News

Recent developments in international space exploration plans for Mars have inadvertently placed the UAE’s Hope Mars Mission in the forefront, and impact the future of UAE’s space exploration ambitions. ThorGroup’s Chairman and President, Dr. John B. Sheldon, explains. Without even knowing or asking for it, the past several weeks have …

The second #ActInSpace event will bring together young entrepreneurs, students, business leaders, developers, artists, and jobseekers to take part in a one-and-a-half-day-hackathon on Friday and Saturday, 20-21 May 2016. The aim of the #ActInSpace event is to come up with innovative ways to use space technologies for everyday uses. In …

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., the satellite networking technology, solutions, and services company headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, has been selected by Peru’s biggest telecommunications provider, Telefonica del Peru, to extend broadband and cellular services in rural parts of the South American country. Gilat will provide Telefonica del Peru with its …

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 …

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 …

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, …

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, …

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, …

More details are emerging of Iran’s launch of its Simorgh missile on Tuesday, 19 April, 2016. Most experts are unable to agree whether it was a failed space launch or a successful test of a new booster stage, with a few analysts are now suggesting that the Simorgh launch was …

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 …