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 …
Read More »Israel’s Spacecom to Buy AMOS-8 Through Bonds As Buyout Attempt Expires
Israel’s Spacecom plans to pay for its AMOS-8 communications satellite by raising U.S.$110 million through collateral bonds and bond options, just as the bid by IDB Development Corporation Ltd. to buyout Spacecom’s parent company has expired. Announced in a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange filling on Sunday, Spacecom said it will …
Read More »UAE and South Korea Underscore Close Space Cooperation
New discussions between the UAE and South Korea underscore their deep strategic cooperation in space in what has become an enduring collaboration between the two emerging spacepowers. The UAE Space Agency, led by Dr. Eng. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director-General, welcomed Mi-Ock Mun, Advisor to the President for Science and …
Read More »UAE Signs Space Cooperation Agreement With Russia and Kazakhstan
The United Arab Emirates has signed a Letter of Intent with Russia and Kazakhstan to cooperate in space exploration and future space projects. The agreement was signed during a visit to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by a delegation from the UAE Space Agency led by Dr. Ahmad Abdullah Al …
Read More »Progress for Virgin Galactic and Orbit, Encouraging News for Saudi and Emirati Investors
After several years hiatus since the crash of VSS Enterprise in 2016, Virgin Galactic successfully carried out a flight test of its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spaceplane from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on 5 April 2018. “We are delighted to report on a major step forward for Virgin Galactic …
Read More »Lockheed Martin Considering Satellite Assembly in Saudi Arabia
Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited Lockheed Martin’s satellite manufacturing facilities in California’s Silicon Valley on 5 April 2018, where the prospect of a Saudi Arabian-Lockheed Martin joint venture to assemble satellites in the desert kingdom was discussed. Lockheed Martin “wouldn’t necessarily rule out …
Read More »Iran’s Space Agency Chief Extols the Virtues of Iransat-21, Other Satellite Applications
Morteza Barari, head of the Iran Space Agency and deputy minister at the Iranian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology told Mehr News Agency that ordinary Iranians, the economy, and society at large benefit everyday from Earth observation, communications, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites without realising it. Speaking …
Read More »UAE Space Agency Launches Minisatellite Design and Build Competition
In its ongoing path toward developing the human and technical capacities required for a functioning space sector, the UAE has launched a student competition to build mini satellites. The UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with Khalifa University and Boeing Corporation, has announced the STEM-oriented contest called the UAE Mini-Satellite Challenge: …
Read More »Israel’s Spacecom Could Finally Have a Buyer in IDB
Troubled Israeli satellite communications company Spacecom could finally have a buyer, but at a much lower price tag than it sought last year. Last week, Israel-based holding company IDB made an offer for a controlling stake in Spacecom, offering U.S.$45.75 million for a 54.7% undiluted stake and an equity infusion …
Read More »Saudi Crown Prince Visits Virgin Galactic in California
The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, visited the facilities of Virgin Galactic at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on 2 April 2018. The Crown Prince and his delegation, which included the Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Khalid bin Salman …
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