Recent ballistic missile strikes in the Middle East have shown that these weapons remain attractive for numerous state and nonstate actors. These actors seek to develop missile capabilities by building domestic production capacities and/or by resorting to external suppliers. Whether they are coupled with WMDs or not, ballistic missiles can be seen as powerful weapons […]

Arianespace has launched a Vega rocket to deliver an Earth observation satellite into orbit for the Kingdom of Morocco. Liftoff of Vega’s 11th mission from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana came at 01:42 GMT on 8 November (02:42 CET; 22:42 local time on 7 November). With a mass at liftoff of 1110 kg, Mohammed […]

South Korea’s Satrec Initiative honours EIAST’s team with farewell ceremony March 22, 2015 Dubai, United Arab Emirates The team of engineers from the Emirates Institute of Advanced Science and Tehcnology (EIAST) who have been participating in the long knowledge transfer program in South Korea, have successfuly concluded their stay in the city of Daejeon and […]

There are dozens of emerging space nations around the world seeking to capitalize on dramatic increases in space technology accessibility. We take a look at one such nation, the United Arab Emirates, exploring the opportunities and challenges they face on the road to achieving space capability. Entry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into the […]

Unmanned aerial surveillance devices are proving effective intelligence-gathering tools that may make rebel groups’ previous ability to operate without detection a thing of the past. Quality imagery helps in tracing the movements of key Boko Haram leaders and identifying targets, which can then guide Nigerian policy leaders and military commanders to make informed decisions on […]

Independent nonproliferation experts can now get images offering much greater detail about Iran’s and North Korea’s above-ground nuclear facilities. Last week, the satellite company DigitalGlobe announced the U.S. Commerce Department had approved a long-standing license request to sell its highest-available resolution photographs to commercial clients. Previously, the U.S. government had forbidden the sale of images […]

In January, William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, announced that the White House intends to extend international space station operations from 2020 to 2024 as part of the 2015 budget request to Congress. He also said that NASA has talked to its international partners about this. The issue for […]

The Ghana-based African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS) recently held a two-day event on 4 and 7 October 2013 in the nation’s capital city Accra to commemorate the 1999 UN-declared World Space Week. Hosted in the Nuclear Security Support Center of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission’s (GAEC) Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied […]

In January 2016, Ghana will become the 6th African country to have a national space agency when the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute becomes the Ghana Space Agency (GhSA). GhSA is intended to lead the nation’s civilian space exploration efforts, in accordance with the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and Development Plan for […]

In 2009, Ghana’s Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology (MEST), the Hon. Ms. Sherry Ayittey, released an initial three-phase development plan for 2011-2015, establishing a Ghana Space Agency that will develop a national space program and coordinate existing space activities in the country. Matching policy with action, the Ministry formed an interim implementation steering committee […]