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Policy and Law

Future Space Wars: China’s PLAAF Intends To Extend Its Reach Into Space

The Chinese Air Force – officially called the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) - intends to expand its presence into space as part of its plan to become a “world-class force,” China's state-run media reported on 13 November 2018, quoting senior Chinese officers, and first reported outside of China by The Japan Times.

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Euroconsult Forecasts 3,300 Satellites Worth $284 Billion Over Next Decade

According to the 21st edition of its report Satellites to be Built and Launched over the Next 10 Years, Euroconsult anticipates that 3,330 satellites with a mass over 50 kg will be launched on average each year by 2027 for government agencies and commercial organizations worldwide.

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French Joint Space Command Outlines Satellite Protection Courses Of Action

Following revelations in September 2018 by French defence minister Florence Parly that Russian reconnaissance satellites had maneuvered close to the Athena-Fidus Franco-Italian communications satellite in 2017 in a suspected act of espionage, the French Joint Space Command and the Ministry of Defence are preparing a space defence strategy that will be submitted to President Emmanuel Macron for his approval by the end of 2018.

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Russia To Set Up SSA Observatories Along Arctic Ocean Coast

Russian scientists, with the support of the Russian government, intend to place a number of ground-based observatories in the Nenets Autonomous Region on Russia's Northwest Arctic Ocean coast for the purposes of providing space situational awareness (SSA) of satellites and space debris in Polar orbits as the pass over the Arctic region, according to a report published on 7 November 2018 by the Russian news agency, TASS.

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Vietnam And France Sign Space Climate Observatory And Other Space Agreements

During a visit to Vietnam by the French Prime Minister, Jean-Yves Le Gall, the President of the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), signed a number of agreements with Vietnamese counterparts covering the French-led Space Climate Observatory (SCO), STEM education, and maritime and oceanographic surveillance.

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Japan Launches Michibiki GNSS Service With Great Economic Expectations

Japan launched its own satellite positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system called Michibiki on Thursday, 1 November 2018, as part of an effort to generate new businesses worth nearly 5 trillion yen (U.S.$44.4 billion) by 2025, as companies such as SoftBank Group, Mitsubishi Electric, and Hitachi develop applications in automated driving, farming, and other sectors that will use the Michibiki system.

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Ethiopia To Build And Launch Remote Sensing Satellite With Chinese Help

Ethiopian scientists and engineers are building a small Earth observation satellite in cooperation with and with funding from China, which will be launched from China in 2019, according to a report in The East African newspaper. This announcement is the culmination of much effort to bring Ethiopian space ambitions to reality.

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