Asia Pacific

Hughes Communications India Ltd, (HCIL), a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), the world’s leading provider of broadband satellite networks and services, and Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), India’s leading telecommunications services provider, announced on 7 May 2019 an agreement to combine their Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) operations in India.

China's leading satellite broadcasting company, China Satcom, is investigating alternative business models as it braces for the impact of the 5G network revolution that will likely render satellite television a thing of the past, according to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review.

Airbus has been selected by MEASAT Global Berhad (MEASAT), the leading Malaysian operator, to build MEASAT-3D, a new multimission telecommunications satellite to replace capacity and augment its core business in Malaysia, Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

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.