As another year of successful Arianespace launch activity draws to a close, two satellites for its first mission of 2018 are now in French Guiana – positioning them for liftoff on January 25, 2018, from the Spaceport on a heavy-lift Ariane 5. Arriving December 22, 2017, was SES-14 for Luxembourg-based telecommunications …
Read More »IAI’s Joseph Weiss To Step Down As CEO After Six Years In Charge
As he approaches six years as President and CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and retirement age, and following a long series of managerial positions held at IAI during more than 20 years, Joseph Weiss has informed the Company’s board of directors of his decision to step down from his …
Read More »Philippines To Focus on Space Agency and Satellites in 2018
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in the Philippines is on the verge of creating a national space agency in 2018. According to the Filipino Secretary of Science and Technology Fortunata de la Peña, the national space agency will be formed “as soon as the laws are passed.” The …
Read More »Nine Arabsat Member States to Attend Board Meeting in Istanbul
With the participation of nine Arab countries, headed by Saudi Arabia, Arabsat is to hold its Board of Directors meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) will hold its 160th Board of Directors meetings in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 3-4, 2018, under the chairmanship of Dr. Nasser Al-Hujailan, …
Read More »#SpaceWatchME Review of 2017 – A Year in Content
Wow. It’s been a busy year at SpaceWatch Middle East, but it’s also been a very rewarding one as the team has seen the platform grow form literally nothing to a publication that has earned a following that we could never have dreamed of and interest from all over the …
Read More »Angosat-1 Re-establishes Contact
Angosat-1, Angola’s first communications satellite has re-established contact with its ground station in Luanda. The contact was confirmed by ANGOP (Agencia Angola Press) via a telephone call with the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Information technology, Manual Homan. Homan said that it was normal for such an event to …
Read More »The Precis: China’s Tiangong-1 space station
As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch Middle East and The Précis, a quarterly space law and policy report produced by Space Law & Policy Solutions, run by the prominent space lawyer and friend of SpaceWatch Middle East, Michael J. Listner, SpaceWatch Middle East is occasionally publishing select articles from The Précis. Reproduced here are Michael’s …
Read More »Clyde Space to Merge with AAC Microtec Creating Leading Force in Small Satellite Manufacturing
Clyde Space is set to merge with Swedish space company, AAC Microtec in a deal that is expected to be completed by the end of January. The coming together of the two companies will create a leading smallsat company that will dominate the smallsat market in the 1-500kg class. Clyde …
Read More »RSC Energia Confirms Loss of Contact with Angosat-1
Russian satellite manufacturer, RSC Energia, has confirmed via its website that contact has been lost with Angosat-1, Angola’s first communications satellite. The satellite was successfully launched on 26 December on a Zenit rocket from Baikonour and contact was initially established but then lost as it made its way to its …
Read More »Seasonal Thoughts 2017 – Part two – SpaceWatch.Global 2018
A message from ThorGroup Management In our last Seasonal Thoughts 2017 we spoke about our recent past and where we stand today. Now, we are ready to disclose a few of our plans for next year. As of January 2018 we will go global – SpaceWatch.Global! SpaceWatch Middle East will …
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