Satellite News

The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Operational Land Imager (OLI) aboard the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) has completed initial checkout and along with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center built Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) snapped the mission’s first multispectral images.

Harris Corporation and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed and successfully deployed a new tool that will help track and report anomalies in critical weather satellite information.

SES announced that it has further increased its reach in 2012, driven by strong gains, especially in India and Germany. SES now reaches 276 million TV homes worldwide, over 17 million homes more than in 2011.

Spacecom, operator of the Amos satellite fleet, announced that Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has selected Space International Services, Ltd. (SIS) to launch the Amos-4 commercial satellite.

Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX) Merlin 1D engine has achieved flight qualification. Through a 28 test qualification programme, the Merlin 1D accumulated 1,970 seconds of total test time, the equivalent run time of over 10 full mission durations, and is now fully qualified to fly on the Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has returned to active status and is on track to resume science investigations, following two days in safe mode.

Norsat International Inc. announced their selection as an authorised supplier of microwave components for O3b Network ground terminals.

The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin (LMT) are ready to launch the second Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO-2) spacecraft on 19 March aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch window is 2221 to 2301 UTC.