Satellite News

Owing to a technical glitch, yesterday’s issue (25 September 2008) contained an outdated statement by Eurockot regarding the launch of GOCE, which was previously scheduled for September but is now delayed until October at least. In fact, no new launch date has been set yet. The incorrect article has been removed from the archive. Sorry for any confusion.

The U.S. Air Force has asked the Defence Department’s chief arms buyer John Young to review its evaluation process in the Transformational Satellite (TSAT) competition. This may further delay the award of the multi-billion dollar contract.

United Launch Alliance announced the successful first hot-firing of the new Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68A engine that will be used to power a future upgraded version of the Delta IV Heavy Lift launch vehicle. The hot-fire test was conducted at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.