Satellite News

The U.S. Air Force’s third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite, designed and built by a Lockheed Martin team, is ready to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced it is prepared to launch its Antares rocket carrying the company’s new Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch is currently planned to take place on 18 September with lift-off scheduled at 1450 UTC from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

The first of the three Astrium-built Swarm research satellites is on its way to the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. An Ilyushin-76, headed for Russia, took off from Munich Airport this morning. The remaining two satellites, plus the test and installation equipment, will follow at two-day intervals, amounting to a total of 63 tonnes of freight.

The deployable sunshield framework for Europe’s Gaia billion-star surveyor has been unpacked at the spaceport in French Guiana, marking a new milestone in preparations for Arianespace’s next mission with its medium-lift Soyuz launcher.

Astrium and Hisdesat have completed the production and integration process for the PAZ satellite in Madrid.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) confirmed that the Spectroscopic Planet Observatory for Recognition of Interaction of Atmosphere “Hisaki” (SPRINT-A) was injected into the planned orbit by the new Epsilon rocket.

After more than four years mapping Earth’s gravity, GOCE’s mission is nearing its end and the satellite will soon re-enter our atmosphere.

SES and KVH Industries announced they have signed an expanded capacity agreement to connect luxury, government and commercial ships across Caribbean and beyond.