The Indian government is likely to introduce the 2017 Space Activities Bill, which will allow the commercial use of space in India, in the 2019 budget session, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.
Read More »Indian Human Spaceflight: Gaganyaan Mission In 2022 To Orbit Three Astronauts, Cost $1.4 Billion
The Indian government announced on 28 December 2018 that its Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission expected to take place in 2022 will consist of three crew members, last for five to seven days in orbit, and is budgeted for the equivalent of U.S.$1.43 billion, according to Indian media reports.
Read More »China’s BeiDou GNSS Now Available Globally Ahead of Schedule
China has announced the completion of its BeiDou global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and the start of worldwide service on 27 December 2018, marking a victory for Beijing's "Made in China 2025" strategy that promotes strategically autonomous high technologies such as autonomous driving, satellite technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and 5G networks, among others.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Column: Big Ambitions From China’s SmallSat Companies
By Blaine Curcio and Tianyi Lan Over the past five years, and in particular over the past two to three years, the Chinese space industry has seen a dramatic increase in private company involvement. While these companies tend to be relatively small, they are great in number, with over 60 …
Read More »India’s ISRO Seeking To Develop ADMIRE VTVL Reusable Launch Vehicle
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is looking to develop a reusable satellite launch vehicle similar to the reusable Grasshopper booster rockets from the SpaceX Falcon 9 satellite launch vehicle, The Times of India reports.
Read More »Chinese Commercial Space: First Of 156-Satellite Hongyun Satellite Broadband Constellation Successfully Launched
A Chinese Long March 11 launch vehicle successfully placed the Hongyan-1 satellite into orbit on 21 December 2018, making the first satellite launch of a planned 156-satellite communications constellation in low-Earth orbit (LEO), according to Andrew Jones at GBTimes.
Read More »Kiwi-Dutch Dawn Aerospace Raises $2.24 Million For Spaceplane Concept
Dawn Aerospace, a New Zealand-Dutch startup building 100% reusable rockets for satellite delivery, has raised NZ$3.35 million (U.S.$2.24 million) of investment from Kiwi, American, and Dutch investors.
Read More »Indian Military Space: ISRO Successfully Launches GSAT-7A Communications Satellite For Indian Air Force
An Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F11) successfully launched the GSAT-7A military communication satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, India, on 19 December 2018.
Read More »Singapore’s Astroscale Meets With GK Launch Services To Discuss ELSA-d Launch
GK Launch Services, a subsidiary of Glavkosmos, Lavochkin Association, and Astroscale Japan Inc. held a kick-off meeting in Moscow on 12 December 2018 under the agreement on launch services for the Astroscale End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) satellite.
Read More »Japanese New Space: Axelspace To Launch GRUS-1 By End Of 2018; Partners With JSAT & KSAT For Ground Infrastructure
Axelspace has announced that the launch of the GRUS-1 satellite is scheduled for 27 December 2018, the first satellite of a future constellation.
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