Japan successfully launches Michibiki 3 satellite for navigation constellation
After delays on August 11 and 12, after which the launch was scrubbed and postponed, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) finally launched its Michibiki 3 satellite on August 19, at...
China to build first Mars base simulator in Qinghai province near Tibet
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has announced that China’s first Mars base simulator will be built at the Qaidam Basin area in Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai province, in south-western China. The simulator...
Google Lunar XPRIZE extends deadline, offers $4.75 million in additional rewards
Google Lunar XPRIZE, in which five international teams are currently competing to land a spacecraft on the moon, has extended its deadline from end-2017 to 31 March 2018.
Also, in addition to...
Four Japanese companies form a joint venture to develop small rockets
Four Japanese companies – IHI Aerospace, Canon Electronics, Shimizu Corporation, and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) – have formed the New Generation Small Rocket Development Planning Co., Ltd.
This joint venture,...
Singapore company Addvalue partners with Inmarsat for 24/7 LEO communications
Addvalue Technologies, a Singapore-based company, has signed an official agreement with Inmarsat to offer the world’s first on-demand commercial communications service for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.
Known as the Inter-Satellite Data...
ISRO’s new navigation satellite arrives at launch site
On August 11 2017, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) newest satellite, the IRNSS-1H, was flagged off to the launch site at Sriharikota, from its home at the ISRO Satellite Center...
JAXA scrubs Michibiki 3 launch due to problem with propulsion
Japan’s space agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), has scrubbed the launch of its Michibiki 3 satellite.
Originally planned for August 11, the launch was postponed to August 12 at approximately 2p.m....
China to tap into NewSpace with Long March 11 rocket
Today, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for the Chinese space programme, announced that it will provide commercial launch services using its Long March 11 rocket.
Long...
ISRO launch vehicle budgets and revenues
Yesterday, during a session of the Lok Sabha (the Indian parliament’s Lower House), several questions were raised about the budget and revenues of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO’s) launch vehicles.
Budget...
A close look at JAXA’s Int-Ball zero-gravity drone on the ISS
On 4 June 2017, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) and carried with it the world’s first zero-gravity camera drone that can be controlled from...
EARTH OBSERVATION
Earth observation consortium EO-ALERT endorses Addvalue’s IDRS
Addvalue Innovation, a Singapore-listed mobile satellite communication company, received the endorsement of its Inter-satellite Data Relay Service (IDRS) from EO-ALERT, a European Union’s Horizon...
