Features

Japan's New Space scene is little known and understood outside of Tokyo, despite the emergence of some interesting startups such as iSpace and Infostellar to name just two as well as some big Japanese government announcements about supporting startups in the space sector. SpaceWatch.Global reached out to Masashi Sato, a Senior Consultant at the Nomura Research Institute Ltd. (NRI) in Tokyo and a leading expert on the Japanese space startup scene, to find out what the current state of play is and what the future holds.

After seven fruitful years with the Secure World Foundation, Michael K. Simpson is retiring from his role as Executive Director.

Thai New Space entrepreneur James Yenbamroong, the founder and CEO of mu Space, is emerging as perhaps the preeminent New Space advocate, investor, and role model in Southeast Asia. He has articulated an exciting and bold space vision, is building a solid and cutting edge venture in the form of mu Space, and is now ready to invest in and mentor other budding entrepreneurs in the region with his recent U.S.$100 million venture unit announcement. SpaceWatch.Global sat down with James to talk more about his investment plans and ambitions.

As the Asian Century takes on an interstellar dimension, who will write the rules of the road? Rajeswari Rajagopalan writes that space will likely be no exception to Asia’s great power rivalries.

NASA’s Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is set to be a staging post in space – a science lab, communications hub, and holding area for robots and rovers and a jumping off point for future deep space transportation.

The benefits of space to the Middle East and North Africa region are undeniable, yet there is no single representative body to champion the sector. The near total inexistence of coordination or even collaboration has resulted in calls for the creation of a Pan-Arab Space Agency, to operate and coordinate programs in a comparable manner to the European Space Agency (ESA).

The huge expansion in the space industry, with a rapidly growing market and new satellite applications, is revolutionary but financing many of these projects is still a challenge, especially for small investors who have something to contribute to this revolution and want in.

Space activities are risky and challenging by their nature due to their reliance on highly sophisticated technologies, and the impact of a variety of factors on their successful conduct and significant investments at stake.

The past few years have seen the satellite press column inches dominated by excited talk of new mega constellations. We have learned how thousands of small satellites are going to transform connectivity for billions around the world. I should know, I am one of the people that have been excitedly scribbling about it. But now that the dust has settled on the flurry of news of the constellations that are in the pipeline, where are we now?

The satellite industry has long been renowned for its unique ability to deliver connectivity to remote regions of the world, making communications accessible where they previously weren’t available. However, there is a technology that is being trialled by some of the world’s biggest tech companies that promises to enable telecommunications networks with a re-usable platform that can form telecommunications networks where there is little or no access. That is the High Altitude Platform.