SciDev.Net

Developing nations are building their own satellites despite freely available Western data. Do the gains outweigh the costs, asks Tatum Anderson.

As the largest optical telescope in the Southern hemisphere opens for business, Michael Cherry asks whether South Africa is ready to reap the rewards.

Plans to collate data from the planet's Earth-monitoring instruments could run out of funding, and not every country is keen to participate, reports Naomi Lubick.

Ding Yimin describes plans for a Chinese contribution to the search for theoretical ripples in space-time.

Last week China sent its first man into space. The Economist asks why, and what it will do next.

Daniel Clery describes how developing nations are taking part in a novel venture that uses satellites to monitor disasters such as forest fires, hurricanes and earthquakes.