Space

After a two-year hiatus since the crash of VSS Enterprise in 2016, Virgin Galactic successfully carried out a flight test of its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spaceplane from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on 5 April 2018.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, visited Lockheed Martin's satellite manufacturing facilities in California's Silicon Valley on 5 April 2018, where the prospect of a Saudi Arabian-Lockheed Martin joint venture to assemble satellites in the desert kingdom was discussed.

Thai New Space startup mu Space is making big waves in Thailand with its efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural Thailand, and ultimately, in other parts of Southeast Asia, and with its long-term plans to bring commercial space travel to Thailand and the wider region. mu Space brings a vibrant New Space startup dynamic to Thailand, as the country embarks on its Thailand 4.0economic modernisation initiative where mu Space finds itself very much at the forefront. SpaceWatch.Globalhas been covering mu Space’s progress for months, and we managed to talk with its founder and Chief Executive Officer James Yenbamroong to hear his thoughts about the progress of mu Space so far, and its future plans.

The Chinese state news outlet Xinhua has reported that the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS)-1 and PakTES-1A will be launched in June 2018 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre using a Long March-2C/SMA space launch vehicle. As of the publication of this report no exact date in June was provided by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT) who made the announcement on 3 April 2018 on their website.

Morteza Barari, head of the Iran Space Agency and deputy minister at the Iranian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology told Mehr News Agency that ordinary Iranians, the economy, and society at large benefit everyday from Earth observation, communications, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites without realising it.

U.S. orbital launch provider Rocket Lab has announced its first commercial launch for New Space companies Spire and GeoOptics, further establishing New Zealand as a space launch power. Rocket Lab will open a 14-day launch window beginning 20 April 2018 to conduct its first fully commercial launch. The mission, named ‘It’s Business Time’, will include manifested payloads for Spire Global and GeoOptics Inc., built by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.

U.S. defence officials claim that Russia successfully tested its PL19 – Nudol antisatellite (ASAT) missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 26 March 2018, according to the online geopolitics and current affairs magazine The Diplomat.

In its ongoing path toward developing the human and technical capacities required for a functioning space sector, the UAE has launched a student competition to build mini satellites. The UAE Space Agency, in collaboration with Khalifa University and Boeing Corporation, has announced the STEM-oriented contest called the UAE Mini-Satellite Challenge: Design it, Build it, Launch it.

Troubled Israeli satellite communications company Spacecom could finally have a buyer, but at a much lower price tag than it sought last year. Last week, Israel-based holding company IDB made an offer for a controlling stake in Spacecom, offering U.S.$45.75 million for a 54.7% undiluted stake and an equity infusion of as much as U.S.$11.45 million. According to a report published on calcalist.com, further negotiations have resulted in IDB’s subsidiary, Discount Investment Corporation, agreeing to an equity infusion of up to U.S.$34 million.

Kazakhstan and Russia have recently concluded one of their periodic renegotiations of the Russian lease of the Baikonur Cosmodrome located on the Kazakh steppe, and the workhorse of Russia's launch schedule, with significant implications for Kazakhstan's space ambitions, according to analysis provided by Anna Gussarova in the Eurasia Daily Monitor published by U.S. think tank, The Jamestown Foundation.