Satellite News

According to the RussianSpaceWeb site, the root cause for the Proton crash on 2 July has been found. Hardly surprising, it was insufficient quality control – this time, sensors had been installed the wrong way. Rocket manufacturer Khrunichev and International Launch Services so far did not confirm this report.

The space agencies of Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine have confirmed their intention to develop the Baiterek [also: Baitarek] rocket, a modernised Zenit launch vehicle.

The two satellite passengers for Arianespace’s next Ariane 5 mission are being fuelled, preparing them for a 25 July lift-off on the company’s fifth flight in 2013 from French Guiana with its launcher family.

Ball Aerospace and Aerojet Rocketdyne have met the first milestone in demonstrating a more environmentally friendly spacecraft fuel by completing an end-to-end checkout of the 22 Newton thruster required for NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM).

The Global Positioning System recently became more accurate and reliable as the fourth Boeing GPS IIF satellite began operating in the U.S. Air Force network, the company said.

Lockheed Martin ‘s GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) has successfully completed a series of high-fidelity pathfinding events which validate the process and facility for vehicle integration checkout, as well as signals interference testing, that the next-generation satellites of the Global Positioning System, known as GPS III, will go through prior to delivery for launch.