The departure of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s subsequent reshuffle of the Turkish cabinet is not likely to further delay the establishment and creation of a Turkish space agency. Davutoglu has been replaced as Prime Minister by Binali Yildirim, a noted loyalist to President Erdogan. …
Read More »Eutelsat signs up Tunisia’s ONT for African TV broadcasting
The Tunisian Office National de Télédiffusion (ONT), the national broadcasting corporation, has signed a multi-year contract with Eutelsat Communications, headquartered in Paris, France, to broadcast its new subscription-free TV platform across North and West Africa. ONT has selected the EUTELSAT 7 West-A satellite to reach viewers across the region. The …
Read More »Orbital ATK still in Saudi Arabian reconnaissance satellite bid
U.S. satellite and rocket manufacturer Orbital ATK has partnered with Riyadh-based Rakaa Holding to support its efforts to sell electro-optical reconnaissance satellites to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is believed that Saudi Arabia is in the market for two to eight high-resolution reconnaissance satellites over the coming years, and …
Read More »China and Arab states agree to promote BeiDou GNSS use in Middle East
China and the League of Arab States (LAS) agreed to promote the use of China’s BeiDou global navigation satellite system (GNSS) at the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Doha, Qatar, on 16 May 2016. The BeiDou system is a rival to the US Global …
Read More »Spacepower in the Middle East: The Paradox of Strategic Depth and Transparency
Tragically, the Middle East has been the backdrop for changes in the character of war over the past few decades. With the rapid dissemination of high-resolution Earth observation satellites throughout the region, even more changes in the character of war are in store, argues ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon. The unique, …
Read More »Saudi Arabia and Belarus agree on space cooperation
Saudi Arabian officials visited Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, on 16 May 2016 for discussions on various topics of mutual interest with their Belarusian counterparts. The discussions resulted in a number of agreements between the two countries, including one that commits Belarus providing Saudi Arabia with optics technologies for …
Read More »Avi Blasberger appointed new head of the Israel Space Agency
Avigdor ‘Avi’ Blasberger has been appointed as the new Director-General of the Israel Space Agency, replacing Menachem Kidron who resigned earlier in 2016. The appointment of Mr. Blasberger in early May 2016 came after a lengthy selection process, and was appointed by the Israeli cabinet. His predecessor, Mr. Kidron, had …
Read More »UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre expanding workforce
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, announced on 17 May 2016 that it is hiring 35 engineers and administrative staff in what is a significant expansion of the space research and satellite manufacturing facility. The career opportunities available at MBRSC cover various fields …
Read More »UAE and Japan sign space cooperation agreement
In a move that cements an already thriving space relationship, the United Arab Emirates Space Agency signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Government of Japan last week, setting the stage for strategic collaboration in space exploration and science between the two countries. The UAE-Japanese MoC is the latest …
Read More »YahSat and Tele10 join forces to bring broadband Internet to Africa
UAE-based satellite operator, Yahsat , signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tele10 Group, the regional broadcast and internet service provider, to discuss collaborations for improving internet connectivity in Rwanda, Burundi and East Democratic Republic of the Congo. The MoU comes ahead of Yahsat taking delivery of its third satellite, …
Read More »