top economic official got the grand tour of the Seattle area today, deepening a business relationship that could someday turn far-flung asteroids into the next commercial frontier.

“The exciting field of space technology could enable many more partnerships and economic success stories between Luxembourg and Seattle,” Prince Guillaume told a VIP gathering at Seattle’s Space Needle.

Luxembourg?

Don’t underestimate the tiny country nestled between Belgium, Germany and France: Over the past few decades, Luxembourg has built itself into a financial powerhouse as well as a center for Europe’s satellite industry. Now Luxembourg’s government and investment companies are aiming to do it again, with asteroid mining.

Asteroid mining?

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Luxembourg leaders dig asteroid mining

Planetary Resources pact with Luxembourg
Planetary Resources President and CEO Chris Lewicki and Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Etienne Schneider celebrate their partnership. (Planetary Resources Photo)

Luxembourg’s Crown Prince Guillaume and Deputy Prime Minister Étienne Schneider will be leading a delegation from the tiny European nation on a trip to the Seattle area on Monday. The main attraction? Asteroid mining, of course. Last year, Planetary Resources struck a deal for $28 million in investment and grants from Luxembourg’s government and bankers. Planetary Resources, based in Redmond, Wash., is developing spacecraft for Earth observation as well as asteroid exploration and mining. By some accounts, mining asteroids for water and other space resources could turn into a multitrillion-dollar industry. That fits in with Luxembourg’s SpaceResources.lu initiative – which will be in the spotlight in Seattle.

Get the news brief on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

$28 million deal boosts asteroid mining

Image: Arkyd telescope
An artist’s view shows one of Planetary Resources’ telescopes in orbit. (Credit: Planetary Resources)

Planetary Resources says it has finalized a $28 million (€25 million) agreement with Luxembourg to ramp up its asteroid mining campaign.

The deal calls for the tiny European nation’s government and one of its top banking institutions, the Société Nationale de Crédit et d’Investissement, to provide €12 million ($13.5 million) in direct capital investment and €13 million ($14.5 million) in grants, Planetary Resources announced today.

George Schmit, an advisory board member of Luxembourg’s SpaceResources.lu initiative, is joining the company’s board of directors. Planetary Resources, which is based in Redmond, Wash., will also establish a European headquarters in Luxembourg.

The agreement follows through on a memorandum of understanding that was announced in June.

Get the full story on GeekWire.

Categories
GeekWire

Planetary Resources goes international

Image: Arkyd telescope
An artist’s view shows one of Planetary Resources’ telescopes in orbit. (Credit: Planetary Resources)

Planetary Resources says it will start ramping up an international asteroid-mining subsidiary in Luxembourg by the end of the year – and will think about expanding operations to other locales as well.

The Luxembourg deal was announced last week, but many of the details are still to be determined, said Chris Lewicki, Planetary Resources’ president and CEO.

To refresh your memory from geography class, Luxembourg is a tiny nation wedged between Belgium, Germany and France. It’s more than 5,000 miles away from Planetary Resources’ headquarters in Redmond, Wash. So, why Luxembourg?

“We are looking at things that amplify our presence in Seattle,” Lewicki told GeekWire today at the Space Frontier Foundation’s NewSpace 2016 conference. By the end of the year, Planetary Resources plans to work out the details and make a “handful of hires,” he said.

Get the full story on GeekWire.