Satellite News

The launch of an Atlas V carrying NASA’s Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) payload was scrubbed again, this time due to weather conditions associated with lightning, as well as cumulus and anvil clouds.

Following the successful acceptance review, Astrium has brought the third and fourth Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) satellites to the European Space Agency (ESA) in Kourou, French Guiana. The two satellites are to be launched aboard a Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. They will join the two Astrium IOV satellites already in space to complete the Galileo IOV (In Orbit Validation) configuration.

NASA’s said its PhoneSat project will demonstrate the ability to launch the lowest-cost and easiest to build satellites ever flown in space – capabilities enabled by using off-the-shelf consumer smartphones to build spacecraft.

The BepiColombo mission to Mercury has undergone a series of shock tests at ESA’s test facilities to replicate conditions it will experience during its intense ride into space.