As the Iraqi army inches closer to the Daesh-occupied city of Mosul, the extremist group is now banning the sale of satellite television receivers to the city’s residents, and confiscating receivers from cafés, restaurants, and other public spaces. These developments, reported by the news agency Reuters, are the latest in …
Read More »Thuraya partners with Elcome International for Egypt and GCC support
Thuraya Telecommunications Company, headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, announced on 3 May 2016 an agreement with Elcome International, also based in Dubai, UAE, for provide technical support to Thuraya’s service partners in Egypt and throughout Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The agreement with Elcome International allows faster response times …
Read More »India’s IRNSS gives Middle East new SatNav option
The successful launch on 28 April 2016 of the seventh satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) means that the Middle East region will soon have a supplementary, or even alternative, satellite navigation saystem to the American Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia’s GLONASS, and Europe’s Galileo. The satellite, …
Read More »DigitalGlobe and Auracle Geospatial partner to focus on mineral exploration
DigitalGlobe, the Westminster, Colorado, USA, based commercial high-resolution satellite imagery company has partnered with Auracle Geospatial, located in British Columbia, Canada, in order to develop search capabilities for mineral resources exploration. The Middle East region produces not only oil and natural gas but also has large deposits of aluminium, chromium, …
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: A Golden Opportunity for Space?
ThorGroup’s Chairman and President, Dr. John B. Sheldon, explores the role of space in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 recently announced economic and social reform programme. He argues that Vision 2030 is a golden opportunity for Saudi Arabian space. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of King Salman and Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, …
Read More »China to launch core module of its space station in 2018
China has announced that it intends to launch the core module of its space station by 2018, with the aim of having the manned space-based facility operational by around 2022. A spokesman for the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Mr. Wang Zhongyang, told Xinhua News Agency that the core …
Read More »Kratos completes critical design review of Oman’s Advanced Space Radio Monitoring System
Kratos Integral Systems Europe (ISE), a subsidiary of San Diego, California-based Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc., successfully completed the critical design review (CDR) for the Sultanate of Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Advanced Space Radio Monitoring System. Oman’s TRA led the CDR supported by Kratos ISE personnel, and its …
Read More »Turkey and Ukraine to cooperate on building satellites
In a clear reaction to collapsed relations with the Russian Federation, both Turkey and Ukraine have announced their intention to cooperate with each other in the development and manufacture of satellites, as well as collaboration on other strategic technologies. The announcement has come as a surprise to analysts, many of …
Read More »Gilat to Power Eutelsat’s Satellite Broadband in Western Russia
Eutelsat, headquartered in Paris, France, has selected Israeli company Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. to provide technology to power its new satellite broadband services throughout Western Russia in July 2016. Using Gilat’s SkyEdge II-c hub with X-Architecture and SkyEdge II-c small user terminals, Eutelsat plans to deliver broadband services using the …
Read More »Iran’s Future Spy Satellites: What Can Be Done?
With the Iranian sanctions regime steadily coming apart, it is only a matter of time before Iran acquires – or even develops on its own – a high-resolution imaging satellite that will revolutionise its military and civil remote-sensing capabilities. Such a development is of particular concern to a number of countries …
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