Build-up of the lightweight Vega for Arianespace’s upcoming mission to orbit twin Earth observation satellites is complete in French Guiana, with the OPTSAT-3000 and Venµs spacecraft now integrated with their launch vehicle. During activity on the Spaceport’s space launch vehicle (SLV) launch site, the two passengers – which are integrated …

Iran launched its Simorgh space launch vehicle (SLV) into space on Thursday, July 27, 2017, from the Imam Khomeini Space Centre. The Simorgh SLV (Farsi for ‘Phoenix’) was not thought to have carried a payload. The U.S. Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Centre (JSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in …

The satellite launch industry is making great strides and advancements, but as a market sector is riddled with inefficiencies that are a drag for both the launch industry and for satellite manufacturers. Enter Andrey Maksimov, based in the UAE, and Andrei Rebrov, based in New York, who have created the company Precious Payload that promises to erase these market inefficiencies, revolutionise the launch industry, and help kick-start the New Space Economy.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has joined Sentinel Asia, an international initiative among space agencies, disaster management agencies, and international agencies for applying remote sensing and Web-GIS technologies to support disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region. The Centre joined the initiative as part of its support to disaster …

NATO and the Jordanian Armed Forces inaugurated the newly established Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Amman on July 19, 2017. The CERT was set up as part of a NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) project to enhance Jordanian cyber defence capabilities. Jordan’s geographical location and security environment …

Starting July 10, 2017, Arabsat and GlobeCast have announced the broadcast of TRT World HD on the newly launched Arabsat Free-To-Air DVB-S2 platform. TRT World, the international Turkish news platform, has been accessible on BADR-4 since January 2017 catering to the English-speaking audience in the Middle East and North Africa …

Thuraya Telecommunications Company signed a MoU with Huawei at the INTERPOL WORLD 2017 exhibition, held from July 4-7, 2017, in Singapore. This important global event was an occasion to showcase several initiatives in public safety by different organizations. Thuraya’s partnership with Huawei specifically merges innovative capabilities for crisis and disaster …

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Honeywell Aerospace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop an advanced GPS Anti-Jam navigation system. As part of the MOU, IAI and Honeywell are aiming to engineer, manufacture and market a combined GPS Anti-Jam combined solution. The new technology will combine IAI’s …

Aireon announced on July 14, 2017, that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS), Saudi Arabia’s Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP).  SANS is managing one of the largest and busiest airspaces in the Middle East, and through this MoU, SANS will develop and …

In the sixth and final installment of our #SWMEThemes on Space Resources and the Middle East, Robert Boehme – the CEO and Founder of PTScientists – tells us how his company’s Mission to the Moon is contributing to the commercial exploration of space, and the opportunities on offer to Middle Eastern …