Iran launched its Simorgh space launch vehicle (SLV) into space on Thursday, July 27, 2017, from the Imam Khomeini Space Centre. The Simorgh SLV (Farsi for ‘Phoenix’) was not thought to have carried a payload. The U.S. Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Centre (JSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in …

Thuraya Telecommunications Company signed a MoU with Huawei at the INTERPOL WORLD 2017 exhibition, held from July 4-7, 2017, in Singapore. This important global event was an occasion to showcase several initiatives in public safety by different organizations. Thuraya’s partnership with Huawei specifically merges innovative capabilities for crisis and disaster …

The second contribution to the #SWMEThemes week on the Middle East and Space Resources is by Ben Baseley-Walker, the Senior Director for Global Engagement for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Planetary Resources. Ben argues that Gulf Arab countries have an opportunity to lead in the coming race to exploit space …

On the anniversary of Earth’s largest asteroid impact in recorded history, more than 700 events in 190 countries will take place to mark Asteroid Day. On June 30, 1908, an asteroid devastated 2000 square kilometres of forest in Siberia. In 2016, Asteroid Day was sanctioned by the United Nations, as …

According to Euroconsult’s newly released research report, Government Space Programs: Benchmarks, Profiles and Forecasts to 2026, global space budgets totaled $62.2 billion in 2016, down 2% from the previous year. Governments launched 75 satellites, less than the historical peak of 2015 but in line with the last five year average. …

LeoSat Enterprises, which is launching a constellation of up to 108 low-earth-orbit communications satellites that will provide the fastest, most secure and widest coverage data network in the world, has announced that SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (SJC), Asia’s largest satellite operator and Japan’s only provider of both multi-channel pay TV …

This is the last of three reports on the Turkish space programme. The first report was on the establishment of the Turkish Space Agency and the second report was on Turkey’s space launch ambitions. The attempted coup in July 2016 that sought to overthrow the rule of President Recep Tayyip …

As part of his six week-long tour of Asian countries, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has presided over a major space agreement between his Kingdom and Asia’s leading space power, China. This prominent agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the King Abdulaziz City of Science …

The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) named today the first annual Rising Five, the five New Space Companies in the satellite industry that have made the most substantial progress over the past year. Decided by an international editorial advisory board, the 2017 Rising Five are the Kymeta Corporation, OneWeb, …

China has big ambitious with the Silk Road strategy.  Muhammad Furqan, satellite industry writer and analyst, shares his opinion on this fascinating subject. The United States withdrawal from the Trans Pacific Partnership of 12 economies, comprising 40% of World’s total GDP, has created a void of leadership and has made the …