Government

Yahsat has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the mobile satellite services operator Thuraya, also based in the UAE, subject to final pre-closing conditions being met. The acquisition of the UAE’s first home grown satellite operator, Thuraya, will significantly expand Yahsat’s current …

The UK is seriously considering the development of its own satellite navigation system as a reaction to the “adjustment” of UK involvement in the EU Galileo programme, post Brexit. A row has erupted between London and Brussels after the EU revealed that UK companies could potentially be prevented from having …

The first ever Angolan satellite to be launched is no longer operational. Confirmation of the news came via a press conference in Luanda with the Angolan Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Jose Carvalho da Rocha. Angosat-1 was the first Angolan geostationary satellite to be launched. Built in 2012, following …

As part of its Arctic ambitions for its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China is teaming up with Finland to develop space-based Arctic monitoring and surveillance. The China Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced this week that China and Finland have signed an agreement to establish a joint research centre for …

Algeria’s ALCOMSAT-1 communications satellite is operational in its orbital slot four months after its launch from China. A handover ceremony was held earlier in April 2018 at the Algerian satellite control centre that will handle all ALCOMSAT-1 operations between Algerian officials and engineers and executives from China Great Wall Industry …

In another sign of growing Japanese strategic influence in Southeast Asia, a senior Japanese official has revealed that Malaysia is seeking satellite and other strategic technologies from the Japanese government and industry. Makio Miyagawa, Japan’s Ambassador to Malaysia, made the revelation to reporters after the two governments signed a defence …

South Africa’s Minister for Science and Technology, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, was joined by France’s ambassador to South Africa, Christophe Farnaud, at a ceremony held on 17 April 2018 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) for the send-off the ZACUBE-2 Cubesat to India from where it will be launched later …

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France have entered into an executive programme space agreement signed in France during the visit to Paris by Prince Mohammed bin Salman al Saud, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. The executive programme agreement was signed by Prince Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al …

China has opened its first overseas centre to promote its Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS) in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, on 10 April 2018. The China-Arab States BDS/GNSS Centre has been created as a pilot programme between China and the Arab Information and Communication Technology Organization (AICTO), also …

SpaceWatch.Global is a proud partner of the Secure World Foundation, and a greateful recipient of SWF support. The SWF published a new report on 11 April 2018 titled Global Counterspace Capabilities: An Open Source Assessment that provides an exhaustive, comprehensive, incisive, and useful open source guide to global counterspace capabilities and developments, as …