Asia Pacific

U.S.-based New Space launch provider Firefly has announced that it has signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with the UK small satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) to launch six satellites between 2020 and 2022.

SES announced that it has successfully launched SES-12 to serve the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, increasing the capacity to provide connectivity for mobile, video, fixed data and government customers.

Intelsat will provide satellite communications support to Myanmar to bolster the Southeast Asian country’s telecommunications infrastructure and increase its mobile telephone network capacity.

India has solidified its space cooperation relationships in Southeast Asia, and called for rules-based order throughout the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) – to include space – during visits to Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this past week.

Thai New Space satellite communications company mu Space has announced the appointment of new executives in key positions to significantly expand its business into new markets.

Luxembourg-based Kleos Space, a private satellite intelligence-gathering space technology operator that will launch and operate its first earth observation satellite system by mid-2019, is completing the administrative details in order to be ready for its impending listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) with the change of its legal name.

Gilmour Space Technologies, the Australian and Singaporean New Space commercial launch company, conducted its second static test-firing of its proprietary hybrid rocket engine on 28 May 2018, the company announced.

Japanese New Space startup, PD Aerospace, has successfully raised U.S.$4.78 million in funding from five investors that include ANA Holdings, parent company of Japanese airline All Nippon Airlines (ANA), and H.I.S., one of Japan's largest travel agencies.

What are the prospects for Britain cooperating with other countries around the world to meet its satellite navigation needs after it leaves the European Union? Is such cooperation a good use of scarce financial and industrial resources for these countries? Dr. John B. Sheldon, Chairman and President of ThorGroup GmbH and publisher of SpaceWatch.Global, reports.

InfoStellar is an innovative Japanese start-up with a vision: to extend the Internet that we know on Earth into outer space by creating the largest space communications infrastructure in history. This vision is set to be achieved through a unique antenna-sharing platform and also a one-stop small satellite shop that aims to connect customers from all over the world to Japanese manufacturers, universities, and service providers.