Satellite News

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) set the launch time of the first Epsilon Launch Vehicle (Epsilon-1) with the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere (SPRINT-A) onboard.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorised a US$105.4 million loan to Space Communication Ltd. of Ramat Gan, Israel, to finance the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) launch of the Amos-6 communications satellite, the purchase of American made-solar arrays, and insurance brokered by Marsh USA (Marsh).

Ten years ago, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope – built, integrated and tested at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale – was launched into an Earth-trailing orbit around the sun.

NASA is making final preparations to launch the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) aboard a Minotaur 5 at 0327 UTC on 7 September from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virgina.

Gaia, the most advanced space telescope ever built in Europe, has left the Toulouse facilities of Astrium after final integration and testing. Gaia is now en route to its launch site in French Guiana, where it will be prepared for launch aboard Soyuz.

ATK has shipped the primary mirror backplane support structure (PMBSS) for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to Marshall Space Flight Center. The highly engineered PMBSS is the backbone of the telescope, supporting the telescope’s beryllium mirrors, instruments and other elements.

A government commission has determined the degree of guilt of Khrunichev space centre executives responsible for the 2 July Proton rocket launch failure, Russia’s Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying.

Rocket: Dnepr (RS-20); Payload: KOMPSAT-5 (Arirang 5); Date: 22 August 2013, 1439 UTC; Launch site: Yasny, Russia. The satellite was injected into its target 550 km circular low Earth dawn-dusk orbit.