Middle East

There is a new sector emerging within the space industry that could utterly revolutionise the satellite sector. On-orbit servicing could be the biggest advancement the industry has seen yet as it could bring with it the capabilities to tackle space debris, to repair operational satellites and even upgrade them, reducing …

Not three, but two launches may be performed from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou until the end of 2018 as one of them is expected to be moved to 2019, says a source at the cosmodrome as quoted by RIA Novosti. ‘One Soyuz launch is likely to be moved …

Arabsat will assist U.S.-based company Cloud Constellation Corporation in providing space-based cloud data storage with the aim of improving data storage security. Arabsat and Cloud Constellation announced last week that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a go-to-market strategy for enterprise and government customers in …

UAE’s Yahsat is looking at providing satellite connectivity for managing networked devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) in a bid to ensure growing revenues in the coming years. The Mubadala Investment Company-owned satellite operator will use this move to enter the mobility and IoT segments, as well as possibly …

Israel’s Gilat has received a U.S.$153.6 million contract from the Peruvian telecommunications investment fund, Fitel, to help build rural telecommunications infrastructure in the Amazonas and Ica regions of Peru and help bridge the rural divide. These two projects were announced last week. The Amazonas region project was awarded for U.S.$108 …

The United Arab Emirates has progressed to the last 39 Emirati men and women who are in line to be selected as the nation’s first astronauts, one of whom will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Russia next year. More than 4000 men and women applied to …

Israel’s Spacecom has again extended the time period it needs to raise funds for its initial deposit for U.S. Satellite manufacturer SpaceSystems/Loral (SSL) to build its AMOS-8 satellite, but the process – and payment — has been mired in delays. Most notable is the impending decision by the Israeli government …

Taking the best of both company offerings, Planet and Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new range of satellite imagery products. Both companies have different strengths. Planet’s small satellites deliver daily global coverage of the Earth in lower resolution and Airbus delivers high resolution, but with less …

The UAE has announced that its first astronaut will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019 with the assistance of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. This confirms rumours circulating last month about the possibility of the UAE’s first astronaut being sent into orbit in 2019, despite the …

The Israeli government will shortly come to a decision on the manufacturer for its own satellite – and this has become a hot topic in industry and political circles. Perhaps somewhat controversially, Israeli satellite operator Spacecom decided to purchase its next satellite, AMOS-8, from Space Systems Loral, an American satellite …