Satellite News

Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. has signed a service provider (SP) agreement with the China Satellite Communications Global Ltd., a subsidiary of China Satcom.

NASA has modified its contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. to design, test and build the Orion crew exploration vehicle.

ESA has started testing its European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) for safety-of-life applications such as air traffic control.

The chancellor of the Moscow State University, Viktor Sadovnichiy, and head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Anatoliy Perminov signed a contract on developing and launching the Universitetsky 2 (Tatyana 2) satellite.

The European MetOp-A weather satellite experienced a total switch-off of the payload module (PLM) for no apparent reason on 20 April at 1014 UTC, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) said.

The launch of a U.S. Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Missile Defense Agency’s Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite has been postponed until no earlier than 2:48 a.m., Tuesday, 24 April, 0648 UTC.

Rocket: PSLV-C8; Payload: AGILE (Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero), AAM (Advanced Avionics Module); Date: 23 April 2007, 1000 UTC; Launch Site: Sriharikota, India. The rocket on its first major commercial mission successfully launched the Italian Space Agency’s astronomy satellite into a 550 km circular orbit, inclined at 2.5 degrees.

Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) named Steve Soroka vice president of enterprise operations, the Reston…