Russia&CIS

China and Russia have signed a cooperative agreement on 7 November 2018 covering their respective global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), BeiDou and GLONASS.

The Russian government has stated that it will not allow OneWeb, the U.S. satellite communications start-up building a 900-satellite megaconstellation, to provide satellite broadband Internet in Russia, citing national security concerns that the company might provide access to an open Internet that is out Moscow’s control.

Belarus State University's BSUSat-1 was successfully launched by a Chinese Long March 2C satellite launch vehicle on Monday, 29 October 2018, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Northwest China.

The United States has accused Russia at the United Nations of developing a range of anti satellite (ASAT) weapons, to include air-launched missiles, lasers, and satellites capable of rendezvousing with their targets in orbit, despite Moscow’s attempts to introduce a proposed treaty that would ban such weapons.

Russian launch provider Eurokot has suggested that its Rokot-2 light launcher could resume service in 2021 now that the launch vehicle uses Russian-made control systems. The last Rokot-2 launch occurred in April 2018 using the last launcher that used Ukrainian-made control systems.

Airbus Defence and Space has offered to build capacity in and boost the Azerbaijani space industry, according to Airbus Vice-President for Eurasia Silvere Delaunay.

Uzbekistan and France have signed a framework agreement on space cooperation during a state visit to Paris by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 9 October 2018.

Space industry startup, Space Impulse, has assembled a team of veteran technologists and orbital-class aerospace leaders with a mission to lower costs and accelerate times to orbit by streamlining supply chain integration on a comprehensive, global business-to-business (B2B) platform.

France hopes to sell a high-resolution Earth observation satellite to Uzbekistan when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on 9 October 2018.

Azercosmos, the national satellite operator of Azerbaijan, and Intelsat, one of the largest commercial satellite communications operators in the world, announced on 26 September 2018 the successful launch of the Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 communications satellite aboard an Arianespace Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.