Satellite News

The first orbit reduction manoeuvre of the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft which is orbiting the moon, was successfully performed on 9 November 2008. The satellite had entered lunar orbit the day before.

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander has ceased communications after operating for more than five months.

Orbital Sciences Corporation has shipped the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite to its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Northrop Grumman Corporation said it successfully delivered a key sensor for global climate change measurement one week ahead of schedule and on budget. The sensor is the second to be delivered for the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP).

European Space Agency director general Jean-Jacques Dordain said he would seek “at least” EUR9 billion (US$11.5 billion) from ministers next month to fund new and existing projects in the coming years. He also announced another delay in the ExoMars mission.

Inmarsat Plc announced third quarter 2008 results for its its wholly owned subsidiary Inmarsat Holdings Ltd.

Telesat Holdings Inc. (Telesat) announced its financial results for the three months ending 30 September 2008.

Dish Network and EchoStar, the set-top and fixed-satellite unit Dish had spun off earlier, reported financial results for the third quarter 2008.