Tag Archives: China

The Nigeria Communications Ltd. (NigComSat) company, the operator of the NIGCOMSAT-1R communications satellite, is set to receive U.S.$550 million equity investment from the satellite's manufacturer, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), the Nigerian Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu told Nigerian newspaper Punch on 2

Chinese New Space company Kuang-Chi Science Ltd. and U.S. New Space pioneer Nanoracks have announced their partnership in developing new business outside of China for Kuang-Chi's Traveler near-space helium balloon platform for space tourism, Earth observation, small satellite launch, and scientific research.

Often cast in the shadow of the space activities of its Indian neighbour, Pakistan's space programme is all-too-often ignored. 2018, however, may be the year that Islamabad's space ambitions pass some critical milestones, albeit with help from its other neighbour, China.

Israeli fleet operator Spacecom is very close to purchasing a new satellite, named AMOS-8. This forthcoming purchase is a sign of a turnaround for Spacecom, as well as a bet on the troubled company’s future. Back-to-back spacecraft losses in 2015 and 2016 turned Spacecom from an expanding business into a struggling concern. Preceding the destruction of AMOS-6, Spacecom’s Russian-built AMOS-5 satellite ceased working in orbit due to a power system failure in 2015, just four years after its launch.

Struggling NigComSat is looking to Türksat to develop its satellite communications market in Africa. The Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd, NigComSat, has been talking with Turkish satellite operator, Türksat A.S., about the possibility of expanding their market across various industries to deepen services at more affordable rates.

Algérie Telecom Satellite (ATS), a subsidiary of Algérie Telecom, plans to introduce a triple play service to provide customers with broadband Internet, telephone, and video-on-demand (VOD) via the ALCOMSAT-1  communications satellite. ATS will offer the services that include a digital demodulator loaded with TV channels, high speed internet, and telephone …

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 …

How should India approach Chinese efforts to develop antisatellite (ASAT) weapons and its ambition to establish space superiority? In a talk given to the Observer Research Foundation’s Space Security conference in New Delhi on 16 February, 2018, ThorGroup’s Dr. John B. Sheldon offers a few suggestions. For those who have just …

France and India have agreed to cooperate on space-based maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean. This decision to increase cooperation is seen as a geopolitical countermove to what many Indian analysts believe are increasing attempts by China to gain superiority in the Indian Ocean. France and India will now …

The Russian military plans to modernise its operations with the use of satellites. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the announcement just two weeks after the U.S. Air Force announced that America must be prepared for space warfare. In his remarks last week speaking on a conference call with representatives of the Russian rocketry and space industries, Shoigu stressed that Russia must deploy a modern orbital constellation of military satellites to support its army and navy. "Only with support from space will it be possible for the Armed Forces to reach maximum effectiveness,” he said. “Therefore, we are paying special attention to this area,".