Satellite

On the occasion of the state visit to France of the President of the People’s Republic of China, the French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) have stepped up their cooperation in the fields of planetary exploration and climate action. Space was already central to discussions between the two nations in January last year during the state visit to China of President Emmanuel Macron, a few months before the launch of the French-Chinese CFOSat oceanography satellite, the cornerstone of this partnership.

Argos is the only global satellite-based data collection and location system of its kind dedicated to studying and preserving the environment. Created in 1978 on the initiative of the French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it is today operated by CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellite), a subsidiary of CNES. Since Argos entered service, three generations of instruments have succeeded one another. Eumetsat and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) joined the programme in 1997 and 2007 respectively.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc., a provider of economical and dependable launch vehicles, spacecraft and in-space services, announced today the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus Defence and Space to develop new space launch solutions for Airbus customers.

Spacebel and Wuudis Solutions (Wuudis) have signed a business agreement in Liège, Belgium on the distribution of Wuudis services to forestry users of the EO Regions! business platform and the commercialisation of Spacebel’s earth observation (EO) forest products on the Wuudis electronic platform. The aim is to strengthen their common offer in the field of forestry services worldwide.

Inmarsat is to be acquired by a private equity consortium in a U.S.$6 billion deal. The news comes after Echostar made a bid for the mobile satellite communications company just last year and after interest was also shown by Eutelsat and SoftBank.

Dr. Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, and George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company (TSC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that outlines cooperation across a range of areas including plans to bring Virgin Galactic spaceflights to the UAE for education, science and technology research, as well as potential space tourism flights in the future.

Pakistan’s space agency, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), is believed to be in talks with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on developing an agenda for possible space cooperation, according to a senior SUPARCO official quoted in the UAE newspaper Khaleej Times.

On its third launch of the year, Arianespace has successfully orbited the PRISMA Earth observation satellite on behalf of the ASI Italian space agency, within the scope of a contract with OHB Italia.

According to Joseph Ibeh of Space in Africa, the Government of Senegal is set to grow the nation’s capability in the development of small satellites and space applications following a recommendation resulting from national consultations on the future of higher education in the prominent West African country.

A delegation from the French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) attended the third Global Space Congress (GSC) held in Abu Dhabi from 19 to 21 March 2019, organized by the United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) under the high patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Dubai.