China

China is looking forward to 2020 being a banner year for its ambitious space programme, according to a Chinese government report released on 17 January 2020. China expects to break its own satellite launch record by lofting over 60 satellites into various Earth orbits on more than 40 launches from …

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “China-Pakistan Naval Drills: More Than Just Symbolism”, originally published on 10 January 2020 in The Diplomat. Earlier in the week, the navies …

As part of the official visit to China of Frédérique Vidal, the Minister for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Centre national d’etudes spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Bai Chunli, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), signed a framework agreement on space cooperation on 13 January 2020. …

Macao’s first space exploration satellite was named Macao Science 1, the special administrative region (SAR)’s Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Tam Chon Weng announced Sunday at an opening ceremony of an aerospace exhibition. During the opening ceremony, vice administrator of China National Space Administration (CNSA) Wu Yanhua also announced …

SpaceWatch.Global asked its staff and contributors to review 2019 and provide an outlook into 2020. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is Carla Sharpe of South African Radio Astronomy Observatory. by Carla Sharpe National governments require significant amounts of information in order to make real …

Chinese researchers have improved the accuracy in detecting space junk in earth’s orbit, providing a more effective way to plot safe routes for spacecraft maneuvers. “The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to one!” exclaimed C-3PO as Han Solo directed the Millennium Falcon into an asteroid …

SpaceWatch.Global asked its staff and contributors to review 2019 and provide an outlook into 2020. These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is Blaine Curcio of Orbital Gateway Consulting. By Blaine Curcio Reflections on 2019—A Turning Point In the Space Industry? Every year seems to be …

Argentinian commercial Earth observation company Satellogic announced on 19 December 2019 that it has raised U.S.$50 million in at least its second investment round. The latest investment will allow the company to build out more of its planned constellation of a total 90 satellites. Existing Satellogic investors Tencent, of China, …

The member states of the BRICS economic bloc – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are in the midst of negotiating a mutually beneficial framework that will allow each country to access certain Earth observation satellites from each other, according to various press reports. The aim, according to …

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Prof. Mai’a K. Davis Cross, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Why we don’t understand what a space race means ”, originally published on 7 December 2019 in International Affairs by Oxford …