Space

Following quickly on the heels of their expansive space cooperation agreement signed last month, India and France are moving forward by holding detailed talks about building and sending interplanetary probes to Mars and Venus in the coming years.

Earth-i has released the first video taken by VividX2, the technology prototype for its Vivid-i constellation. Launched on 12 January 2018, VividX2 is the world’s first commercial satellite able to provide full-colour video of life on earth. Weighing 100kg and measuring approximately 1 cubic metre, VividX2 is orbiting at 505km above the Earth and travelling at approximately 7km per second. At the heart of the satellite is an Ultra High Definition (UHD) camera that captures high-resolution images for any location on Earth – and also films up to two minutes of video at a time as it passes over each target location.

Bangladesh's first satellite, the Bangabandhu-1 communications satellite, is set to be launched on board a SpaceX Falcon-9 space launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 4 May 2018, according to Mohammed Mezbahuzzaman, project director of the satellite programme.

China has opened its first overseas centre to promote its Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS) in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, on 10 April 2018.

Japan's Sony Corporation is seeking to enter the New Space sector by manufacturing optical communication devices for small satellites, based on Sony's decades-long experience in manufacturing compact disc (CD) players. This marks a diversification of Sony's business empire, and it is also a strong signal that Japan's great trading houses and companies are looking for opportunities in the New Space sector in Japan and abroad.

UAE’s Thuraya Telecommunications Company has announced the launch of its X5-Touch satellite phone, the world’s smallest, in its attempt to become a market leader in the satellite communications user market.

SpaceWatch.Global is a proud partner of the Secure World Foundation, and a greateful recipient of SWF support. The SWF published a new report on 11 April 2018 titled Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment that provides an exhaustive, comprehensive, incisive, and useful open source guide to global counterspace capabilities and developments, as well as analysis of their implications. Here, the authors of that report, Victoria Samson and Brian Weeden, summarise the study and provide a broader geopolitical context about its importance.

Israel's Spacecom plans to pay for its AMOS-8 communications satellite by raising U.S.$110 million through collateral bonds and bond options, just as the bid by IDB Development Corporation Ltd. to buyout Spacecom’s parent company has expired.

A Japanese military satellite payload, DSN-1, a dedicated military communications payload for the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD), was successfully launched into orbit on-board a SKY Perfect JSAT Superbird-8 communications satellite by Arianespace on 5 April 2018.

Intelsat, the world's largest satellite communications provider, has signed a deal with Vodacom Business Nigeria to help bridge the digital divide throughout West Africa, expanding its enterprise broadband networks and enabling new and enhanced services throughout the region.