Weekly Space Report 

By Natalia Godlewska (Chief Space News Editor)

Poland is shaping the future

Poland continues to play an essential role in european spece sector. This time five significant projects received EU-funding. This showcases Poland’s contribution to advancing space technologies and innovations. 

• EROSS SC project is led by PIAP Space. Its main goal is to develop advanced robotic technologies for on-orbit servicing. 
• LUWEX is a joint project of Scanway and Wrocław University of Science and Technology. It focus on exploring technologies for extracting and purifying water from lunar regolith. 
• ORCHIDE by KP Labs is working on optimizing data processing capabilities for Earth observation missions, making space data handling more efficient and flexible for missions.
• SALTO from SpaceForest is at the forefront of developing reusable rocket technology, which will help reduce launch costs and minimize the environmental impact of space exploration.
• THEIA, Creotech Instrument’s project is going to integrate Geospatial AI with Earth observation data to enhance crisis management responses, particularly in situations involving displaced populations.  

All of these projects demonstrate Poland’s commitment and shows growing contribution to space sector, positioning country as a key player in the global space industry.

The most unexpected collaboration 

Hilton has officially partnered with Voyager Space to develop Starlab. This is a project of free-flying commercial space station designed to accommodate up to four astronauts. Hilton’s role is to make stays in space more hospitable by enhancing crew comfort. They will design crew suits, communal areas and sleeping arrangements. Starlab is set to replace the International Space Station (ISS) upon its decommissioning in the early 2030s. 

Sweet and sour comeback 

On March 18, NASA astronauts Barry „Butch” Wilmore and Sunita „Suni” Williams finally returned to Earth. Initially they were suppose to stay on ISS 8 days, but due to technical issues of Boeing’s Strainer spacecraft, their stay was extended to 286 days. During their unexpected extended stay, Wilmore and Williams conducted approximately 150 scientific experiments. Moreover, Williams set a new record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. 

Their postponed comeback drew public attention and political discourse. Especially about their salary. Base salary for both astronauts is classified under General Schedule (GS) pay scale at GS-15 level, which means that annual salaries are ranging from $125,133 to $162,672. What caused the biggest stir in public opinion, was information that NASA does not provide overtime or hazard pay for astronauts. Regardless of mission length astronauts received their standard salaries with a nominal daily stipend for incidental expenses, which was about $4 to $5 per day. That makes the amount of $1,148 to $1,430 additionally for each astronaut.

Forests from space perspective

At the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana arrived the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Biomass satellite. Its role is to help monitor global forests and their role in carbon storage. Biomass is set to launch aboard a Vega-C rocket in April this year. The mission is to measure forest biomass using an advanced P-band synthetic aperture radar, also it is going to provide critical data on carbon stocks and forest health. This data is very important for climate change monitoring and improving our understanding of the global carbon cycle. This project shows a huge commitment to really help track deforestation and carbon sequestration capacity of forest worldwide. The collaboration of over 50 companies from 20 countries, shows the importance of the climate change problem.