Satellite News

The first four satellites to serve O3b Networks in providing emerging market connectivity world-wide have entered their checkout phase at the Spaceport, readying them for a June flight on Arianespace’s fifth mission from French Guiana with its medium-lift Soyuz launcher.

During a moratorium on commanding this month while Mars passed nearly behind the sun – a phase called solar conjunction — NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity entered a type of standby mode.

The first Eurostar satellite, Inmarsat-2 F1, designed and built by Astrium, was retired from operational service this week and safely decommissioned after it had completed a long and flawless mission in geostationary orbit. It operated for 22.5 years – far outliving its projected life-span of 10 years.

Aireon LLC, the developer of the world’s first satellite-based global air traffic surveillance system, announced that it has finalised a long-term commercial data services contract with NAV CANADA.