Satellite News

Lockheed Martin announced the successful on-orbit handover of the first Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO-1) payload and ground system to the U.S. Air Force in preparation for the start of certified operations later this year.

Frederic d’Allest, honorary chairman and ex-CEO of Arianespace, warned in an op-ed article that the Ariane rocket may disappear from the commercial launch market within a few years unless a more powerful version is developed.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company would soon release details on the initial investigation into the Falcon 1 launch failure on 3 July (UTC). Unlike with the first two launch failures, this time there have been some voices critical of SpaceX.

EchoStar Corporation and DISH Network reported financial results for the second quarter 2008.

SES S.A. reported financial results for the first half of 2008.

SES said several of its Lockheed-Martin built satellites have experienced varying degrees of power loss in some of their solar array circuits.

More than one year after the explosion at Scaled Composites that killed three workers, it is still unknown what exactly caused the accident.

Boeing announced the completion of a US$10 million, 1,900 m^2 satellite Mission Control Center (MCC) in El Segundo, California/USA. The MCC can manage up to four commercial or government satellite missions at the same time.