Planet is set to provide its imagery and analysis to Thailand under an agreement with the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA), an agency under Thailand's Ministry of Science and Technology. The company will provide the organisation with Planet Basemaps over the country on a quarterly basis which will provide the government with up-to-date and cloud-free imagery that can be used by various ministries such as agriculture, rural development and water.

For SpaceWatchers, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Thailand has manifested several of its space ambitions. SWGL has covered the last decade of the country’s space developments at the government and private sector levels. So, when in early April 2024, Thailand became the latest country to join the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program,  SWGL assessed it as a significant development in the context of Thailand’s space ambitions. But that needs to be put in perspective. What are the short and long term implications? Let’s find out.

Two major space events took place in South-Korea in November 2023: Space Forum Korea, hosted by the South-Korean government, in close cooperation with the US and major ASEAN economies. And an International Workshop on Space Resources with Perspectives of Emerging Space Programs, hosted by the Secure World Foundation, an American NGO. Then, on the first day of December 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the country’s first spy satellite into orbit, from California’s Vandenberg Space Force base, just one month after North Korea had launched its own. Let’s review these events in context, and draw some observations on the global standing of South-Korea as an Emerging Space Country.

mu Space, a satellite manufacturer from Southeast Asia, is looking to create a space supply chain for its region. The company's goal is to launch Southeast Asia into a global competitor in the aerospace industry. mu Space believes that by building a space supply chain, companies will have a greater chance in utilising technologies and furthermore innovating them for the future.

A special moment took place at the SPACETIDE conference in early July 2023 in Tokyo and online. When Takeshi Hakamada and Masayasu Ishida sat down together to reminisce their humble beginnings, the sentiment was palpable. Both had come a long way: Hakamada-san, Co-Founder & CEO of iSpace (2010), recovering from a Moon hard landing, yet looking forward confidently to the success of their next lunar mission. And Ishida-san, Co-Founder, President & CEO, member of the Board of Directors of the SPACETIDE Foundation (2015) , taking stock of the Foundation’s growth experienced in less than a decade. 

The Airbus-built THEOS-2 Earth observation satellite has been successfully launched on a Vega rocket from Kourou, Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand (GISTDA) selected Airbus as a partner for its next-generation national geo-information system in 2018.

Asia; the most populous and largest continent in the world, mostly known for its diverse foods, rich culture and strong global economic presence, is also home to a unique fusion of Global Navigation Satellite Services (GNSS); an unparalleled characteristic that holds a pool of potential for business, academia and users alike.

UK's Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) welcomed Customer Engineers from Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) to its premises in Guildford, UK, to participate in the THEOS-2 SmallSAT Earth Observation project.

By Nandini Sarma - In many parts of the world, space technology is being used to improve people’s lives. Apart from their uses for everyday services like weather forecasting, long-distance communications, and GPS systems, the manifold applications of space technology assist in many other ways.

Arianespace has announced that it will launch THEOS-II, the very-high-resolution Earth observation optical satellite for Thailand, and KOMPSAT-7 for the Korean Aerspace Research Institute (KARI), in two separate launches on the new Arianespace Vega-C launch vehicle in 2021.