Geopolitics News

Charles Bolden, the administrator of the US space agency NASA, is visiting the Middle East to encourage greater international cooperation in the exploration of the planet Mars. Before departing Washington, DC, on 3 June 2016 for his visit to Israel, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Bolden wrote on his …

Welcome to a new, occasional, series of posts where we share with our readers the things that have caught our attention over the past week, and which inspire and inform us in reporting and analyzing space activities throughout the Middle East. First up, and with Ramadan being observed by Muslims …

Es’hailSat, The Qatar Satellite Company, announced on 8 June 2016 the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) for the joint development of satellite services. Es’hailSat’s President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari and QCAA’s Chairman Mr. Abdulla Nasser Al …

Executives from Qatar’s Es’hailSat and Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Space Systems (MELCO) gathered in Kamakura, outside of Tokyo, Japan, to observe the vacuum chamber test of Es’hail-2. MELCO, who were awarded the contract to build Es’hail-2 in 2014, hosted their Qatari clients on 4 June 2016. Es’hail-2 is based on MELCO’s …

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced on 7 June 2016 the release of its compact Phased Array SATCOM for ground soldiers at EUROSATORY 2016. The ELK-1882A “On-the-Move” (OTM) Personal SATCOM micro-terminal provides personal bi-directional voice and data communication for lower echelon ground combatants. Designed by IAI’s ELTA Group, the ELK-1882A micro-terminal …

Charlie Bolden, the administrator of the US space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is currently visiting the Middle East to discuss possible cooperation on exploration of the planet Mars with regional space agencies. Mr. Bolden has already visited Israel, and will next visit Jordan, the United Arab …

As part of a wider effort to strengthen cooperation with educational entities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in order to develop qualified national human resources to work in the …

Iranian officials are in talks with Italy for the return of the Iranian Mesbah (Farsi for ‘Lantern’) satellite, according to the head of the Iranian Space Agency Mohsen Bahrami. The Mesbah satellite was seized by Italy and Russia just prior to its scheduled launch in 2006, due to the imposition …

Luxembourg may be one of the tiniest nations on Earth, but it’s ambitions to go where no one ever went, notably into deep space, are truly out of this world. Already amongst the top-ten space-faring nations worldwide, Luxembourg on 3 June 2016 announced that the Grand-Duchy is resolutely forging ahead with …

The latest round of cyber skirmishes that have erupted between Iranian and Saudi Arabian hackers is a timely reminder that Middle Eastern satellites and their operators are vulnerable to more sophisticated cyber attacks. ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon explores this often discussed yet poorly understood threat to space systems. On …