Government

By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan As the Asian Century takes on an interstellar dimension, who will write the rules of the road? Rajeswari Rajagopalan writes that space will likely be no exception to Asia’s great power rivalries. The outer space environment has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Countries in …

Uzbekistan and France have signed a framework agreement on space cooperation during a state visit to Paris by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 9 October 2018. The agreement was signed in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron by Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Abdulaziz …

A team from the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has successfully completed pre-launch tests in Japan of the Earth observation system KhalifaSat, the first satellite to be entirely built in the UAE by Emirati engineers. KhalifaSat has been successfully installed into its launch vehicle, H-IIA, and it is …

A “Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Federal Space Agency of Russia, Roscosmos, on Joint Activities in the field of Human Spaceflight Programme,” was signed between India and Russia on 5 October 2018. The MoU was signed by Dmitriy Rogozin, Director of Roscosmos, and …

The French national space agency, the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), has opened a liaison and representative office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, marking deeper and strategic relations in space matters between the French agency and the UAE Space Agency. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the representative office, …

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has developed and manufactured SaudiSat-5A and SaudiSat-5B, two high-resolution Earth observation satellites to be launched later this year from China. SaudiSat-5A and -5B are the second generation of Saudi-made Earth observation satellites, replacing SaudiSat-2 (launched in 2004) and SaudiSat-3 (launched …

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is developing a large constellation of Earth observation nanosatellites to provide persistent overhead reconnaissance and ballistic missile early warning over countries and areas of concern to Israeli national security, as a supplement to Israel’s existing satellite reconnaissance capabilities and U.S. ballistic missile early warning satellites. According …

The Australian Space Agency has formally entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with counterpart agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom, as part of the Australian coalition government’s plan to launch a vibrant new space industry in Australia. These MoU’s will help all three nations develop their respective space programs …

The Australian Space Agency has signed a statement of strategic intent with Sitael Australia, a designer and manufacturer of satellites, enhancing the competitiveness and capability of Australia’s space industry. Sitael Australia is a subsidiary of Sitael S.p.A, the largest privately-owned space company in Italy. The Australian coalition government committed AUS$41 …

By Dr. Vasilis Zervos and Christopher Gorham The benefits of space to the Middle East and North Africa region are undeniable, yet there is no single representative body to champion the sector. The near total inexistence of coordination or even collaboration has resulted in calls for the creation of a …