Policy and Law

Israel’s civilian space programme is in crisis due to chronic underfunding and the continuous outsourcing of satellite communications acquisitions to foreign satellite manufacturers, according to the annual report of the Israeli State Comptroller. In the report, released on 22 October 2018, the State Comptroller Joseph Shapira wrote that, as of July …

The Japanese New Space sector has never had it so good, though no one denies that there is much more to do. Investments are up, a robust ecosystem is emerging, and the Japanese government and large trading houses are now supportive of the sector: significant progress when compared to just …

The Indian government’s Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the creation of the Defence Cyber Agency, the Defence Space Agency, and the Special Operations Division as part of ongoing defence reforms designed to deal with emerging and new threats, according to government sources quoted in the Indian media. All three …

Vietnamese and Japanese officials revealed last week that they expect the Vietnamese radar Earth observation satellite, LOTUSat-1, to be launched sometime in 2019 after years of regulatory and diplomatic delays. The LOTUSat-1 system, estimated to be worth U.S.$301 million, is being paid for using official Japanese development assistance funds and …

On the sidelines of a state visit to France by South Korean President Moon Jae-In, the French National space agency, the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES), and the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) and the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA) signed a letter of intent committing all parties to developing the …

By Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan As the Asian Century takes on an interstellar dimension, who will write the rules of the road? Rajeswari Rajagopalan writes that space will likely be no exception to Asia’s great power rivalries. The outer space environment has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Countries in …

Uzbekistan and France have signed a framework agreement on space cooperation during a state visit to Paris by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 9 October 2018. The agreement was signed in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron by Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES) President Jean-Yves Le Gall and Abdulaziz …

The Virgin Group, the parent company of Virgin Galactic and Virgin Orbit, has withdrawn from all discussions over a U.S.$1 billion investment in its space activities with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) following the alleged torture and murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in …

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 …

The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) with the European Space Agency (ESA) to define frameworks for potential cooperation in space science and technology and capacity building for human spaceflight activities. This took place on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) …