Space

In a move that cements an already thriving space relationship, the United Arab Emirates Space Agency signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Government of Japan last week, setting the stage for strategic collaboration in space exploration and science between the two countries. The UAE-Japanese MoC is the latest …

UAE-based satellite operator, Yahsat , signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tele10 Group, the regional broadcast and internet service provider, to discuss collaborations for improving internet connectivity in Rwanda, Burundi and East Democratic Republic of the Congo. The MoU comes ahead of Yahsat taking delivery of its third satellite, …

It is difficult to overstate the critical importance of satellite navigation for the Middle East, yet the service is vulnerable to disruption. ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon examines the threats to satellite navigation in the region, and ways to mitigate their worst effects. When Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized …

Speaking to senior officials earlier this week at an Iranian Space Agency (ISA) meeting, the ISA Director Mohsen Bahrami announced that Iran will launch two indigenously built satellites in the very near future, and that three other satellites are currently being manufactured. The two satellites due to be launched are …

Virgin Galactic, the private spaceflight and satellite launch company owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments PJS, has just released its first television commercial. The commercial features both Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight service for wealthy individuals seeking a flight into suborbital space; and also for its …

The United Arab Emirates Space Agency convened the first two-day conference of the Emirates Space Innovation Group (ESIG) on 3-4 May 2016, with the group creating a science and technology roadmap. The ESIG has been established to develop the science, technology and innovation capabilities in the UAE space sector and …

The deputy commander of the Chinese manned space programme, Lieutenant General Zhang Yulin, has suggested that China will send astronauts to the Moon no later than 2036, perhaps as early as 2030. A manned Chinese moonshot will depend in large part on the successful development and manufacture of the heavy …

According to French business newspaper La Tribune, France and Egypt will sign a contract for a military communications satellite worth 600 million Euros on Tuesday, 10 May 2016, in Paris. SpaceWatch Middle East first reported on this deal in April 2016, just before French President Francois Hollande and Egyptian President …

SatNews Daily reports that Saudi Arabia’s Taqnia Space and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) have formed a joint venture with Skyware Technologies and Crescent Technologies to start manufacturing an innovative High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) Ka-band terminal to provide high throughput for satellites fleets around the world. The …

Recent developments in international space exploration plans for Mars have inadvertently placed the UAE’s Hope Mars Mission in the forefront, and impact the future of UAE’s space exploration ambitions. ThorGroup’s Chairman and President, Dr. John B. Sheldon, explains. Without even knowing or asking for it, the past several weeks have …