Asia Pacific

Japanese New Space launch vehicle startup Interstellar Technologies conducted a successful test launch of its Momo-3 sounding rocket at 05:45am local time on 5 May 2019 when it reached an altitude of 113 kilometres within four minutes of being lofted from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

A Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula at 06:00 UTC, Sunday 5 May 2019 (18:00 NZST). The STP-27RD mission launched three research and development satellites for the DoD Space Test Program that will demonstrate advanced space technologies, including a satellite to evaluate new ways of tracking space debris.

By Blaine Curcio and Tianyi Lan When reading about the Chinese space industry in English-language media, or when speaking with Western companies about the Chinese space industry, we oftentimes hear two types of opinions: China is catching up in space so fast! By Wednesday next week, they will have overtaken …

China Satellite Communications Corp. (China Satcom), a subsidiary of the China Aerospace and Science Technology Corporation (CASC), is aiming for a 1 billion Yuan (U.S.$148 million) Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June 2019. Despite China’s plans to almost double the size of the global space industry, fundraising is not the main objective.

Pakistan signed a space cooperation agreement with China at a ceremony in Beijing held on 27 April 2019 providing a framework for the training of Pakistani astronauts, space science and exploration, as well as the establishment of a Sino-Pakistani space committee that will discuss other cooperative initiatives in space.

ORBCOMM has announced that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has extended their contract for another year through ORBCOMM’s partner Kordia.

The South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT has approved 300 billion Won funding (U.S.$264 million) for the development of three remote sensing satellites to be used for resource management, environmental monitoring, and space science.

So much of the coverage of what happens in national, regional, and international space activities focuses on the technical aspects of space or on high-level policy making. A growing number of individuals and organisations, however, are bridging these two very different aspects of the space sector. In Australia, Aria Stirling Colton is doing just this with her Adelaide-based National Space Innovation Hub (NSIH). Helen Jameson, the Editor-in-Chief of SpaceWatch.Global, spoke with Aria to find out more.

Communities in remote areas of Indonesia will soon be able to enjoy reliable broadband internet access delivered by Teleglobal enabled by SES Networks’ managed data services and the SES-12 satellite, SES announced on 24 April 2019.

Relativity, the world’s first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations, announced on 23 April 2019 a partnership with mu Space, the innovative Thai satellite and space technology company, to launch a satellite to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on Relativity’s Terran 1 rocket, the world’s first and only 3D printed rocket.