India spares slowing ISRO’s space missions

India spares slowing ISRO’s space missions
(Express News) May 12, 2010
The quality of home-grown electronic components, which are integrated to satellites and launch vehicles, is very poor and hence is hampering the process of indigenisation of the Indian Space programme, said Dr D Narayanamoorthy, senior scientist at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). He was delivering the National Technology Day lecture on Indian Space Endeavour on Tuesday. He said that while the percentage of indigenous components in the launch vehicles was very high, the percentage of indigenous components integrated into spacecrafts was about 50 per cent. This, he said, was despite the very poor quality of home-grown electronic components.

Contract signed for Vietnam’s second satellite

Contract signed for Vietnam’s second satellite
(VOV News) May 12, 2010
The Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and the US aeronautical manufacturer - Lockheed Martin Corporation, signed a contract in Hanoi on May 11 to build and launch Vietnam’s second telecom satellite, Vinasat-2. Accordingly, Lockheed Martin will build the satellite and launch it into orbit within 24 months from the date of the contract. With the launch of the US$250 million Vinasat-1in April 2008, Vietnam became the 93rd country in the world and the sixth within the region to have its own satellite in orbit, according to VNPT. So far Vinasat-1 has leased out 80 percent of its capacity and is expected to operate at full capacity by 2011.

Qatar set to launch satellite in 2012

Qatar set to launch satellite in 2012
(Gulf News) May 12, 2010
Manama Qatar is set to launch its first satellite at the end of 2012 to provide superior coverage across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. The $300 million (Dh1.1 billion) deal to launch and operate the satellite, named Eshail, was signed in Doha by Qatar's Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar)Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar). Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani, who was present at the signing ceremony, said that Qatar's share of the deal was more than 50 per cent.

Naro ready for June 9 rocket launch

Naro ready for June 9 rocket launch
(Korea Times) May 10, 2010, By Kim Tong-hyung
South Korea's first space rocket launch was a dismal failure, although government officials insist on calling it a ``half-success.'' The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the country's space agency, doesn't intend to leave any doubts this time around as it prepares to light up the Korea Space Launch Vehicle 1 (KSLV-1) again for an optimistic retry on June 9. Yet it is difficult to pinpoint the areas required for improvement, when engineers and officials are still unsure what caused KSLV-1 to fail to place its payload satellite into orbit on its maiden flight last August.

Mexico to create its first space center on Yucatan Peninsula
(RIA Novosti) April 22, 2010
Mexico will create its own space center on the Yucatan Peninsula, deputy economy minister Francisco Pimentel said. "In the next few days, [U.S.] astronaut Jose Hernandez and engineer Fernando de la Pena will travel there to carry out an inspection, in order to study concrete details of the future construction," he said. Pimentel said the space center will be built near the city of Chetumal, on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The space center, to be located some 15-20 kilometers (9-12 miles) away from residential locations, will built on about 30 hectares of land. In 2008, the Mexican parliament approved the creation of a Mexican space agency (Agencia Espacial Mexicana - AEXA). The initiative was put forward in 2007 by NASA's Hernandez, whose father emigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. The structure of Mexico's space agency will be similar to that of NASA. The initial cost of the project is estimated at $80 million. Hernandez has said the Mexican space agency was ready to cooperate with all countries in peaceful space exploration. According to the astronaut, Mexico is technically unable to carry out rocket launches by itself at the moment, but will probably be able to in ten years or so. For now, he said, the country should obtain the necessary technology. Russia and Mexico signed an agreement on cooperation in space research and exploration for peaceful purposes in 1996. In March 2009, a delegation of experts from Russian space agency Roscosmos visited the Latin American state to discuss the creation of the Mexican space agency with local lawmakers. After the talks, Roscosmos deputy head Sergei Savelyev said Russia was ready to help Mexico develop its national space program on a commercial basis.

Mexico enters the space race

Mexico enters the space race
(Wales Online) April 21, 2010
Mexican politicians approved the creation of a space agency that will seek to bolster research and raise Mexico’s scientific profile. The lower house of Mexico’s Congress voted to support the agency, which was endorsed by the Senate in 2008. The proposal will now go to President Felipe Calderon for final approval. Politicians said in a statement that if approved by Mr Calderon, the agency will have to convoke Mexican and foreign space experts to draft its space policy. Nasa astronaut Jose Hernandez volunteered to help start Mexico’s first space agency. Mr Hernandez is the US-born son of Mexican migrant farm workers.

China, Brazil sign document on satellite data sharing

China, Brazil sign document on satellite data sharing
(Xinhua) April 19, 2010
China and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding which gives both countries direct access to data from the satellites the two countries jointly developed, launched and operated. The document was signed by the president of the China Center for Resources Satellite Data and Application, Xu Wen, and the general director of Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Gilberto Camara, in the Brazilian city of Sao Jose dos Campos, where the INPE headquarters are located. The INPE said on Monday the agreement has made the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS) global.