Earth observation

The World Radio Conference 2019 (WRC-19) in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, took place on 28 October to 22 November 2019. The conference brought together 3500 participants from the ITU membership representing the world of frequency management on this planet. The following commentary is a quick overview of satellite-related WRC-19 decisions.

Beyond space launches, India and the U.S. have started cooperating in the area of Satellite Navigation.

The aim of the OPS-SAT mission, which is being controlled from ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, is to carry out low-risk tests on space software directly in the course of flight. Until now, such in-orbit tests have been avoided for reasons of reliability.

exactEarth Ltd., a leading provider of satellite-AIS data services, has announced that it has renewed its contract with Antrix Corporation Ltd., the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), to provide satellite-AIS data services to the Indian Navy.

Apple is reported to be working on unspecified satellite solutions that could provide direct connectivity to Apple devices around the world, and could improve the accuracy of Apple maps and geolocation services, according to a 20 December 2019 report published by Bloomberg.

Spare a thought this Christmas for researchers hunkered down on their Polarstern icebreaker, adrift in the frozen Arctic Ocean. Subjected to temperatures as low as -45 C and the perpetual darkness of the polar winter, they are willing participants in MOSAiC - the world's largest and longest polar research expedition.

Ethiopia’s first Earth observation satellite, the Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite (ETRSS-1), was successfully launched on board a Chinese Long March 4B satellite launched vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre on 20 December 2019.

Japanese satellite and space industry giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced that an MHI H-IIA satellite launch vehicle will send Japan's eighth Intelligence Gathering System (IGS) reconnaissance satellite into orbit from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwest Japan, on 27 January 2020.

Argentinian commercial Earth observation company Satellogic announced on 19 December 2019 that it has raised U.S.$50 million in at least its second investment round.

The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Aleksandr Sergeyev, has stated that Russia intends to build a group of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellites with assistance from the space and satellite industry of Belarus, according to Belarusian news agency BELTA.