Space

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and European Space Policy Institute and with permission, SpaceWatch.Global occasionally publishing select articles and briefs. This is ESPI Briefs” No. 24 Brexit and Space, published in: July 2018.

Human space exploration has received another significant boost with the successful landing of a Chinese probe on the far side of the moon – a feat that has never before been accomplished. Chinese state media confirmed that the spacecraft had performed a ‘soft landing’ at 10.26am (2.26am GMT) on January 2. The confirmation came after an earlier tweet was deleted from China Daily and various other sources, proclaiming the mission a success.

The University of Sharjah signed a cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary Company to share space technology and systems located in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is one of the largest national companies in Kazakhstan specializing in Earth remote sensing.

China's first private satellite launch vehicle production facility has begun operations in the city of Huzhou, located in east China's Zhejiang Province, according to the privately-owned and Beijing-based launch vehicle manufacturer LandSpace.

The Indian government is likely to introduce the 2017 Space Activities Bill, which will allow the commercial use of space in India, in the 2019 budget session, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

As 2018 comes to an end, we would like to take a moment and look back at some of the high - and low points of the last year. 2018 was a great year - no deadly accidents, more launches then ever and new space agencies around the globe.

Myself and my colleagues are on a mission to raise 384,000 euros to help others. Do you think that’s possible? I want to tell you about a new, great initiative from the Berlin-based Newspace company, PTScientists. They have created a team - named like their project - Mission to the Moon (here is the link) , to raise the equal amount in Euros as the distance from Berlin to the Moon in km – that’s 384.000!

The deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, announced on 29 December 2018 that Iranian experts have successfully built radars capable of monitoring satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), according Iranian news reporting.

The Indian government announced on 28 December 2018 that its Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission expected to take place in 2022 will consist of three crew members, last for five to seven days in orbit, and is budgeted for the equivalent of U.S.$1.43 billion, according to Indian media reports.

China has announced the completion of its BeiDou global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and the start of worldwide service on 27 December 2018, marking a victory for Beijing's "Made in China 2025" strategy that promotes strategically autonomous high technologies such as autonomous driving, satellite technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and 5G networks, among others.