Space

PTScientists, the German company aiming to be the first private mission to land the Moon, has been selected as one of the commercial companies taking part in ESA’s innovative study to develop potential lunar missions that could make use of resources found on the Moon. The Lunar Mission Definition Study …

The UK is seriously considering the development of its own satellite navigation system as a reaction to the “adjustment” of UK involvement in the EU Galileo programme, post Brexit. A row has erupted between London and Brussels after the EU revealed that UK companies could potentially be prevented from having …

Due for launch on May 5th from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the InSight Mission or Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the deepest understanding yet of the ‘inner space’ of Mars including its crust, mantle and core. As if that …

The first ever Angolan satellite to be launched is no longer operational. Confirmation of the news came via a press conference in Luanda with the Angolan Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Jose Carvalho da Rocha. Angosat-1 was the first Angolan geostationary satellite to be launched. Built in 2012, following …

A new satellite Earth observation company which promises to deliver real-time video of the Earth ‘enhanced by machine intelligence’ has received the backing of Bill Gates, OneWeb’s Greg Wyler, Airbus and Japan’s Softbank. EarthNow was invented by Russell Hannigan (Founder and CEO,) and its core imaging technology was incubated within …

The satellite industry is in the grip of a revolution that is being driven by low-cost, small satellites that are cheaper to build and launch than ever before. These smallsats are beginning to change the economics of space and analysts forecast exponential growth, but there is a hurdle that threatens …

As part of its Arctic ambitions for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is teaming up with Finland to develop space-based Arctic monitoring and surveillance. The China Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced this week that China and Finland have signed an agreement to establish a joint research centre for …

Algeria’s ALCOMSAT-1 communications satellite is operational in its orbital slot four months after its launch from China. A handover ceremony was held earlier in April 2018 at the Algerian satellite control centre that will handle all ALCOMSAT-1 operations between Algerian officials and engineers and executives from China Great Wall Industry …

In another sign of growing Japanese strategic influence in Southeast Asia, a senior Japanese official has revealed that Malaysia is seeking satellite and other strategic technologies from the Japanese government and industry. Makio Miyagawa, Japan’s Ambassador to Malaysia, made the revelation to reporters after the two governments signed a defence …

The UAE’s ambitions in human spaceflight have taken a significant step forward with the announcement that more than 4,000 Emirati volunteers have stepped forward to enter the astronaut selection process. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in Dubai on 17 April 2018 announced that they have received over 4,000 …