Satellite News

New findings indicate that the aurora and other near-Earth space weather are driven by the rate at which the Earth’s and Sun’s magnetic fields connect, or merge, and not by the solar wind’s electric field as was previously assumed.

Fengyun-2D, China’s new meteorological satellite launched on 8 December, has successfully entered a “quasi-synchronous” orbit as directed by ground-control, according to the Xi’an satellite control centre.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) said that the WildBlue-1 satellite, after its successful launch on 8 December, has successfully deployed its solar arrays and completed thruster manoeuvres that have placed it in a circular geosynchronous orbit.

Iran’s Zohreh [”Venus,” sometimes also transcribed Zoreh or Zohre] satellite may be launched no earlier than 2009, and not in 2007 as originally planned, a Russian Federal Space Agency official was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.

The launch of a Minotaur 1 from the mid-Atlantic region’s commercial spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island has been postponed because of a problem with the flight software for TacSat 2, one of the satellites the rocket was supposed to put in orbit.

Boeing Launch Services has been awarded a contract to launch two commercial satellites in 2007 for Alcatel Alenia Space Italia, the prime contractor of the Italian Space Agency.

Orbital Sciences Corp. updated its 2007 earnings per share and free cash flow guidance following the pricing of a $143.8 million debt offering, Orbital announced Dec. 8. Orbital intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand, to repurchase older debt as well as 2.7 million…

A Chicago man accused of developing and distributing software designed to steal DirecTV programming has agreed to a $1 million settlement with DirecTV Inc. and NDS Americas Inc., DirecTV announced Dec. 8. DirecTV and NDS, the creator of security features used to protect DirecTV’s broadcasts from…