Satcoms

The International Astronautical Congress held in Bremen, Germany last week welcomed a record 6,500 delegates and 83 registered countries, reaffirming a global love affair with space. In addition, more than 10.000 participants attended the public day on Wednesday 3 October to tune-in live to the International Space Station (ISS) for a live session with Alexander Gerst, the second ESA and first German commander of the ISS in the twenty years of its existence.

The benefits of space to the Middle East and North Africa region are undeniable, yet there is no single representative body to champion the sector. The near total inexistence of coordination or even collaboration has resulted in calls for the creation of a Pan-Arab Space Agency, to operate and coordinate programs in a comparable manner to the European Space Agency (ESA).

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has released its space exploration roadmap that sets out a path for Australian space industry and research organizations to more fully support and participate in international space science and exploration initiatives, particularly international efforts to reestablish a human presence on the Moon.

Audacy, a space communications service provider based in the U.S. and Singapore and deploying the first commercially licensed inter-satellite data relay network, has announced that it had achieved a significant milestone by securing pre-service commercial agreements valued at over U.S.$100 million.

France hopes to sell a high-resolution Earth observation satellite to Uzbekistan when President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace on 9 October 2018.

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.

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

Sky and Space Global (SAS), the New Space narrowband satellite communications company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to explore how SAS’ communications service can be integrated into their respective national telecommunications infrastructure.

Angola's National Space Programme Management Office (GGPEN) has revealed that it is using capacity on third-party communications satellites paid for by Russia as part of a compensation package for the failure in orbit of AngoSat-1 four months after its launch in late 2017, according to a report in the French-language technology news service Agence Ecofin.