Satellite

The head of the French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), Jean-Yves Le Gall, spoke at the French-Russian seminar organized by GIFAS, the French aerospace industries association, at the Espace Hamelin in Paris on 30 January 2019.

Arianespace has successfully orbited two telecommunications satellites: the Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 condosat for operators King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Hellas Sat; and GSAT-31 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), hosted the first international meeting of the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) at its head office in Paris on 1 February 2019.

Reaching a desired orbit in space is set to become easier and more cost-effective, as space transportation start-up Momentus is soon to prove with its Vigoride service. German launch service provider, Exolaunch has signed a contract worth over U.S.$6 million with the Momentus to move its CubeSats and Microsatellites into multiple, bespoke orbits.

Against the backdrop of the UK’s flourishing NewSpace sector, Shetland Space Centre (SCC) and Goonhilly Earth Station are to partner to develop launch and tracking capabilities that will enable further development of the sector.

The UK's space sector has seen significant growth in income, exports and employment with total income now standing at 14.8 billion pounds (U.S.$19.2 billion), Science Minister Chris Skidmore has announced.

The Canadian Department of National Defence has awarded a C$15 million (U.S.$11.43 million) contract to Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) for development of multipurpose microsatellites to support Arctic surveillance. Upon successful completion and testing of the prototype, two additional microsatellites will be built to create a small formation.

UK-based Satixfy is unveiling its world’s first Electronically Steered Multi-Beam Array antenna at the SmallSat Symposium being held in Mountain View this week.

The Rwanda Utility and Regulatory Authority’s (RURA) Director General, Patrick Nyirishema, has confirmed that it is planning to launch the country’ inaugural satellite later this year.

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) have used new space technology to predict droughts and increased bushfire risk up to five months in advance.