Space

Inmarsat, the UK-based global satellite communications company, is partnering with Auxilium, an Australian mining company, for the provision of Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and communications solutions to the mining sector.

Alexander Shaenko is a Moscow-based engineer and space enthusiast, the driving force behind the Mayak cubesat developed by space enthusiasts that was launched in 2017. He is currently working on a new space-related project. We talked to him about his past and present activities, his views on the current situation in the Russian space sector, ways to engage young people in space projects and much more.

India’s Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has signed an agreement with the UK’s Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), for the launch of NovaSAR-1, a small Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, into a 580-kilometer altitude Sun-synchronous orbit, and SSTL S1-4, a high-resolution Earth observation satellite.

Amidst a worsening economic crisis, largely self-inflicted by the unorthodox economic policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and deteriorating relations with its longstanding ally the United States, Turkey has rolled out a 100-day action plan to initiate its space ambitions.

Australia’s Buccaneer Risk Mitigation Mission Cubesat, a joint mission between the Australian Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group and the University of New South Wales (UNSW), has performed according to plan since its launch in late 2017 and is paving the way for follow-on Buccaneer missions.

August 15, 2018 at 18:51 UTC, a beacon signal was received from the SiriusSat-1 satellite. The SiriusSat-2 satellite has not made contact yet.

The UK's Goonhilly Earth Station is partnering with Spacebit, a pioneer in space blockchain applications, to provide blockchain solutions for satellite communications, Internet of Things, space exploration, and satellite security. The partnership aims to lower the barrier to entry to access to space communication and application networks.

The Australian and Singaporean New Space launch company, Gilmour Space Technologies, conducted its most powerful orbital engine test to date on 16 August 2018 as part of its preparations for a key suborbital test flight in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Alexander Medvedev, deputy general director of the TsNIIMash rocket and spacecraft scientific center, the inaugural launch of the Angara-A5M rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome is planned for 2025.

As part of a whole-of-government effort, the Japanese government is considering building and launching space-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellites to better monitor space debris and anti-satellite threats against Japanese satellites, according to a report in Japan News.