Space

The European Space Agency (ESA) is one of the largest space organisations in the world, and has established many formal and informal links with Middle East governments, agencies, research institutes, and universities. SpaceWatch Middle East re-publishes here the Foreword written by the ESA Director-General, Jan Woerner, to the 2016 European …

The Iranian Space Agency (ISA) completed its conceptual design for a manned spacecraft, including a human-rated space capsule and a launch vehicle, according to a report from Iranian news outlet, Tasnim News Agency. The human-rated space capsule will weigh one ton, and will be launched into space and safely returned …

PTScientists, the German team of scientists and engineers working with AUDI and the media agency Thjnk behind the first private Mission to the Moon have been awarded a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. As SpaceWatch Middle East reported the other week, the PTScientists team had been …

Where does the UAE Space Agency go after the Hope Mars Mission is achieved after 2021? Building and sustaining success, and therefore public and political support, is a challenge for all space agencies. The solutions to this challenge, however, can only be found in the United Arab Emirates. ThorGroup’s Chairman …

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a UN international organisation that regulates satellite frequencies and orbital slots in geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometres altitude, has reinstated two orbital slots for Iranian satellites. Iran had the two orbital positions withdrawn by the ITU because it had failed to place satellites in orbit, …

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) have agreed on 16 June 2016 to work together to develop the space capabilities of United Nations Member States via opportunities on-board China’s future space station. Following the signing of a Framework Agreement and …

U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE Space Agency to launch a comprehensive dual-track space training programme for students and early career professionals in space fundamentals. In line with the UAE’s national vision, the programme was developed as part …

Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister, visits Paris on 27 June 2016 to participate in the third Saudi-French Joint Committee, co-chaired by the young Prince and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. The Deputy Crown Prince will also meet with French President Francois Hollande, …

The European Union’s Copernicus programme is a boon for analysts and researchers around the world since it provides all of the imagery taken by its Sentinel earth observation satellites for free. SpaceWatch Middle East interviewed Andreas Veispak, the acting Head of Unit for Space Data for Societal Challenges and Growth at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, …

The Agence Spatiale Algerienne (Algerian Space Agency) recently released remarkable satellite imagery of the Algerian province (wilaya) of Djelfa, located about 300 kilometres south of the capital city of Algiers, taken by its ALSAT-2A remote sensing satellite. The Djelfa province is surrounded by the Algerian provinces Tissemsilt and Medea in …