Middle East

Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall was in Israel on 28 January 2020 to speak at the 15th Ilan Ramon International Conference, focused this year on the theme of the next decade in space.

2020 promises to be a big year in space, but not only for the well-known events you keep on hearing about, such as the expected crewed launches from U.S. soil on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner. In the background, thousands of new space entrepreneurs are executing on business plans that take advantage of the tremendous decrease of the costs of accessing space and operating in it. Many of these entrepreneurs have important milestones in 2020.

Virgin Orbit, the California-based small satellite launch company, has signed an agreement with ImageSat International (ISI), a global leader in space-based intelligence solutions, to develop an end-to-end responsive space service offering focused on national security customers.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. jointly announced on 29 January 2020 that Comtech has agreed to acquire Gilat in a cash and stock transaction for $10.25 per Gilat ordinary share of which 70% will be paid in cash and 30% in Comtech common stock, resulting in an enterprise value of approximately $532.5 million.

Iran is believed to be preparing to launch two satellites from its Imam Khomeini Satellite Launch Centre over the coming days, according to numerous reports in Iranian and international news media.

Israel's leading satellite network manufacturer and provider Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, is believed to be in advanced discussions with a large, yet unnamed, multinational company that is interested in acquiring the Israeli firm, according to a report on Israeli tech news website CalcaList.com.

Egypt's commercial satellite communications operator NileSat has selected U.S. commercial space launch company SpaceX to launch its NileSat-301 communications satellite in 2022. The two companies signed a contract for the launch on 21 January 2020 in Cairo, the capital city of Egypt.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), an initiative launched by the UAE Ministry of Finance to support innovation in the UAE, has announced the addition of 11 new members to the Fund's accelerator programme.

Russia, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to proceed with a trilateral agreement to modernise the 'Gagarin's Start' launch complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to a 16 January 2020 report in Azerbaijan's Trend News Agency citing Russian and Kazakh sources.

In a major policy speech delivered on 16 January 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unveiled a range of large government infrastructure and technology projects for 2020 and beyond.