Space Matters
At a Glance:
Myanmar’s microsatellite’s fate is unclear after the coup d'état
Ukrainian startup looks to enter the satellite service industry
China launches classified experimental satellite Shiyan-9
Chinese Sci-Fi film The Wandering Earth is decent
The Great Game for Space
Myanmar’s Satellite on hold onboard ISS in the wake of Coup d'état
According to reports in international media, The fate of Myanmar’s first satellite Lawkanat jointly developed by Hokkaido University, Japan and Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University (MAEU) is now unclear. The microsatellite can provide remote sensing and earth observation capability to Mayanmar’s fisheries and agriculture industry. In the wake of a sudden military Coup d'état, however, there are fears it can be used for military purposes or worse for surveillance of protestors, leading to human rights abuse. NASA launched the satellite as part of a payload meant to resupply the International Space Station(ISS). Ever since the microsatellite stays inside JAXA’s module of ISS.
According to this New York Times report, the military regime now in power after the coup is indeed using high-tech solutions to track and persecute protestors.
New Launches, Gear and Plans
Ukrainian Startup Jumps into the Emerging Satellite Service Industry
According to this report in Space News, the startup Kurs Orbital, co-founded by the former head of Ukraine’s space programme Volodymyr Usov, will offer a range of services for geostationary satellites. These services may include various solutions, including “orbit relocation, de-orbiting, refuelling, components replacement and repair”.
Kurs Orbital will build its business on technology derivative of old 1980s Soviet origin spacecraft docking technology. Kurs Orbital may be one of the few private companies competing in the global New Space arena from amongst the Eastern European and Commonwealth of Independent States, besides Russia.
China launches Classified Payload onboard Long March 7A
According to reports, China has successfully launched an experimental satellite “Shiyan-9” onboard a Long March 7A launch vehicle during its second launch attempt. The Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC) gave scant details of the Shiyan-9’s capabilities beyond its broader purpose as a tool for evaluating experimental technology in orbit.
Source:CGTN
Space in Media
The Wandering Earth (2019):
A Chinese Sci-Fi flick featuring a premise based on a fantastical novella of the same name by famous Chinese Sci-Fi writer Liu Cixin. The plot features a scenario where the Earth will be swallowed by the Sun after it turns into a red giant and the threat of mass extinction looms. The plot sees the world unite under one government and deal with the crisis through a fantastic in fiction but utterly nonsensical in real-life technological endeavour of physically propelling the entire planet away to a different star system with around “ten thousand planet-sized thrusters”.
Interesting Publications and Resources:
The UK’s Integrated Review mentions Space as an important priority
An interesting polemic by a US Senator on the US’s Space endeavours past and future
An interesting Oped on Astropolitics and public perception of space exploration