Space

Federal State Unitary Enterprise Experimental Design Bureau FAKEL (hereafter referred to as EDB Fakel) is one of the leading companies in Russia and in the world, having a 55-year experience in development of Electric Propulsion Systems (EPS), and more than a 40-year flight experience in Electric Propulsion Subsystems based on Stationary Plasma Thrusters (SPT), which were successfully used for station-keeping purposes aboard such spacecraft as Meteor and Meteor-Priroda in the 70s, and which have been used aboard spacecraft (S/C) of the Kosmos and Luch family since 1982, as well as aboard Gals and Express since 1994.

Taking the best of both company offerings, Planet and Airbus have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new range of satellite imagery products.

Pakistan is set to have its indigenously-built Earth observation satellite, PakTES-1A, as well as its Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS)-1, launched by China in July 2018 in a bid to catch up with its geopolitical rival, India.

The South African Trade and Deputy Minister, Bulelani Magwanishe, told the UNISPACE+50 High-Level Segment of the 61st session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS) in Vienna, that South Africa is keen to develop global partnerships in the space arena. He reiterated that the country is committed to the peaceful use of outer space and the long-term sustainability of space-related activities.

Cyber security company Symantec has identified a Chinese hacking group (also called an Advanced Persistent Threat – APT) known as Thirp, which the company believes has the ability, potentially, to take over the computers of satellite communications operators in Southeast Asia and the United States that control their satellites.

The UAE has announced that its first astronaut will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019 with the assistance of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. This confirms rumours circulating last month about the possibility of the UAE's first astronaut being sent into orbit in 2019, despite the fact that the selection for the UAE's four-person astronaut corps has yet to be completed.

Glavkosmos is a subsidiary of Roscosmos State Space Corporation responsible for coordination of the international projects of ROSCOSMOS. The company has been on the market for more than 30 years now and has an impressive portfolio of more than 120 international contracts in space domain. We talked with Denis V. Lyskov, director general, about the company’s goals and priorities and how it manages to adapt to the aggressively competitive space market of today.

Thai New Space company, mu Space Corporation, has approved the release of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a manufacturer to build the company’s satellite with coverage spanning across Asia-Pacific.

There is widespread concern about the prospect of space becoming militarised and it is a critical issue on the United Nation’s agenda. In this exclusive article, Daniel Porras, Space Security Fellow, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, gives an update on the efforts of the UN to prevent an arms race in outer space.

The Israeli government will shortly come to a decision on the manufacturer for its own satellite - and this has become a hot topic in industry and political circles. Perhaps somewhat controversially, Israeli satellite operator Spacecom decided to purchase its next satellite, AMOS-8, from Space Systems Loral, an American satellite manufacturer, rather than the indigenous IAI, which had previously been the manufacturer of choice for satellite missions and has provided satellites for the Ministry of Defence and other businesses both in Israel and internationally.