Policy and Law

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed three new members to the Supreme Council of Space – the supreme space policy-making body in Iran – on 14 August 2016. The three individuals appointed to the Supreme Council of Space are Elham Aminzadeh, Mostafa Safavi-Homami and Hassan Shafti. Each appointment lasts for four …

With the regular occurrence of satellite jamming in the Middle East, scientists at the Germany space agency – DLR – seem to have come up with one solution that might mitigate the worst effects of this phenomenon. Ships can be led astray with fake GPS signals. If signals for navigation …

The Egyptian government, under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has agreed upon draft legislation that will eventually create a national space agency for the belaboured country. The announcement was made on 3 August 2016, and aims to harness space technologies for the purposes of economic development and for …

Iranian and Azerbaijani officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for space cooperation between the two countries, days before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visits the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on 8 August 2016. Iranian Minister for Communication and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi and Azerbaijani Minister Communications and High Technologies Ramin Namigoglu …

Are Middle East governments ready to counter a resurgent Iran in space? American space law expert and policy consultant, Michael J. Listner, makes the case for more countries in the region to develop comprehensive national space policies so that their defence establishments can adequately prepare defensive measures in the space domain. …

The Kuwaiti cabinet, the Council of Ministers, is considering the acquisition and launch of a satellite, according to local reports in Kuwait City. Draft legislation has been submitted to the cabinet from the Communications and Information Technology Commission. The reports say that the cabinet has formed a committee to examine …

Around 130 satellites forecast to be launched by emerging space programs in next 10 years. According to Euroconsult’s latest report, Trends & Prospects for Emerging Space Programs, 24 countries are identified as emerging space programs (ESPs) in 2015 having launched a total of 69 satellites in the last 20 years. …

The attempted coup by elements of the Turkish military on Friday, 15 July 2016, in an attempt to depose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP Party, included an attack against the main campus of TÜRKSAT located in Gölbaşı, just outside of the Turkish capital of Ankara. The TÜRKSAT headquarters …

With demand for Earth imagery increasing, manufacturers are expected to produce some 1,935 remote sensing satellites over the next 10 years, according to Forecast International. The company’s new study, “The Market for Civil & Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites,” reports that during the 2016-2025 forecast period, the value of production will …

Asia is home to three established space powers – Japan, China and India – and there are several new players, some with rising aspirations of reaching the Moon, thus giving way to a new competition in Asia. The fact that six of the ten countries – China, India, Iran, Israel, …