Asia Pacific

China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) has unveiled details about its experimental Quantum radar technology during a press conference at the Zhuhai Airshow in China on 5 November 2018, according to a report first published in U.S. trade publication Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Taiwanese New Space company Odysseus is set to relocate to Luxembourg from its home base in Tainan, Taiwan, after winning a U.S.$570,000 prize from the Luxembourg Space Agency, following the company's first-place finish in the European Space Agency's (ESA) Space Resources Challenge.

Portugal is about to make a big splash in the space sector with parallel announcements covering a major cooperative programme with China, and a proposed space launch complex in the Azores islands in the mid-Atlantic ocean involving European, Russian, and U.S. company bids to build it.

China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) and China Siwei Surveying and Mapping Technology Co.Ltd. (China Siwei) signed a contract to collaborate on the overseas marketing of SuperView-1 satellite imagery at a signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the Zhuhai Airshow in China on 6 November 2018.

During a visit to Vietnam by the French Prime Minister, Jean-Yves Le Gall, the President of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), signed a number of agreements with Vietnamese counterparts covering the French-led Space Climate Observatory (SCO), STEM education, and maritime and oceanographic surveillance.

Thaicom Public Company Limited (THCOM), Thailand’s first satellite operator, reported its operating results for the third quarter of 2018, posting a consolidated net profit of Baht 104 million (approximately U.S.$3.15 million), improved by 59.6% from Q3/2017, due mainly to the decrease of depreciation expense through the satellite assets impairment recognized in Q4/2017, and the decrease of selling and administration expenses.

Telesat has announced that its new Telstar 18 VANTAGE high throughput satellite (HTS) is fully operational at 138 degrees East and has entered commercial service. Telstar 18 VANTAGE was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on 10 September 2018 and will serve growing demand for mobility, enterprise, and telecom services across the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan launched its own satellite positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system called Michibiki on Thursday, 1 November 2018, as part of an effort to generate new businesses worth nearly 5 trillion yen (U.S.$44.4 billion) by 2025, as companies such as SoftBank Group, Mitsubishi Electric, and Hitachi develop applications in automated driving, farming, and other sectors that will use the Michibiki system.

Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have re-elected Houlin Zhao of China as ITU Secretary-General during the Union's 20th Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-18) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Following the launch failure of LandSpace's Zhuque-1 satellite launch vehicle on 27 October 2018, the Chinese New Space launch company has publicly released its preliminary findings as to why its rocket failed 402 seconds after launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China.