Asia Pacific

Japan's Sony Corporation is seeking to enter the New Space sector by manufacturing optical communication devices for small satellites, based on Sony's decades-long experience in manufacturing compact disc (CD) players. This marks a diversification of Sony's business empire, and it is also a strong signal that Japan's great trading houses and companies are looking for opportunities in the New Space sector in Japan and abroad.

SpaceWatch.Global is a proud partner of the Secure World Foundation, and a greateful recipient of SWF support. The SWF published a new report on 11 April 2018 titled Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment that provides an exhaustive, comprehensive, incisive, and useful open source guide to global counterspace capabilities and developments, as well as analysis of their implications. Here, the authors of that report, Victoria Samson and Brian Weeden, summarise the study and provide a broader geopolitical context about its importance.

A Japanese military satellite payload, DSN-1, a dedicated military communications payload for the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD), was successfully launched into orbit on-board a SKY Perfect JSAT Superbird-8 communications satellite by Arianespace on 5 April 2018.

South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD), an agency of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), has said that it does not rule out finding another contractor to lead the South Korean reconnaissance satellite programme after current contractor, LIG Nex1, is reported to want to lower the requirement standards for satellite imagery quality and quantity.

Vietnam has formally joined the Japanese-led Asian Microsatellite Consortium (AMC) with the completion of its MicroDragon microsatellite, a move that will help the Southeast Asian country develop the necessary technologies and human capacities to design and produce further microsatellites, the Vietnam Space Center (VNSC) announced on 9 April 2018.

With the imminent launch of its new microsatellite, MicroDragon, Vietnam is advancing its quest to become an indigenous spacepower - with Japanese support - in an increasingly geopolitically tense neighbourhood.

Thai New Space startup mu Space is making big waves in Thailand with its efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural Thailand, and ultimately, in other parts of Southeast Asia, and with its long-term plans to bring commercial space travel to Thailand and the wider region. mu Space brings a vibrant New Space startup dynamic to Thailand, as the country embarks on its Thailand 4.0economic modernisation initiative where mu Space finds itself very much at the forefront. SpaceWatch.Globalhas been covering mu Space’s progress for months, and we managed to talk with its founder and Chief Executive Officer James Yenbamroong to hear his thoughts about the progress of mu Space so far, and its future plans.

The Chinese state news outlet Xinhua has reported that the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS)-1 and PakTES-1A will be launched in June 2018 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre using a Long March-2C/SMA space launch vehicle. As of the publication of this report no exact date in June was provided by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT) who made the announcement on 3 April 2018 on their website.

U.S. orbital launch provider Rocket Lab has announced its first commercial launch for New Space companies Spire and GeoOptics, further establishing New Zealand as a space launch power. Rocket Lab will open a 14-day launch window beginning 20 April 2018 to conduct its first fully commercial launch. The mission, named ‘It’s Business Time’, will include manifested payloads for Spire Global and GeoOptics Inc., built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

Thai satellite operator Thaicom announced that it has appointed Anant Kaewruamvongs as its new Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Board.