Asia Pacific

While the planet has been on lockdown the last two months, a new space telescope called CHEOPS opened its eyes, took its first pictures of the heavens and is now open for business.

Russia and China are currently in talks to pool their resources for joint lunar operations, according to several Russian and international news media sources.

By Raphael Roettgen With almost US$550 million of announced space-related financing rounds, May has turned out to be the top space fundraising month so far in 2020. SpaceX, besides launching astronauts to the ISS on Crew Dragon, came in with over US$346 million by itself. The total amount does not …

Hughes Network Systems, LLC , the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, announced on 27 May 2020 that Cignal TV Inc., the Philippines premier direct-to-home (DTH) satellite provider, has selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System to enable satellite broadband service to its two million subscribers.

Singapore Space and Technology Limited (SSTL) announced on 27 May 2020 its collaboration with the World Bank Group for the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Challenge.

Sputnix, a Russian privately-owned satellite component manufacturer, has signed a memorandum with Mitsui & Co. Moscow, the Russian subsidiary of Japanese company Mitsui & Co., on 25 May 2020.

Equatorial Space Systems announced on 25 May 2020 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding to use the facilities of Southern Launch Australia for its upcoming suborbital mission programme.

Space BD Inc. has announced that the H-II Transfer Vehicle No.9 (HTV9) successfully launched from Tanegashima Space Station to the International Space Station via H-IIB launch vehicle.

GuarantCo, with funding from the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) Technical Assistance, is providing a US$500,000 grant to support Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by distributing satellite communication systems. These systems will allow free connections of up to 1,000 rural health posts and …

Phase Four, makers of radio frequency (RF) plasma engines for next generation space platforms, announced on 18 May 2020 that it has inked an agreement with Marubeni Corporation as an exclusive representative of its Maxwell line of satellite engines in Japan, one of the world’s fastest-growing space economies. Phase Four …