Satellite News

U.S. officials have lost control over DMSP-19 on 11 February and officials are unsure whether it can be regained. The satellite is no longer responding to commands but otherwise still working.

ComSpOC signed a data provider agreement last week with Thoth Technology, operators of the Algonquin Radio Observatory (ARO), to formalise efforts to advance the state of radar tracking of Geostationary (GEO) satellites and debris.

Marotta Controls announced that it has been awarded a contract from Thales Alenia Space UK Ltd to develop the Xenon Pressure Regulation Assembly (XPRA) for the electric propulsion system of its new Spacebus Neo satellite platform.

NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) is requesting proposals from industry to provide small spacecraft for its Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) missions that will include government-furnished technology payloads for a series of flight demonstrations.

China will send its second orbiting space lab Tiangong-2 into space in the third quarter of this year, which is expected to dock with a cargo ship scheduled to be launched in the first half of next year, sources from the manned space programme said.

A third attempt to launch SES-9 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Florida was scrubbed on 28 February.

The telecommunications satellite for Arianespace’s second Ariane 5 flight of 2016 has arrived in French Guiana with the delivery of Eutelsat 65 West A to the Spaceport.

SES S.A. announced that it is targeting a 24 February 2016 launch date (with a backup date of the 25th) for its new satellite, SES-9. This date was mutually set by SES and the launch operator for SES-9, SpaceX.