Space

Russia is willing to assist the Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan in developing its second satellite and in the selection, training, and launch of the first Turkmen astronaut, according to Yuri Baturin – vice president of the Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonauts, politician, and a former cosmonaut – during a visit to the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on 25 January 2020.

OneWeb, the global communications company, whose goal is to connect everyone everywhere, announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bring high-speed, low-latency internet coverage to Georgia with JSC Silknet, a leading convergent Georgian telecommunications company.

Iran is believed to be preparing to launch two satellites from its Imam Khomeini Satellite Launch Centre over the coming days, according to numerous reports in Iranian and international news media.

NASA has finalized the first 16 science experiments and technology demonstrations, ranging from chemistry to communications, to be delivered to the surface of the Moon under the Artemis program.

Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall was the guest of honour at the international Human Spaceflight Symposium organized in Bangalore, India, on 24 January 2020 by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA)

OneWeb, the global communications company, whose goal is to connect everyone everywhere, has announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), the largest financial hub in Central Asia, to accelerate broadband connectivity in Kazakhstan.

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.

QinetiQ’s space business has confirmed it has secured a major new contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to extend Europe’s capabilities in operational Earth Observation.

Israel's leading satellite network manufacturer and provider Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd., listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, is believed to be in advanced discussions with a large, yet unnamed, multinational company that is interested in acquiring the Israeli firm, according to a report on Israeli tech news website CalcaList.com.

As well as providing global navigation services, Europe's Galileo satellite constellation is contributing to saving more than 2000 lives annually by relaying SOS messages to first responders. And from now on the satellites will reply to these messages, assuring people in danger that help is on the way.