Tag Archives: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The UAE Space Agency and the Saudi Space Commission met on the sidelines of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council in Riyadh, the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 10 January 2020, where both parties officially activated their Memorandum of Understanding that was initially signed last year.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), announced on 13 January 2020 that it is participating in the 12th International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is understood to be in separate talks with Kazakhstan regarding space cooperation, and South Korea regarding economic cooperation in satellite manufacturing and applications, according to Saudi and regional press reports.

Indonesia is understood to be in talks with Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, about the possibility of Russia training and launching the Southeast Asian country’s first astronaut.

The head of the Egyptian Space Agency, Mohammed el-Qousy, announced on 25 December 2019 that the agency will launch a nationwide, six-year long competition to select Egypt's first astronaut.

The Saudi Arabian Space Commission is reportedly about to submit a National Space Strategy and other legal and policy documents that consolidate the commission's roles and missions to King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, according to a senior Saudi Space Commission advisor speaking at a recent space event in Riyadh.

Arab Satellite Communications Organization (ARABSAT) announced on 12 November 2019 the signing of a contract between leading satellite service provider, Arabsat, Sudan-based Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) service provider, Sudasat, and global leader in IP-based satellite communications, ST Engineering iDirect.

The head of the Iran Space Agency (ISA), Morteza Barari, has said that Iran is looking to open discussions with Russia about the possibility of sending an Iranian astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS), according to Iranian press reports.

The head of the Egyptian Space Agency announced that Egypt intends to send an astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) during a visit to Cairo by a delegation from the UAE Space Agency (UAESA) on 16 October 2019.

Following his successful visit to Saudi Arabia, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, on 15-16 October 2019 where UAE-Russian space cooperation featured prominently on the diplomatic agenda.