BDLI - 15th NSBreakfast

Middle East

#SpaceWatchGL Op’Ed: Europe Is An Innovative, Competitive, and Cooperative Space Power

The success of Galileo and Copernicus have galvanised the space ambitions of the European Union and given it the impetus to build on its achievements. This was very evident at the recent annual European Space Policy Conference that was held in Brussels from 24-25 January, 2018. Here, space policy analyst, …

Read More »

Saudi Arabia to Contribute Optical Camera to China’s Chang’e-4 Lunar Far Side Mission

By Andrew Jones China’s pioneering Chang’e-4 lunar mission set to launch later this year will carry an optical camera provided by Saudi Arabia as part of international involvement in the mission. The Chang’e-4 mission, which will use the backup to the 2013 Chang’e-3 Moon lander and rover, plans to make …

Read More »

Israel’s Gilat Selected by Australia’s NBN and Speedcast for SATCOM Coverage in Rural Australia

NBN Co. and Speedcast International, Ltd, partners in delivering Australian communications networks, have selected Israeli company Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd. to provide the satellite platform to serve nationwide business clients in regional and rural Australia. Gilat will deliver, operate, and support its Business and Enterprise Satellite Service (BESS) for businesses …

Read More »

UK’s Surrey Satellite to Lease Earth Observation Satellite to China’s 21AT

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), located in Guildford, Surrey, in the U.K., has signed a GBP25 million (approximately U.S.$34.8 million) deal with China’s Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology Co. Ltd. (21AT) for the lease of the SSTL-S1 Earth observation satellite. SSTL-S1 is due to be launched on an Indian Space …

Read More »

ARABSAT-6A Cleared for Launch After Successful SpaceX Falcon Heavy Test Launch

The successful launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy space launch vehicle (SLV) on 6 February, 2018, is a major milestone in spaceflight and space exploration. It is also a green light for the launch of the Arabsat-6A communications satellite in the coming months aboard a Falcon Heavy SLV. “Arabsat-6A positioned at …

Read More »

UAE’s KhalifaSat Earth Observation Satellite Nears Completion, Receives Royal Seal of Approval

The first satellite to be indigenously built by Emirati engineers is nearing completion, and will be launched by Japan later this year. KhalifaSat, an Earth observation satellite that is being built by the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), was inspected by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, …

Read More »

Iran Set To Launch Four Satellites Soon, Warns of Parallel IRGC Space Programme

Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, told a space conference in Tehran on 3 February, 2018, that an Iranian satellite is ready to launch, and three others are in their pre-launch procedures. Jahromi also told his audience that Iran has made “great headways in developing …

Read More »

Indian Space Programme to be Featured at Dubai’s World Government Summit

Dr. Koppillil Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, and Dr. D. Gowrisankar, ISRO’s Deputy Director for International Cooperation, will make a presentation on India’s Mars Orbiter Mission at the World Government Summit in Dubai later this month. Dr. K. Sivan, current Chairman of ISRO, told a …

Read More »