India flies some of the cheapest satellites in the world but pays the highest price for bandwidth to provide services. This was the claim of an official of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This person blamed turf wars between the DoT and the Department of Space (DoS), both government bodies.

The bulk of space-based services in India is consumed by the government itself. If such barriers to deliver space services exist between government players, then imagine the plight of folks from the industry looking to venture into the space services arena.

Today, India’s share of the global $400 billion space market may be less than 0.01%.… Click here to read the complete article

The foundation for international space law was laid in the 1960s, with the Outer Space Treaty. Cold War contests between the US and the USSR brought down the cost of access to space opening the door to new actors and leading to booming commercial activity.

From an operational standpoint, the UN Outer Space Affairs Office (UNOOSA) coordinates with the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPOUS). The latter has multiple subcommittees that hear several key issues that pose a risk to the use of outer space as a global commons. Their deliberations result either in new resolutions being added to the Outer Space Treaty or in the formulation of new treaties at the UN General Assembly.… Click here to read the complete article