Satellite News

SES Americom announced the industry’s first HD SNG neighbourhood. The new high-def Satellite News Gathering service is delivered over the high-powered AMC-5 and AMC-6 satellites.

Following the the European Commission’s unconditional clearance decision, Alcatel-Lucent announced the transfer of its shareholdings in two space joint venture companies, Alcatel Alenia Space (67 percent) and Telespazio (33 percent), to Thales.

The six Northrop Grumman Corporation communication satellites in NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) are now approaching 102 years of operation without a single satellite being retired from service, the company said.

Harris Corporation has formed a team to compete for a six-and-a-half-year, US$455 million contract to provide operations and maintenance support to the 50th Space Wing’s Air Force Satellite Control Network at locations around the world.

Harris Corporation said it was bidding as prime contractor and systems integrator for the ground segment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – Series R (GOES-R) programme.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has arrived at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida/USA. Dawn, which is to employ ion propulsion to explore asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, is at the facility for final processing and launch operations. Dawn’s launch period opens 30 June.

The observation data relay from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) Daichi to the Data Relay Satellite (DRS) Kodama was interrupted on 5 April, 0526 UTC for unknown reasons.

SpaceDev, Inc. has finalised a Memorandum of Understanding with United Launch Alliance to pursue the potential of launching its SpaceDev Dream Chaser space vehicle carrying passengers and cargo on an Atlas V launch vehicle.