The United States National Space Council was re-established by President Donald J. Trump in 2017 after ceasing operations in 1993. The Council works to develop a strategy for national space activities and also to foster co-operation with other countries and space agencies in order to advance the U.S. space agenda and to share information.
Read More »Brexit Lost In Orbit: UK Officially Withdraws From Galileo; UK Space Minister Resigns
Britain has officially withdrawn from the European Union’s (EU) Galileo Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) because of fears that the UK will have no influence over the technological and policy direction of the satellite project after the country leaves the EU early in 2019.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Op’Ed: India’s Big Space Leap; ISRO Now Readying Flight To Venus
ISRO recently announced its plans to undertake a mission to Venus in the early 2020s and has also invited international proposals for scientific payloads.
Read More »Luxembourg’s Kleos Space Partners With UK’s IMSL To Channel Data To Clients
Kleos Space S.A. reports the signing of a commercial agreement with UK headquartered Intelligence Management Support Services Ltd (IMSL) for them to purchase Kleos Scouting Mission Data as a Service and to integrate and sell the Kleos data with related analytics services to government and industry customers around the world.
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Op’Ed: Why Space Debris Cleanup Might Be A National Security Threat
As an international relations scholar who studies space law and policy, I have come to realize what most people do not fully appreciate: Dealing with space debris is as much a national security issue as it is a technical one.
Read More »Israel’s IAI To Build Four TecSAR Satellites For U.S. Company XpressSAR
XpressSAR Inc. of Arlington, Virginia and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to purchase from IAI a constellation of up to four TecSAR synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites along with associated support services for launch, in-orbit testing, commissioning, and establishing ground operations to control the constellation.
Read More »Arianespace Successfully Launches Morocco’s Mohammed VI-B EO Satellite
Arianespace has successfully launched the MOHAMMED VI-B Earth observation satellite, developed for the Kingdom of Morocco by a consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space as system prime contractor and Airbus as co-prime. Arianespace’s ninth launch of the year, and the second using Vega in 2018, took place on Tuesday, November 20, …
Read More »Future Space Wars: Japan To Create Military SSA Unit, Incorporate AI Into Self-Defence Forces
The Japanese government will establish a command centre within the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to monitor space debris and traffic in Earth orbit as well as to carry out surveillance on foreign satellites as they orbit over Japanese territory.
Read More »Morocco’s Mohammed VI-B Imaging Satellite Launch Expected 20 November 2018
Morocco's Mohammed VI-B high-resolution Earth observation satellite is expected to be launched on an Arianespace launch vehicle from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana on 20 November 2018, on board an Arianespace Vega satellite launch vehicle, with the mission dubbed by Arianespace as Vega Flight VV13.
Read More »Future Space Wars: China’s PLAAF Intends To Extend Its Reach Into Space
The Chinese Air Force – officially called the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) - intends to expand its presence into space as part of its plan to become a “world-class force,” China's state-run media reported on 13 November 2018, quoting senior Chinese officers, and first reported outside of China by The Japan Times.
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