Middle East

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), hosted its third quarterly Dtec Forum of 2019, dedicated to space innovation with the aim of encouraging local and regional entrepreneurs and investors to join the space race.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation, a market leader in in-flight entertainment and connectivity, has signed a multi-year agreement for Ku-band capacity on two multi-beam payloads on the EUTELSAT-10B satellite, due to be launched in 2022.

The Iranian government has expressed its wish to enter into a cooperative arrangement with its neighbour Azerbaijan for satellite research and development as well as satellite manufacturing, according to Azerbaijani and Iranian press reports.

The UAE concluded its participation in the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with the participation of 165 Member States, thus contributing significantly in highlighting the role of the Arab Spectrum Management Group (ASMG), and presenting many working papers and opinions on all the topics of the agenda.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., a worldwide leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services, announced on 4 December 2019 that its subsidiary Wavestream received orders for over U.S.$6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for its state-of-the-art GaN BUCs,  to be supplied as the first award of a five-year base-period of potentially over U.S.$10 million of deliveries to the U.S. DoD.

Hughes Network Systems LLC, the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), a leading global satellite operator based in the United Arab Emirates and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), announced on 6 December 2019 the commencement of a joint venture to provide satellite broadband services in Brazil.

Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced on 4 December 2019 that it has signed a contract with the Egyptian operator Nilesat to build the Nilesat-301 geostationary communications satellite, winning the contract against an international field of competitors.

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has directed the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to open registration for the second edition of the UAE Astronaut Programme. The move marks the start of a new phase of the UAE’s space exploration journey.

The UAE has great ambitions in space and is advancing rapidly, reaching impressive milestones all the time. This year, the UAE sent Hazza Al Mansouri, their first astronaut into space and the UAE Space Agency is developing a hyperspectral satellite as well as planning the Emirates Mars Mission.

The Global Satellite Coalition (GSC), a group of seven trade associations representing the global satellite eco-system, has welcomed the decisions taken at the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19), Sharm-el-Sheikh, which allow satellite services to continue to bridge digital, education, health and social divides and connect more and more citizens around the world.