Russian news outlets TASS and Pravda are reporting that the UAE Space Agency and Roscosmos have held talks at the 68th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, about training Emirati astronauts and then launching them from Russian soil to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as 2019. Sergey …
Read More »#SpaceWatchME Op’Ed: Strategic Implications of Iran’s Simorgh Space Launch Vehicle Test
Iran’s test launch of its Simorgh space launch vehicle (SLV) on July 27, 2017, caused significant yet unsurprising controversy throughout the international community. Two months later, with the dust literally settling, Natalie Fuchs – SpaceWatch Middle East’s contributing editor on all things Iranian space – argues that it is possible that the U.S., its …
Read More »Talia to Provide Arabsat With 10 Channel Video Uplink and Monitoring Service on Badr-7 Ku Band
Talia Limited, a leading communication provider serving the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, announces its partnership with Arabsat of a new 10-channel video uplink to the Arabsat Badr-7 satellite located at 26°E. The service will offer both SD and HD channel uplinks and will form the basis of …
Read More »UNOOSA Director’s Statement to the 60th Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
STATEMENT BY SIMONETTA DI PIPPO DIRECTOR UNITED NATIONS OFFICE FOR OUTER SPACE AFFAIRS (UNOOSA) Sixtieth session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Vienna, 7-16 June 2017 Mr. Chair, distinguished delegates, On behalf of the Office for Outer Space Affairs, I warmly welcome you all to the sixtieth …
Read More »Iran Launches Simorgh: Act of Defiance to the U.S. or Legitimate SLV Test?
Iran launched its Simorgh space launch vehicle (SLV) into space on Thursday, July 27, 2017, from the Imam Khomeini Space Centre. The Simorgh SLV (Farsi for ‘Phoenix’) was not thought to have carried a payload. The U.S. Air Force’s Joint Space Operations Centre (JSpOC) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in …
Read More »NATO Supports Jordan’s National Cyber Defence Strategy
NATO and the Jordanian Armed Forces inaugurated the newly established Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Amman on July 19, 2017. The CERT was set up as part of a NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) project to enhance Jordanian cyber defence capabilities. Jordan’s geographical location and security environment …
Read More »#SWMEThemes: Mission to the Moon Seeks Middle East Partners In Science and Resource Exploration
In the sixth and final installment of our #SWMEThemes on Space Resources and the Middle East, Robert Boehme – the CEO and Founder of PTScientists – tells us how his company’s Mission to the Moon is contributing to the commercial exploration of space, and the opportunities on offer to Middle Eastern …
Read More »Iran’s Space Programme: A Political Football Amidst Economic Decrepitude
In the space of one week Iranian space officials have simultaneously announced plans to start their own satellite navigation programme and that an old satellite built by an Italian company is too expensive to launch and so will be consigned to a space museum. To anyone who closely observes Iranian …
Read More »Government Space Programme Spending Reaches $62 Billion in 2016
According to Euroconsult’s newly released research report, Government Space Programs: Benchmarks, Profiles and Forecasts to 2026, global space budgets totaled $62.2 billion in 2016, down 2% from the previous year. Governments launched 75 satellites, less than the historical peak of 2015 but in line with the last five year average. …
Read More »PTScientist’s Audi Lunar Quattro Hits the Hollywood Green Carpet
Over the past few years, space has had some notable moments on the Hollywood red carpet and we’ve seen films such as Gravity and The Martian do well at the box office. Here at SpaceWatch Middle East, we have been particularly excited by the new Alien movie, Alien Covenant, because …
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