Satellite News

Northrop Grumman Corporation will help the U.S. Air Force develop and demonstrate technologies critical to a future “aircraft-like” reusable launch vehicle under a contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Dayton, Ohio.

United Launch Alliance has declared yesterday’s Atlas V launch for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) a success. It was the fourth Atlas V EELV mission this year and the 12th ULA mission in 2007.

SES New Skies announced three senior appointments which establishes its new management team following the completion of all post acquisition integration activities.

Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: NROL-24; Date: 10 December 2007, 2205 UTC; Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. The rocket lifted without any apparent problems, however the results of this launch for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) were not publicly known at the time of writing.

Rocket: Proton M; Payload: Kosmos 2434 [Raduga 1-8?]; Date: 9 December, 0019 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The military satellite was put into its designated orbit approx. nine hours after lift-off.

Rocket: Delta II 7420-10; Payload: COSMO SkyMed-2; Date: 9 December, 0231 UTC; Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. The rocket deployed the COSMO-SkyMed spacecraft to low-Earth orbit approximately 58 minutes after lift-off.

Space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-122 mission to the International Space Station will be delayed until early next year because of ongoing problems with a fuel sensor system.

NASA said it would launch space shuttle Atlantis no earlier than Sunday. And another attempt is planned for early Sunday (UTC) to launch the Italian COSMO SkyMed-2 satellite aboard a Delta II.