Satellite News

Rocket: Soyuz-STB/Fregat; Payload: Gaia; Date: 19 December 2013, 0912 UTC; Launch site: Sinnamary, French Guiana. The workhorse launcher performed a powered phase of its three lower stages, and two burns of the autonomous Fregat upper stage to deploy Gaia, which had an estimated lift-off mass of 2,034 kg and was released 41 minutes and 59 seconds after lift-off.

NASA has selected United Launch Services LLC to launch the Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to Mars.

A Briz M upper stage has been shipped to Baikonur by the Khrunichev Space Center, the Briz M manufacturer, to support the launch of Turksat 4A, a Turkish communication satellite.

NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), a spacecraft that made the most comprehensive survey to date of asteroids and comets, has returned its first set of test images in preparation for a renewed mission.

Astrium said it was celebrating more than 500 years of combined operation in orbit clocked up by its highly successful series of Eurostar satellites since their introduction in 1990.

Astrium and Inmarsat have reached a strategic distribution partnership agreement which will see Global Xpress services made available to Astrium Services’ large partner and customer base.

SES announced that Thailand’s IPMTV is leasing additional capacity and extending its current capacity contract beyond 10 years.