Satellite

Russia will launch the EgyptSat-A Earth observation satellite on a Soyuz-2.1B space launch vehicle on 27 December 2018, according to Russian press reports.

The passage of the UK Space Industry Act 2018 into law has not, as yet, seen any further developments, however crucial questions in relation to liability, insurance and charging still need to be addressed. There has been a call for evidence to inform on these crucial regulatory aspects and once these questions are addressed, then there will be something of a clearer picture as to the regulatory environment of UK Space Activity.

The Australian Space Agency (ASA) and Airbus Defence and Space have signed a statement of intent that commits the European satellite manufacturer to enhancing the capability and competitiveness of the Australian space and satellite industrial sector.

Singapore's National University of Singapore (NUS) and the United Kingdom's Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) RAL Space have signed an agreement that paves the way for the joint building of a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) test satellite to be launched by late 2021.

The huge expansion in the space industry, with a rapidly growing market and new satellite applications, is revolutionary but financing many of these projects is still a challenge, especially for small investors who have something to contribute to this revolution and want in.

U.S. commercial space situational awareness (SSA) company LeoLabs has announced that it will build a phased array radar in New Zealand in order to track satellites, debris, and other objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

UAE satellite communications provider Yahsat has officially launched its YahClick Internet satellite broadband service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company announced.

South Korea will test a rocket engine designed and built by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) in a suborbital launch to be carried out at the end of October 2018, according to reports in the South Korean press.

Gilmour Space Technologies, the Australian-Singaporean New Space satellite launch company headquartered in Queensland, Australia, has secured U.S.$13.73 million (AUS$19 million) in a Series B investment round to scale up its operations and launch its first commercial hybrid launch vehicle into orbit by 2020.

Chinese commercial satellite launch vehicle company ExPace successfully launched an experimental positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite called Centispace-1-S1 on board a Kuaizhou-1A launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) on 29 September 2018.