Earth observation

A nanosatellite named MeznSat is being manufactured by a group of university students in the UAE, the Khaleej Times has reported. The aim of the satellite is to pinpoint the cause of greenhouse gases. Once the data from the satellite is shared with students, analysts and researchers, it is hoped …

The head of the French national space agency, the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), Jean-Yves Le Gall, spoke at the French-Russian seminar organized by GIFAS, the French aerospace industries association, at the Espace Hamelin in Paris on 30 January 2019. President Le Gall kicked off the round table session on ‘The …

The French national space agency, the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), hosted the first international meeting of the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) at its head office in Paris on 1 February 2019. This working meeting brought together more than 25 space agencies and four international organizations, with representatives from the …

The UK’s space sector has seen significant growth in income, exports and employment with total income now standing at 14.8 billion pounds (U.S.$19.2 billion), Science Minister Chris Skidmore has announced. The main findings from the independent ‘UK space industry: size and health report’ show that, compared to the 2016 survey: …

The Canadian Department of National Defence has awarded a C$15 million (U.S.$11.43 million) contract to Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) for development of multipurpose microsatellites to support Arctic surveillance. Upon successful completion and testing of the prototype, two additional microsatellites will …

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have used new space technology to predict droughts and increased bushfire risk up to five months in advance. ANU researcher Siyuan Tian said the team knew they needed to move into space to get closer to understanding the complex nature of drought. They …

U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Dan Coats, along with the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), gave testimony to the U.S. Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence about the …

Iran’s ICT Minister, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, and his Iraqi counterpart have called for broadening joint cooperation in space and information technology (IT) after a meeting on 22 January 2019. In the meeting, Iranian ICT Minister Jahromi pointed to the country’s achievements in the fields of space and the construction …

China has agreed to grant U.S.$72 million for the EgyptSat-2 Earth observation satellite programme under a contract signed on 21 January 2019. This is the third grant provided by China to Egypt for the satellite project, with an initial grant of U.S.$23 million given in 2016, and a second grant …

Some unnamed European Union member states are discussing the possibility of creating a European space force according to Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, and Entrepreneurship and who is also in charge of EU space policy. “Several member states are considering just now ways to strengthen their …