Satellite News

Approximately three hours and 25 minutes after yesterday’s launch of GPS IIF-4, Boeing personnel in El Segundo confirmed that the satellite was performing as expected.

At a contact on 14 May 2013, the Kepler spacecraft once again was found in safe mode. It was caused by a reaction wheel that NASA says has permanently failed. With the loss of a second reaction wheel, it’s unlikely that the spacecraft will be able to return to the high pointing accuracy that enables its high-precision photometry. However, no decision has been made to end data collection.

Roskosmos denied reports that a Rokot/Briz-KM launched from Plesetsk cosmodrome on 15 January 2013 had partially failed.

NASA’s first mission to sample an asteroid is moving ahead into development and testing in preparation for its launch in 2016.

Telespazio VEGA Deutschland, a subsidiary of Telespazio (Finmeccanica/Thales), has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the development of the ExoMars Mission Control System (MCS).

The jamming of satellite channels across the Arab world increased significantly since the start of the “Arab Spring” in early 2011, according to Arabsat vice president Nabil Shanti.