The South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT has approved 300 billion Won funding (U.S.$264 million) for the development of three remote sensing satellites to be used for resource management, environmental monitoring, and space science.

Germany's Ministry of Economy is drafting new space laws and regulations - that could be submitted to the Bundestag for ratification as soon as the end of this year – in order to incentivize the German private sector to invest in the rapidly growing global space sector, according to a 28 April 2019 report by Reuters.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gave a remarkable “Kennedy” style speech on 26 March 2019 in Huntsville, Alabama, where he stated that the United States will put Americans on the Moon again - in as soon as five years. China demonstrated, with Chang'e 4, their capability to land on the far side of the Moon. Israeli NGO SpaceIL’s Beresheet spacecraft, though ultimately unsuccessful in its soft landing, did reach the Moon’s surface on 11 April 2019. This has all happened without Europe. SpaceWatch.Global Chairman, Dr. John B. Sheldon, shares his thoughts on Europe's ability to carry out Moonshots in the 21st century.

While SpaceIL's Beresheet lunar lander met with a tragic end on the Moon's surface, it has paved the way for a number of other private Moon missions that are currently in the works. Among these is Japan's ispace, and SpaceWatch.Global's Editor-in-Chief Helen Jameson spoke with Kyle Acierno about the company's plans.

The Beresheet Moon lander, developed by Israeli not-for-profit company SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, has failed in its bid to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface. The spacecraft is the first commercial mission to reach the Moon. Communication was lost with Beresheet at approximately 489 feet above the lunar surface and it made its hard landing at 3.25pm EDT.

Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, has announced that its recently launched satellite, Es’hail-2, entered commercial service to serve government, broadcast and telecommunications sectors in Middle East and North Africa.

The flat panel antenna - or FPA - is being heralded as the key to realising the potential of the new raft of mega constellations that have come to characterise the New Space movement – a new era in satellite technology and communications.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and the European Space Policy Institute, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs No. 29: ‘Perspectives on a European Space Council’, originally published in February 2019.

Established in 2017, Spacespecialists is a space consultancy that offers tailored recruitment, training and speaking services to space industry clients across the globe.

Against the backdrop of the UK’s flourishing NewSpace sector, Shetland Space Centre (SCC) and Goonhilly Earth Station are to partner to develop launch and tracking capabilities that will enable further development of the sector.