Satellite News

ATK and NASA announced a partnership to work together during the development of ATK’s commercial Liberty Launch System, an agreement that also supports the 2010 U.S. National Space Policy by furthering international partnerships, ATK said.

Arianespace announced that it will launch two satellites for DirecTV and has the option of launching another two satellites for the company.

Russia is still scrambling to return its Soyuz and Proton rockets to flight.

Orbcomm Inc. announced that LuxSpace Sarl (LuxSpace), an affiliate of OHB System AG, has confirmed that construction and testing of the LuxSpace VesselSat1 AIS satellite has been successfully completed.

The Ekspress AM4 satellite, which was stranded in a useless orbit after launch on 18 August, is alive and communicating with the ground. This is good news, even though the spacecraft is still considered a total loss.

Boeing on 1 September received a US$1.09 billion contract modification from the U.S. Air Force adding funding to the existing Block II follow-on contract for full production, launch and on-orbit activation of the seventh Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite and procurement of long-lead materials for an eighth satellite.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has reached a major milestone in its development. The mirrors that will fly aboard the telescope have completed the coating process at Quantum Coating Inc. in Moorestown, New Jersey.

In-orbit testing of PakSat 1R has begun at 37.8 degrees East on 11 September, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) said.