Satellite News

SES has confirmed that the recently relocated and renamed Astra 5A went out of control but said the spacecraft has meanwhile been stabilised.

The fourth orbit raising manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was carried out on 29 October. During this manoeuvre, the spacecraft’s 440 Newton liquid engine was fired for about three minutes.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a US$30 million contract for the development phase of the Self-Awareness Space Situational Awareness (SASSA) technology demonstration programme.

A U.S. law firm said it was investigating breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law by the board of directors of SpaceDev Inc.

The sixth (and final) Ariane 5 of 2008 has been accepted by Arianespace following its transfer to the Final Assembly Building at Europe’s Spaceport, where the launch vehicle’s dual-satellite payload will be integrated.

Preparations are under way in Baikonur to launch Proton M/Briz M launch vehicle with the Astra 1M satellite.

China plans to launch Venezuela’s first communication satellite this week, state media reported.

The current primary camera on the Hubble Space Telescope is now back in active operation and will resume science observations shortly.