Satellite

The space age has gone through two paradigm shifts since the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. Until the early 1990s, ‘Space 1.0’ was the province of government-run, taxpayer-funded space programs. Civil space agencies such as NASA, Russia’s Roscosmos and the European Space Agency, along with military and major aerospace prime contractors, were the main players. Then a paradigm shift to ‘Space 2.0’ got underway when the commercial space sector entered the global market and began to  achieve dominance.

Space activity is flourishing. In 2018, 71 countries owned satellites. Seventy-two national space agencies spent a combined $70 billion. Eleven new agencies were created or announced.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “What Does ASEAN’s Evolving Approach to the South China Sea Issue Mean for Vietnam?”, originally published on 1 November 2019 in The Diplomat

Gulfsat Communications Co. (Gulfsat), a leading specialized provider of satellite communications solutions, telecommunications services, and television broadcasting has announced the renewal of its cooperation agreement with PalSat, the first Palestinian company that specializes in satellite television broadcasting, also a subsidiary of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC).

Strong and reliable communication is a key part of the space industry. From the signals that make global satellite navigation work to the data we collect from Earth-monitoring missions, space telescopes, human spaceflight and planetary exploration, everything has to be transferred and stored securely - including the news in ESA's website.

GomSpace A/S and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an addendum to continue development of the Juventas CubeSat in support of the Hera mission.

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) has signed an agreement with Republic of the Philippines' Department of Science and Technology-Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) to provide a share of the tasking and data acquisition services from NovaSAR-1, the innovative small S-Band radar satellite launched into a 580km sun synchronous orbit in September 2018.

Six New Zealand research projects have received NZ$500,000 each to fund the development of innovative space technologies including satellite control systems and ocean and coastal monitoring satellites.

Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) announced on 12 November 2019 the signing of a contract between leading satellite service provider, Arabsat, Sudan-based Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) service provider, Sudasat, and global leader in IP-based satellite communications, ST Engineering iDirect.

RUAG Space, a leading supplier to the space industry, has successfully developed and tested a new low shock jettison system for payload fairings. This enables a quieter and smoother journey to space for satellites or other payload.