Suchergebnisse

Knowledge Transfer (KT) is a major part of technical aspect in space science. By involving the research council funded Knowledge Transfer Account (KTA) programme and the university industrial and commercial partners, these strengthen the future research collaboration amongst the university, industrial, commercial, scientific and engineering communities. Since the space science research and development is a multi-billion pounds sterling industry, it is often referred as the most advanced research and technological breakthrough. The industry inventions including scratch-resistant lenses, smoke detectors, cordless tools, water filters become the popular industrial products. They benefit us enormously. This paper is to present the Future Universities and Future Knowledge Systems for KT in space science. It includes the discussion of the European Union (EU) Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and its einfrastructure projects, Astrogrid Virtual Observatory, Gaia Data Centre, European Space Agency (ESA) XMMNewton Satellite Reflection Grating Spectrometer and Optical Monitor, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Swift Explorer mission UltraViolet/Optical Telescope, Hinode Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) imaging spectrometer, Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec), Cassini Electron Spectrometer (ELS), CryoSat-2 mission simulation and EnviSat radar altimeter, GlobIce, SOHO, Cluster-2, ESA's Exobiology on Mars (ExoMars) Panoramic Cameras (PanCam) and stereo mapping plus many future space missions in the pipeline. The United Kingdom (UK) Government's Engineering Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) and University College London (UCL) develop the programme of exchanging knowledge via their KTA. The account itself has a wide range of industrial and commercial partners. The aim of the programme is to attract the highly skilled people and the high-tech industries (such as space industry) to innovate and to develop the opportunities in the industrial/commercial fields and value added market. All these can be achieved with the collaboration and KT in the Future Universities and Future Knowledge System.

The development of astronomy and space science in Africa has grown significantly over the past few years. These advancements make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals more achievable, and open up the possibility of new beneficial collaborations. Until recently, South Africa with the Southern African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO), Namibia with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS), and Morocco, Algeria and Egypt with their optical observatories, were almost the only astronomy references in Africa. Also, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria were the only four African countries with established satellite programmes. In recent years, many other countries began research activities in astronomy and space science (A&SS), starting with institutional development, human capacity development (HCD), scientific research and networking. The African Union (AU) took important steps in promoting the development of A&SS on a continental scale for improving some of the main socioeconomic and environmental challenges that Africa is facing, and for achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). This Comment aims to provide an overview of the current status and future prospects of A&SS in Africa

Space is governed by bilateral treaties that belong to the Cold War era. The withdrawal by the Trump Administration from two major treaties such as the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces and Open Skies , blaming Russia for the decision, jeopardizes the space neutrality. U.S. President Biden took the decision to seek a five-year extension of New START, until Feb. 5, 2026, and Russia agreed. Nevertheless, the unilateral withdrawal from the Outer Space Treaty by one of the major space powers is likely. Space control is essential, given the heavy reliance on space systems and the rapidly increasing proliferation of missile technology and counterspace systems. Emerging disruptive technologies are game-changing and will determine the conflicts and the geopolitical scenario of next decades. Hypersonic weapons are changing the character of war, will play a huge role in the global power balance by undermining core pillars of geopolitics such as geography and technological power. Like a time machine, global defense and security concerns take us back to the time of the Strategic Defense Initiative - known as "Star Wars Program" - the satellites and space-based missile system established by the U.S. on the eve of the end of the Cold War, intended to protect the country from attack by Soviet ballistic strategic nuclear weapons. This missile shield programme was designed to render nuclear weapons obsolete, but it appears to have failed. Space has been elevated by the U.S. and NATO to warfighting domain and has already been militarized by Russia and raising China. So far, the international community failed to reach a solution to prevent an arms race in outer space. Space war is no more a science-fiction scenario; it's an emerging reality. This presentation aims to shed light on the hazard of an outer space which is not governed by any rules and tackles the challenges coming from the militarization of this operational domain. The question is how to avoid a star war in Outer Space and to prevent a conflict on Earth from the above?