After a number of delays and starts, South Korea is finally pressing ahead with the development of its second Korean Space Launch Vehicle (KSLV-II) as well as its lunar exploration programme. The KSLV-II is a three-stage launch vehicle which will put a 1.5-ton multipurpose satellite into low orbit at 600 to 800 kilometers (372 to 497 miles) above the Earth. The first-stage booster will consist of four 75-ton fuel engines, and the second stage will be made up of a single 75-ton engine. The third stage will come with a 7-ton liquid engine.

Thaicom, one of the largest commercial satellite communication companies in the Asia-Pacific, has announced an agreement with MediaVision as part of the expansion of its broadcast platform in Africa.

Chinese private launch company OneSpace successfully carried out the maiden launch of its rocket, marking the first entry of a private launch company from China into the increasingly crowded global small satellite launch market.

The UAE Space Agency's influential Advisory Committee met in late April 2018 to review and assess the activities and developments of the Emirati space programme. This third annual meeting, held in Abu Dhabi, included discussion of current and future space projects, along with methods of further developing the sector’s capabilities in scientific research, space technology, and human capacity.

The US space agency, NASA, has officially launched a project to provide remote sensing data to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, aiding regional environmental and population monitoring as part of a wider effort for sustainable resource management and planning in these countries.

Pakistan has revealed plans for its expanded space programme that includes a second high-resolution Earth observation satellite, a satellite navigation system, and telecommunication links with China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project.

Inmarsat, a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, announced on 9 May 2018 that it, in conjunction with Tillman Digital Cities and CivicConnect, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Smart Africa secretariat to accelerate the development and implementation of public-private partnerships (PPP) with the Smart Africa Alliance.

DigitalGlobe, a leading provider of commercial high-resolution satellite imagery and a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies, has announced the launch of its Rapid Access Program, a service that allows clients to task DigitalGlobe satellites to high-priority targets.

The infrastructure boom across Eurasia is creating its own demand for satellite data and services. In this essay, Dr. John B. Sheldon of ThorGroup GmbH looks at the growing interconnections between satellites and the expanding rail networks across Eurasia. The transformation of the geopolitical and geoeconomic order of Eurasia is perhaps the greatest phenomenon of our time, even with headlines pounding out the steady drumbeat of imminent war in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Japan is making further inroads to Africa, helping another African country, Rwanda, join the space club. The University of Tokyo has signed an agreement with Rwanda to help it build a small satellite and train its future engineers. The agreement, signed on 9 May 2018 in Rwanda’s capital Kigali during the Transform Africa summit, is between the Smart Africa Initiative and Rwanda, and the University of Tokyo.