Tag Archives: Human Spaceflight

As 2018 comes to an end, we would like to take a moment and look back at some of the high - and low points of the last year. 2018 was a great year - no deadly accidents, more launches then ever and new space agencies around the globe.

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.

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.

Virgin Galactic, the private spaceflight company founded by Virgin Group chairman Sir Richard Branson achieved success on 13 December 2018 after its SpaceShipTwo Unity (VSS Unity) reached suborbital space for the first time over the Mojave Desert in California, United States.

The UAE Space Agency has set out its stall right from the very beginning. It is highly ambitious, and since its establishment just four years ago, it has come an incredibly long way

The Syrian Minister of Communications and Technology, Iyad Khatib, has stated the need for Syria to develop a space programme and launch its first satellite into orbit, the ministry said on 11 December 2018, according to Russian news outlet Sputnik International.

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.

Mankind has always been defined by our collective curiosity. We constantly push for greater things, expanding our knowledge and influence over the world around us.

Following a string of high-profile incidents, failures, and corruption scandals and allegations, Russia's state space corporation, Roscosmos, has hit back at its Russian and international critics in a bizarre claim that criticism of the struggling space programme is an "information attack" designed to discredit Roscosmos and its efforts at reforming Russia's moribund space sector.

A senior U.S. space official has told SpaceWatch.Global of the Trump administration's concern that Chinese commercial and trade practices are distorting the international commercial space market, and that the U.S. does not envision any form of space cooperation with China as a result.