Space

The French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), has opened a liaison and representative office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, marking deeper and strategic relations in space matters between the French agency and the UAE Space Agency.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has developed and manufactured SaudiSat-5A and SaudiSat-5B, two high-resolution Earth observation satellites to be launched later this year from China.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is developing a large constellation of Earth observation nanosatellites to provide persistent overhead reconnaissance and ballistic missile early warning over countries and areas of concern to Israeli national security, as a supplement to Israel’s existing satellite reconnaissance capabilities and U.S. ballistic missile early warning satellites.

The Australian Space Agency has formally entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with counterpart agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom, as part of the Australian coalition government’s plan to launch a vibrant new space industry in Australia.

The Australian Space Agency has signed a statement of strategic intent with Sitael Australia, a designer and manufacturer of satellites, enhancing the competitiveness and capability of Australia’s space industry.

The benefits of space to the Middle East and North Africa region are undeniable, yet there is no single representative body to champion the sector. The near total inexistence of coordination or even collaboration has resulted in calls for the creation of a Pan-Arab Space Agency, to operate and coordinate programs in a comparable manner to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has released its space exploration roadmap that sets out a path for Australian space industry and research organizations to more fully support and participate in international space science and exploration initiatives, particularly international efforts to reestablish a human presence on the Moon.

Audacy, a space communications service provider based in the U.S. and Singapore and deploying the first commercially licensed inter-satellite data relay network, has announced that it had achieved a significant milestone by securing pre-service commercial agreements valued at over U.S.$100 million.

NASA has signed an agreement with the Israel Space Agency (ISA) to cooperatively utilize the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL’s commercial lunar mission, expected to land on the Moon in 2019. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany.

Space BD, the Japanese New Space startup company specializing in business development of Japanese space technologies and projects, announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Innovative Solutions In Space n.v. (ISIS), to be the distributor of the Dutch company’s small satellite solutions and components for the Japanese market.