Middle East

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.

Taking the best of both company offerings, Planet and Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new range of satellite imagery products.

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 fact that the selection for the UAE's four-person astronaut corps has yet to be completed.

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 manufacturer, rather than the indigenous IAI, which had previously been the manufacturer of choice for satellite missions and has provided satellites for the Ministry of Defence and other businesses both in Israel and internationally.

The UAE Space Agency has sent a high level delegation to UNISPACE +50, a symposium and special high-level meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), currently being held in Vienna from 18-22 June 2018. The event is a highlight of the space industry calendar and brings together representatives of the international space sector to discuss a wide variety of related topics

Sky and Space Global, the European-Israeli New Space satellite communications company that is registered on the Australian Stock Exchange, has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Air Traffic Automation Systems (IATAS) for the use of its satellite network by the air traffic company.

SpaceWatch.Global wishes all of our Muslim friends and readers a Blessed Eid and our warm wishes to you and your families!

International shipping exhibition, Posidonia, provided the perfect backdrop for the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between global mobile satellite service provider, Inmarsat and the Hellenic Space Agency (HSA).

The Sultanate of Oman has announced that it intends to build two satellites and then have them launched by the end of 2019, according to the Omani minister of transport and communications, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Salim al Futaisi.

Russia has invited Turkey to send a Turkish national for Cosmonaut training, indicating that the relationship between these countries may now bear the substantial weight of ongoing human spaceflight cooperation obligations, despite difficulties on a number of issues, including Syria and the Armenia-Azerbaijani dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.