Space Missions

The United Arab Emirates has signed a Letter of Intent with Russia and Kazakhstan to cooperate in space exploration and future space projects. The agreement was signed during a visit to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by a delegation from the UAE Space Agency led by Dr. Ahmad Abdullah Al Falasi, UAE Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency.

After a two-year hiatus since the crash of VSS Enterprise in 2016, Virgin Galactic successfully carried out a flight test of its VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo spaceplane from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California on 5 April 2018.

The UAE has become a trailblazer in the Arab world in the field of space and satellite technology, an effort that is a part of a wider economic diversification initiative by the UAE government to ween the Gulf Arab state off of its economic dependency on hydrocarbons. It appears that neighbouring Gulf Arab countries are taking note, as a recent visit to the UAE Space Agency by a prominent delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia demonstrates.

Chinese New Space company Kuang-Chi Science Ltd. and U.S. New Space pioneer Nanoracks have announced their partnership in developing new business outside of China for Kuang-Chi's Traveler near-space helium balloon platform for space tourism, Earth observation, small satellite launch, and scientific research.

Space is the next environment that has to be protected against the impact of human development, a panel of top experts has warned at the UK Government’s GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong. The group of academics said that international investment and regulation needs to happen urgently or space risks being as damaged as our oceans are by human development. Development on the Moon and other planets is a ‘virtual certainty’ as new resources are sought from outside the Earth. And, if not properly regulated, development will impact vital functions, such as enabling worldwide communications and vital observation of Earth.

In part three of a three-part feature, Vitaly Egorov describes Russia’s modern posture in space and the challenges and possible ways of development of the national space industry. In this third and final part, Vitaly looks at how commercial alternatives can help fulfill Russia's space ambitions and honour its heritage.

In part two of a three-part feature, Vitaly Egorov describes Russia’s modern posture in space and the challenges and possible ways of development of the national space industry. This second part looks at how space exploration is often associated with extremely ambitious goals. Which one will Russia choose for the next few decades? What will be more beneficial in terms of pub

Russia and other independent republics of the former Soviet Union enjoy a proud and impressive space heritage, from Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin to the Mir Space Station and the unparalleled launch record of Baikonur Cosmodrome.

In what might be an election ploy or a signal of a growing space race, President Vladimir Putin announced plans for Russia to go to Mars in 2019 despite funding difficulties and a poor Russian track record for Martian exploration. Plans for this Mars mission come after 15 unsuccessful and …

India and France have announced a broad and strategic space cooperation agreement to guide their developing bilateral strategic partnership. This Joint Vision for Space Cooperation includes both existing and new joint mechanisms, with inter-agency representation led by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES) respectively. The progress and outcomes will be reported to the bilateral Indo-French Strategic Dialogue for review and assessment.