Satellite News

Rocket: Soyuz-U; Payload: Progress M-10M (Progress 42P); Date: 27 April 2011, 1305 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Automated docking to the International Space Station is expected to occur on 29 April, 1429 UTC.

Arianespace confirmed the launch date for the ABS-2 satellite for Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).

The Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team voted unanimously to proceed toward Endeavour’s scheduled lift-off at 1947 UTC on 29 April.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne said it successfully completed the Design Certification Review for the upgraded RS-68A engine configuration, demonstrating -the world’s most powerful hydrogen-fuelled engine has met all requirements to power heavy-lift vehicles into space.

Goodrich Corporation, the prime contractor for the Operationally Responsive Space-1 (ORS-1) satellite, announced that the pre-ship review was successfully completed last week and the satellite is being prepared for shipment to Wallops Island Flight Facility.

NASA’s nanosatellite NanoSail-D is slowly descending after successfully orbiting Earth for 95 days since deploying its 9.3-square-metre sail on 20 January. The small satellite demonstration experiment continues its descent towards Earth, lending key sail data to the design of de-orbit mechanisms for future satellites.

The Boeing Company reported results for the first-quarter 2011.

Northrop Grumman Corporation reported financial results for the first quarter 2011.