The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has established the Saudi Space Agency as part of a leadership shakeup enacted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in a Royal decree issued late on 27 December 2018.
Read More »SaudiSat-5A/5B Successfully Launched By Chinese Long March 2D Launch Vehicle
Saudi Arabia's Earth observation satellites, SaudiSat-5A and SaudiSat-5B, were successfully launched on board a Long March 2D launch vehicle on Friday, 7 December 2018, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) in Northwest China at 04:12 UTC.
Read More »New Space Moon Race: China Successfully Launches Chang’e 4 Lunar Probe
China successfully launched its Chang'e 4 lunar probe on Saturday, 8 December 2018, as part of its overall goal to establish itself as a global space power and spread its strategic influence throughout Eurasia.
Read More »China’s New Space Race: Space Industry Value Chain Worth $16 Bn, Euroconsult Report
According to Euroconsult's latest report, China Space Industry 2018, the China space value chain had an estimated size of more than U.S.$16 billion in 2017, with the downstream market accounting for just over 85%. Satellite Navigation, one of the key satellite applications in China, was the main revenue generator in 2017, ahead of Satellite Communications and Earth Observation.
Read More »Saudi Arabia’s KACST Completes SaudiSat-5A And -5B Earth Observation Satellites
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has developed and manufactured SaudiSat-5A and SaudiSat-5B, two high-resolution Earth observation satellites to be launched later this year from China.
Read More »China Successfully Launches “Magpie Bridge” Relay Satellite in Run-Up to Historic Chang’e-4 Mission
China is on the verge of a space exploration breakthrough with the launch of the “Magpie Bridge” relay satellite for its Chang'e-4 lunar mission that will explore the dark side of the Moon, further establishing itself as a preeminent global space power.
Read More »Russia to Send non-crewed Mission to Mars in 2019, According to Vladimir Putin
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 …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to Contribute Optical Camera to China’s Chang’e-4 Lunar Far Side Mission
By Andrew Jones China’s pioneering Chang’e-4 lunar mission set to launch later this year will carry an optical camera provided by Saudi Arabia as part of international involvement in the mission. The Chang’e-4 mission, which will use the backup to the 2013 Chang’e-3 Moon lander and rover, plans to make …
Read More »Saudi Arabia To Contribute To China’s Chang’e-4 Moon Mission
As part of his six week-long tour of Asian countries, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has presided over a major space agreement between his Kingdom and Asia’s leading space power, China. This prominent agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the King Abdulaziz City of Science …
Read More »Middle Eastern Lunar Missions: the Role of the Moon in the Middle East’s Spacefaring Future
The Moon is rapidly becoming the destination of choice for space agencies and companies since it poses less technical and financial risk than going directly to Mars. ThorGroup GmbH’s intern in Washington, DC – Nickolas J. Boensch – explores the emerging ‘Moon Rush’ and the possible roles and opportunities for …
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