Space

The United States is alleging that two Russian satellites are stalking a U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) reconnaissance satellite in low-Earth orbit (LEO), and has formally complained about the matter to the Russian government according to numerous press reports.

Spaceflight Industries, Inc. announced on 11 February 2020 that it has signed a definitive share purchase agreement with Japan's Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in partnership with Yamasa Co., Ltd. to sell its satellite rideshare launch business, Spaceflight, Inc.

U.S. microsatellite startup Astranis Space Technologies announced a US$90 million financing round to launch its first commercial satellite and build the foundation for the internet infrastructure of the future.

The annual Defence Geospatial Intelligence (DGI) 2020 conference is now history. Every attendee I spoke with, and that was most of them, seemed to agree it was one of the best in the last 10 years. I concur, and I have been to most of them.

Along the sidelines of local and international events, my colleagues and I at the UAE Space Agency meet with a myriad of official delegations and representatives to discuss opportunities for cooperation and the state of the global space sector.

Germany is taking huge steps to foster the national New Space industry. The Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI – Federation of German Industries) and its Head of Security and Raw Materials, Matthias Wachter, are at the forefront of that process. SpaceWatch.Global’s Torsten Kriening talked with Matthias Wachter about Germany’s role in the global space sector, micro launcher, and spaceports.  

Aerospace firm Ananth Technologies has signed deals to build six foreign-owned satellites in India, a first for a private firm, leveraging the country's low cost base to attract global customers.

Arianespace will orbit two telecommunications satellites for its third mission of 2020, using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center, lofting JCSAT-17 for the Japanese operator SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, and GEO-KOMPSAT-2B for Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)

Japan is eyeing expanded space cooperation with Malaysia in a bid to deepen diplomatic and economic ties with the Southeast Asian country, and as part of an effort to balance against China's powerful influence through such programmes as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the region.

Thaicom Public Company Limited has reported progress in its ongoing efforts to migrate customers from Thaicom 5 after the satellite suffered a technical anomaly.