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 »Mahmoud Vaezi, Iranian Minister Responsible for Space, To Step Down
The Iranian government minister responsible for the space portfolio has stated that he will step down before the start of President Hassan Rouhani’s second term. Mahmoud Vaezi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has been responsible for Iran Space Agency activities as well as negotiations with Russia and other …
Read More »UAE’s MBRSC Joins Sentinel Asia Initiative to Support Disaster Management In the Asia-Pacific Region
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has joined Sentinel Asia, an international initiative among space agencies, disaster management agencies, and international agencies for applying remote sensing and Web-GIS technologies to support disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region. The Centre joined the initiative as part of its support to disaster …
Read More »Armenia’s SHANT TV Launches New HD Platform At Eutelsat HOTBIRD Neighbourhood
SHANT TV, the Armenian commercial broadcaster, today announced that July 15, 2017, marks the launch of its new international multi-channel platform from the popular HOTBIRD video neighbourhood operated by Eutelsat Communications. SHANT TV has signed a multi-year contract with Eutelsat to support its new all-HD venture. Broadcasting through HOTBIRD for …
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 »Johann-Dietrich Woerner: Cooperation And Competition In Space Is Both An Opportunity And A Necessity
European Space Agency (ESA) Director-General Johann-Dietrich Woerner reflects on international space cooperation and competition in these unsettling times. As I reflected on the successful launch of Hispasat 36W-1 on the new SmallGEO geostationary platform on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Guiana, and the current global political backdrop, it got …
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 »Iran Set To Join Eurasian Economic Union, Participate in Bloc’s Space Activities
Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are close to cementing a free trade deal that would see Tehran join the trade bloc built around former Soviet republics by the end of 2017. Once this happens, Iran will also be poised to participate in the EAEU’s nascent space activities. The …
Read More »Regional Beidou Centre of Excellence To Be Opened in Tunisia in November 2017
China and Middle Eastern states are working together to promote the use of China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System in the region, according to a statement following an industry forum on May 24, 2017. All parties concerned have pledged to strengthen their communication and collaboration in satellite navigation and to bring …
Read More »Iran Abandons Its Human Spaceflight Ambitions
In an unsurprising move, the Iranian government has officially abandoned Tehran’s ambitions to send humans into space. According to Iranian news agency ILNA, Mohammad Homayoun Sadr, the deputy head of the Iran Space Agency (ISA), made the announcement citing the extremely steep cost of a human spaceflight programme that he …
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