Over the course of this coming week, SpaceWatch Middle East is running the first part of a multi-week theme on China’s Space Silk Road and the Middle East. Today, as a scene setter, Benjamin Habib and Viktor Faulknor of LaTrobe University in Australia, provide an overview of China’s Belt and Road …
Read More »#SWMEThemes: China’s Space Silk Road and the Middle East, Part One
Centuries ago, China and Europe were connected by a number of trade routes across the Eurasian landmass and the Indian Ocean that were later known as the Silk Road. These Silk Roads not only connected the ancient Chinese Middle Kingdom and Medieval Europe, but also connected regions of Eurasia that …
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 »Israel and India Sign Space Cooperation Agreements During PM Modi’s Visit
Israel and India have signed major space cooperation agreements during an official visit July 4-6, 2017, by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel. The two countries already have a cooperative agreement on space launches, with several Israeli satellites launched on Indian space launch vehicles in recent years. The agreements …
Read More »Israel’s IAI In Running To Supply Poland With Two Reconnaissance Satellites
Reports are emerging that Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are being considered by the Polish Ministry of Defence to supply the Central European country with two high-resolution reconnaissance satellites valued at U.S.$2 billion. The Polish defence minister, Antoni Macierewicz, has sent a delegation of acquisition officials to IAI in Tel Aviv …
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 »TeamIndus Moon Mission To Use Thales Alenia’s Integrated Transponder
Thales Alenia Space has been chosen by TeamIndus to provide the Integrated S Band Transponder on board its Lunar Landing Spacecraft system to transmit video and images from the Rover. Thales Alenia Space is the world leader in space communications systems, with customers including space agencies and satellite manufacturers from around …
Read More »India to Build Earth Observation Satellite for Armenia, Build Human Capacity
India is to build an Earth observation satellite for Armenia, as well as train Armenian scientists in the use of the system and handling and interpreting its data, according to Indian press reports. The agreement comes after the Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari held talks with the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Prime …
Read More »Space Mining an Opportunity for Middle East Oil Powers – Analyst
Middle Eastern oil powers are well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by exploiting space resources such as water and preciois metal, according to an energy industry analyst based in Singapore. According to Bloomberg, Tom James, a partner with Singapore-based commodities and energy consultancy Navitas Resources, says that countries …
Read More »BRICS to Further Space Science Cooperation
This story is republished with the kind permission of the editors of The BRICS Post, where it was originally published on April 6, 2017. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries are looking to build space science cooperation as the bloc seeks a bigger share of the $300 billion …
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