Satellite News

Rocket: Falcon 9 v1.1; Payload: Thaicom 6; Date: 6 December 2014, 2206 UTC; Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Station, USA. The rocket lifted off as planned, however the launch broadcast ended after the first of two burns of the rocket’s upper stage.

ISRO said that the Indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage was successfully flight-tested onboard GSLV-D5 launch vehicle on 5 January 2014. The GSAT-14 communication satellite was launched very precisely to its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The satellite is healthy and has completed its first orbit-raising manoeuvre.

Thales Alenia Space Belgium has signed with Astrium [now: Airbus Defence & Space] , prime contractor for the Ariane 5 ME (Midlife Evolution) launcher for the European Space Agency (ESA), the contract for the development of the control electronics on the upper-stage Vinci engine steering system.

SES and Eutelsat Communications have completed the sale to EchoStar Corp. of Solaris Mobile Ltd., a jointly-owned company based in Dublin, set up more than seven years ago to develop next-generation Mobile Satellite Services (MSS).