Middle East

Advances in technology for observing the earth from space have resulted in the formation of a new company which will bring a range of innovative satellite intelligence and data services to market. 4 Earth Intelligence (4EI) has pioneered the use of satellite data for smart monitoring and analysis creating city, region and countrywide data solutions for applications such as air quality, asset management, ecology and urban heat monitoring.

In the presence of Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Stéphane Romatet, France’s Ambassador to Egypt, Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall opened the first joint France-Egypt Space Seminar in Cairo on 14 January 2020.

Group 42, an Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence and cloud computing company, announced today that it has acquired Bayanat for Mapping and Surveying Services LLC, an end-to-end and customised geospatial data products and services provider.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), announced on 13 January 2020 that it is participating in the 12th International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The UAE Space Agency announced its collaboration with the Abu Dhabi-based global innovation hub, Krypto Labs, to launch the UAE NewSpace Innovation Programme, which aims to maximise the growth of space technology start-ups with New Space, the rising private spaceflight industry.

European Space Imaging is a leading supplier of high-resolution satellite imagery to customers in Europe, North Africa and CIS. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Munich, Germany. SpaceWatch.Global’s Torsten Kriening had the chance to speak with Managing Director Adrian Zevenbergen at SpaceTechExpo Europe in Bremen about the company's business, the earth observation market and the future of that sector.

Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said that that UAE, under the leadership of President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has become the center to reignite the Arab civilization, and an inspirational story for future generations, and a message of hope for the region and the world for a better future.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is understood to be in separate talks with Kazakhstan regarding space cooperation, and South Korea regarding economic cooperation in satellite manufacturing and applications, according to Saudi and regional press reports.

The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology at Sharjah University hosted a joint Emirati-Japanese workshop on planetary exploration, in cooperation with the UAE Space Agency, the Chiba Institute of Technology and CITJAMSS.

Following the retirement of David Pollack on 1 January 2020, Israel’s Spacecom has announced the appointment of Itzhak Shnaiberg as the company’s interim chief executive officer.