By Dr. Malcolm Davis There’s been great interest about the establishment of a “United States Space Force” by the Trump Administration. President Trump began promoting the concept of a sixth and fully independent military force for space since early 2018, and the actual space force was formalised under a Congressional …

Last year was a record year for the space industry with the Seraphim Space Index showing continued momentum from global venture investors who increased their investment in the sector by 21%.

2020 promises to be a big year in space, but not only for the well-known events you keep on hearing about, such as the expected crewed launches from U.S. soil on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner. In the background, thousands of new space entrepreneurs are executing on business plans that take advantage of the tremendous decrease of the costs of accessing space and operating in it. Many of these entrepreneurs have important milestones in 2020.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will bolster the scale and scope of its geospatial monitoring toolkit thanks to collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that will expand the capacity of FAO's accessible platforms for forestry and land-use assessments.

In its latest analysis of satellite manufacturing and launch services, Satellites to be Built and Launched by 2028, Euroconsult projects that the satellite market will experience a radical transformation in the quantity, value and mass of the satellites to be built and launched with a four-fold increase in the number of satellites at a yearly average of 990 satellites to be launched, compared to a yearly average of 230 satellites in the previous decade.

We are pleased to present "India’s Self-Inflicted Foreign Policy Challenges in 2020”, originally published on 4 January 2020 in The Diplomat.

Strong technical skills and outstanding physical abilities are just some of the qualities space agencies look at during the astronaut selection process. But is that all? Let’s agree that if it was only about physical performance, we would probably resort to robots and AI. Yet, space agencies spend millions on astronaut training programs, making sure they are sending the best candidates for the job. SpaceWatch.Globals Valerie Vlasenko asked ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer what are the most important skills that astronauts need to possess.

Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall presented his New Year wishes to the press at the agency’s Head Office in Paris Les Halles on 7 January 2020.

We are pleased to pass along the 5th PSSI Space Security Conference Summary Report that just were released. The gathering, entitled “Evolution of the Counterspace Threat and Strengthening of International Space Partnerships”, was convened in Prague on June 9-11, 2019 in partnership with Japan’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center (CSICE), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Secure World Foundation (SWF).

These personal reviews are being published during the holiday season. This is Carla Sharpe of South African Radio Astronomy Observatory.