Satellite News

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. announced that it has notified the consortium of buyers that had agreed to purchase the company that it was terminating the agreement and plan of merger entered into on 31 March 2008. The buyers strongly denied Gilat’s allegations they had breached the agreement.

The two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites being built by prime contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) have successfully completed acoustic testing.

Lockheed Martin announced that the U.S. Air Force has certified readiness for dedicated operational utility evaluation and trial period operations of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO-1) payload and associated ground system.

GeoEye announced the launch of its GeoEye 1 Earth-imaging satellite was going ahead as planned after the successful completion of the Flight Readiness Review.

Rocket: Dnepr; Payload: five RapidEye satellites; Date: 29 August 2008, 0715:58 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The commercial remote sensing satellites were successfully delivered into their target 630km Sun-synchronous orbit.