Satellite News

Rocket: Chang Zheng 2F; Payload: Tiangong 2, Banxing 2; Date: 15 September 2016, 1400 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. “Tiangong 2 operates normally, and the orbit injection fulfilled the requirements, and the solar panels are also stretched out,” said Gen. Zhang Youxia, commander-in-chief of China’s human spaceflight programme.

China’s first commercial space industry base, the Wuhan National Space Industry Base, will focus on the development of carrier rockets and satellites, commercial launch services and applications of satellite data, state media reported.

Airbus Defence and Space said it is designing and building a new constellation of optical satellites, comprising four identical and very agile sensors delivering very high-resolution imagery.

Satellite environmental data provider GeoOptics has been awarded a data purchase contract from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under its Commercial Weather Data Pilot programme. This is the first time NOAA has contracted to purchase satellite weather data from a commercial provider.