Tag Archives: Space Diplomacy

Prelaunch preparations are underway to ready KhalifaSat for launch into orbit before the end of the year from a launch facility in Japan aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) H-IIA satellite launch vehicle, according to the Director-General of the UAE Space Agency.

Azercosmos, the national space agency of Azerbaijan, and the French space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), have signed a space cooperation agreement which focuses specifically on collaboration in Earth observation.

The UAE Space Agency has signed an agreement with the U.S. space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space and with the new UAE Astronaut Programme.

The French national space agency, the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), and the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), met earlier in July 2018 to discuss working together within the framework of the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) and bilateral space cooperation in space launch and the development of Korean positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellites.

The good, the bad, the great, and the ugly were all on display as the United Nations community gathered in Vienna last month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first UN space policy conference.

An agreement has been reached for the launch of a common satellite that will serve the East African region and enhance coverage. The decision was made during the 14th Summit of the Heads of State of the Northern Corridor.

The South African Trade and Deputy Minister, Bulelani Magwanishe, told the UNISPACE+50 High-Level Segment of the 61st session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS) in Vienna, that South Africa is keen to develop global partnerships in the space arena. He reiterated that the country is committed to the peaceful use of outer space and the long-term sustainability of space-related activities.

The UAE has announced that its first astronaut will be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019 with the assistance of the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. This confirms rumours circulating last month about the possibility of the UAE's first astronaut being sent into orbit in 2019, despite the fact that the selection for the UAE's four-person astronaut corps has yet to be completed.

The UAE Space Agency has sent a high level delegation to UNISPACE +50, a symposium and special high-level meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), currently being held in Vienna from 18-22 June 2018. The event is a highlight of the space industry calendar and brings together representatives of the international space sector to discuss a wide variety of related topics

In a move that appears to have surprised the Indian government, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has asked New Delhi for its cooperation in establishing a civilian satellite launch centre.