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Asia Pacific

China’s Satellites for Recognition and Resource Access Strategy at Work in Bolivia

China continues to move forward in its ongoing use of regional space and satellite deals to access the natural resources of other countries. As reported last week in The Sydney Morning Herald, China is amassing space-related contracts with countries in Central and South America, regions which have often lagged in space-related …

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#SpaceWatchGL Interviews: Rahul Narayan of TeamIndus

The Google Lunar XPrize (GLXP) may have ended, but the teams that have invested nearly a decade into their lunar dreams have vowed to continue to reach their goals. TeamIndus had made huge progress towards the launch deadline of 31 March, 2018, and inspired the people of India and beyond …

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Bhutan to Create Own Space Agency and Launch CubeSat in 2018

The tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is to create its own space agency and will have its Bhutanese-built Cubesat – BHUTAN-1 – launched in 2018 from Japan. Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay announced that a space agency is to be created under the auspices of the Ministry of Information and …

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Japan’s ASEAN Space Diplomacy: Is Brunei Next?

China’s Space Silk Road, an offshoot of its much-vaunted Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has captured the attention of the space sector’s trade media over the past few years, but while China’s ambitions are certainly newsworthy, another Northeast Asian country is quietly building a scientific, technical, and diplomatic space community …

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#SpaceWatchGL Interviews: Tor-Arne Grönland of GomSpace

Nanosatellite manufacturer GomSpace is going from strength to strength, fuelled by the innovative small satellite sector and an increased demand for small satellites that can perform a wider range of missions than ever before. In October 2016, GomSpace acquired nanosatellite propulsion specialist, NanoSpace, after establishing a partnership on several customer …

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Oman and India Sign Space Cooperation Agreement During Modi Visit to Muscat

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Sultanate of Oman on 11-12 February, 2018, where he was hosted by H.M. Sultan Qaboos. Both leaders oversaw the signing of a landmark space cooperation agreement between Oman and India during the visit. The Memorandum of Understand (MoU) was signed on behalf of …

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Indian Space Programme Widens Its Appeal to Latin America

India

India’s space programme continues to broaden its appeal into Latin America, becoming a truly global competitor in the launch market and beyond. Several countries in the region have made outreach toward working with India in the coming months. As reported in Indian Defence News this week, Colombia plans to put …

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UAE and India Commit to Joint Space Cooperation After Joint Working Group Meeting

Emirati and Indian officials have reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate in space exploration and satellite projects following the first meeting of the UAE-Indian Joint Working Group on space in December 2017. Details of that meeting were revealed by senior Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) officials during a visit to the …

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Singapore Signs Up GomSpace to Study VHF SATCOM for Air Traffic Management

Singapore moved forward last week in its quest to become the first nation to implement a space-based very-high frequency (VHF) communications system. This system would include mounting VHF communications equipment onto a constellation of small, low-earth-orbit satellites to allow clear, real-time communications between pilots and air traffic controllers over oceanic …

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Indonesia to Build Earth Observation Constellation; Develop Space Launch Capability

The head of the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN – Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa Nasional) announced in Singapore that his country intends to build and launch two Earth observation microsatellites by 2020, and that Indonesia still has ambitions to develop its own space launch capability. Prof. Dr. …

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