Space

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a small launch vehicle that weighs no more than 100 tons that can loft a 500 kg satellite into a 500 km orbit. ISRO is currently earning about U.S.$40 million annually through launching small satellites for foreign customers, and aims to increase its revenue by using the small launch vehicle to serve the burgeoning small satellite market.

SpaceWatch.Global last spoke to Gernot Groemer, Founder and Administrative Director of the Austrian Space Forum last year when we covered the Forum’s work and activities on the Mars Analogue missions.

The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center has signed contracts for the production of 12 Angara-A5 heavy-lift launch vehicles.

China and Belarus are negotiating the joint development of an Earth observation satellite according to the Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Sergei Kilin.

Thai and Chinese officials have agreed to mutual trade and investments in a number of sectors – to include satellite manufacturing and applications – across and between Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The Proton rocket with non-Russian satellites is scheduled to take place in March 2019. The Eutelsat-5West and MEV-1 satellites will be put into orbit.

Sky and Space Global (SAS), the New Space narrowband satellite communications company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, has been awarded a Company of the Year award by Frost & Sullivan as the best global nanosatellite company of the year.

The Japanese government has issued the 2018 policy guidelines for national defence that emphasises the growing threats emanating from China, North Korea, and Russia in the cyberspace and space domains.

Now that the euphoria over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement that India will launch its first Vyomanaut (derived from the Sanskrit word for space, or vyoma) into Earth orbit by 2022 has passed, the political contours of the announcement are beginning to take shape.

New Zealand has become a strategic partner of U.S. space-based geolocation company HawkEye 360, enabling the country to access the company's geoanalytical capabilities for maritime domain awareness, border security, and asset protection. Eagle Technology, a New Zealand-based company, will be the strategic partner for New Zealand, bringing HawkEye 360’s radio frequency (RF) geoanalytics to the country.