Satellite News

SpaceDev, Inc. said it recently completed its first milestone under the Space Act Agreement that it signed with NASA in June 2007.

ProtoStar Ltd., a Bermuda corporation, and PlanetSky Ltd. of Limassol, Cyprus announced a lease agreement for PlanetSky to secure C band capacity on ProtoStar’s first satellite, to be launched in May 2008.

XTAR, LLC, a joint venture between Loral Space & Communications and Hisdesat, announced that it has received a contract from the U.S. General Services Administration, Federal Acquisition Service for Information Technology Equipment, Software, and Services (FSC Group 70).

The modernised Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite, launched from Cape Canaveral on 17 October, has been declared fully operational following a successful on-orbit checkout by a combined U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin team.

Thales Alenia Space announced that it has transferred the Rascom-QAF1 communications satellite to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.

China’s first lunar probe, Chang’e-1, successfully completed its first braking at perilune and entered the moon’s orbit.