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Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) announced on 16 December 2019 the appointment of Khaled Al Qubaisi, CEO of Aerospace, Renewables & ICT at  Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), as its new Chairman, and the appointment of Amal Al Ameri, Senior Vice President of Platform Finance in the Aerospace, Renewables & …

D-Orbit, an Italian systems and services provider for the traditional and New Space sectors, has announced a new funding round led by Seraphim Capital, the world’s largest venture capital fund dedicated to investing in New Space companies. The round also marks the entrance of Noosphere Ventures, D-Orbit’s first American investor. …

Taiwan Innovative Space Inc. (TiSPACE) has become the latest company to enter the increasingly crowded, and technically challenging, small satellite launch market.  TiSPACE was established in 2016 by Chen Yen-sen, a 21-year NASA veteran, who was employed by Taiwan’s semi-official National Space Organisation (NSPO) for over a decade. Chen joined …

The Airbus-built CHaracterising ExOPlanets Satellite (CHEOPS) has been successfully launched on the morning of 18 December 2019 on a Soyuz rocket from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. CHEOPS is the first exoplanetary mission of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is also the first satellite built by Airbus in …

The newly-appointed French ambassador to Bangladesh has stated that his country is interested in assisting Bangladesh launch its second communications satellite, Bangabandhu-2, during an audience with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in late November 2019. Ambassador Jean-Marin Schuh made the offer at his meeting with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister, and …

GomSpace and Lockheed Martin Space announced on 18 December 2019 their agreement to develop and deliver a tailored GomSpace 6U nanosatellite to Orbital Micro Systems (OMS) in the United Kingdom. The contract is worth 17 MSEK (U.S.$1.81 million) and will be financed through an industrial corporation commitment made by Lockheed …

The U.S. Congress has formally acknowledged India’s NAVIC global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to be an “allied system” in its finalized 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the legislative bill that outlines the U.S. Department of Defense’s budget, policies, and priorities for the coming fiscal year. The acknowledgement of NAVIC …

By Carla Sharpe The 8th African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development was hosted at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, in Ethiopia from 2 to 4 December 2019. Over 200 participants joined the conference from 31 countries, 21 of which were African countries. The sessions …

Kacific1 was launched successfully into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7.10 pm Eastern Standard Time  (UTC-5) on 16 December 2019 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. It was placed into its target geostationary transfer orbit 33 minutes following initial ignition. Owned by Kacific Broadband …

HawkEye 360 Inc., the first commercial company to use formation flying satellites to create a new class of radio frequency (RF) data analytics, reports it has been awarded a contract for a commercial RF survey study from the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Through the contract, HawkEye 360 will examine the …