China seeks its own Apollo moment – and more
On April 25, a Long March 2F rocket briefly lit up the dark desert sky above Jiuquan Spaceport in northwest China, carrying three Shenzhou-18 astronauts to the Tiangong space station. Such missions, including crew handovers, have become remarkably routine for China.
China adds new moon base project partners, but struggles to attract national-level participation
China continues to add new members to its International Lunar Research Station initiative, but many of these are subnational, suggesting issues attracting partners.
Helium‑3 from the lunar surface for nuclear fusion?
Since 1969, the return of a human mission to the Moon has never seemed so close. Although scientific interest continued to flourish, space programmes had for many decades abandoned it in favour of the International Space Station and missions to explore the solar system.
China Space Station First Step in Country's Plans to Colonize Space
China's far-reaching ambition for a permanent presence in outer space began in earnest on Thursday with the launch of its first crew bound for a new space station.
Destination Moon: is it time for us to send astronauts back?
The series For All Mankind (2019) is a fictional alternate history that imagines a world where the Soviet Union was the first power to send an astronaut to the moon. From that starting point, the two rival superpowers compete to establish their own lunar station.
New research initiative : European space governance
Eric André Martin, coordinator of the research initiative on European space governance associating Ifri, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik (DGAP) and Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), presents the European project. The video also looks at China's rise as an international space power. The report was written by researcher Marc Julienne.
Taiwan’s Rising Space Program: Building Up Industry, Supporting National Security
Taiwan, known for its leadership in semiconductors and information and communications technology (ICT), is now making significant strides in the space industry. While historically modest, Taiwan’s space program has seen a transformation since 2020, driven by President Tsai Ing-wen’s commitment to expanding the country’s space capabilities. Key milestones include the passage of the Space Development Act and the creation of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), which has bolstered the resources and visibility of Taiwan’s space ambitions.
Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?
Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.
NATO's New Ambitions for Space
Ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a devastating cyber attack targets Ukrainian army communications, exposing Western dependence and vulnerability to space technologies, and calling NATO's defensive posture into question.
China in International Space Cooperation: Heading South
In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.
Taiwan’s Rising Space Program: Building Up Industry, Supporting National Security
Taiwan, known for its leadership in semiconductors and information and communications technology (ICT), is now making significant strides in the space industry. While historically modest, Taiwan’s space program has seen a transformation since 2020, driven by President Tsai Ing-wen’s commitment to expanding the country’s space capabilities. Key milestones include the passage of the Space Development Act and the creation of the Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), which has bolstered the resources and visibility of Taiwan’s space ambitions.
Sat-to-Cell: Towards Universal Connectivity?
Sat-to-Cell is a new type of service that connects smartphones directly to satellites. It has recently enabled innovative applications such as emergency text messaging via satellite. The technology is developing rapidly, and many questions are now being raised about its potential impact.
China in International Space Cooperation: Heading South
In only three decades, China has become one of the world’s top space powers. At the turn of the 2020s, almost suddenly, China became the main challenger to the US, although with a significant remaining gap to bridge.
China-Russia Cooperation in Space: The Reality behind the Speeches
China-Russia cooperation in space has been increasing for the past two decades. This cooperation accelerated after the Crimea crisis in 2014 and culminated with the announcement in 2021 of the joint construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).
Indian Space Program and its Drivers: Possible Implications for the Global Space Market
India has one of the oldest space programs in the world with space playing a critical role in India’s national development and external power projection capability.
Japan’s Space Program: Shifting Away from “Non-Offensive” Purposes?
Japan’s space program has evolved greatly since the end of the Cold War, driven by a rapidly changing geopolitical environment and tailored by the emergence of an “intra-alliance hedging strategy”.
India’s Space Program - International Competition and Evolution
India’s space program has grown and evolved significantly in the last five decades. The program originally focused on developing space assets that provided direct developmental benefits, for example telecommunications and remote sensing satellites that helped both in improving communication facilities and giving direct assistance to India’s farmers. But over time, India has shifted a part of its focus towards space exploration and other high-profile missions that do not have as clear a developmental purpose as earlier. This includes, for example, India’s Mars and Moon exploratory missions. Overall, India has been fairly successful in these efforts and its space program has become a comprehensive one that includes not only a robust launch capacity and very large remote sensing satellite systems, but also a very well rounded scientific and deep space exploratory program.
Assessing Europe's Space Dependency and Its Implications
It is a classic exercise to imagine what today’s world would be like if all satellites were shut down. The exact consequences of such a scenario, which is not unlikely given the inherent vulnerability of space systems to natural, accidental and deliberate interferences, are however difficult to appreciate, even for specialists.
Japan's New Dual-Use Space Policy: The Long Road to the 21st Century
Japan’s latest space policy is designed to support a more proactive US-Japan alliance role in containing China, and robustly defend Japan against North Korean ballistic missile threats.
Space Collaboration between India and France: Towards a New Era
In the sphere of space research, France-India collaboration began in the early 1960s, with France providing assistance to India’s Rohini sounding rockets programme. Over the years, France has played a constructive role in helping India to develop its ground and space infrastructure, as well as its launching platforms and human resources. In point of fact, France has emerged as one of India’s most dependable partner in the realm of space.
China seeks its own Apollo moment – and more
On April 25, a Long March 2F rocket briefly lit up the dark desert sky above Jiuquan Spaceport in northwest China, carrying three Shenzhou-18 astronauts to the Tiangong space station. Such missions, including crew handovers, have become remarkably routine for China.
China adds new moon base project partners, but struggles to attract national-level participation
China continues to add new members to its International Lunar Research Station initiative, but many of these are subnational, suggesting issues attracting partners.
Helium‑3 from the lunar surface for nuclear fusion?
Since 1969, the return of a human mission to the Moon has never seemed so close. Although scientific interest continued to flourish, space programmes had for many decades abandoned it in favour of the International Space Station and missions to explore the solar system.
China Space Station First Step in Country's Plans to Colonize Space
China's far-reaching ambition for a permanent presence in outer space began in earnest on Thursday with the launch of its first crew bound for a new space station.
Destination Moon: is it time for us to send astronauts back?
The series For All Mankind (2019) is a fictional alternate history that imagines a world where the Soviet Union was the first power to send an astronaut to the moon. From that starting point, the two rival superpowers compete to establish their own lunar station.
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