Satellite News

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).

Rocket: GSLV-D5; Payload: GSAT-14; Date: 5 December 2014, 1048 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India. The rocket, which featured an indigenously built cryogenic upper stage, accurately placed the GSAT 14 communications satellite into the planned geostationary transfer orbit 17 minutes after lift-off.

SiriusXM’s Board of Directors received a non-binding letter from Liberty Media Corporation proposing a transaction pursuant to which all outstanding shares of common stock of the Company not owned by Liberty would be converted into the right to receive 0.0760 of a new share of Liberty Series C common stock.

“#ISRO’s naughty boy, #GSLV, decides to obey the flight profile. The supercool Cryo engine delivers #GSAT-14 with remarkable precision.” – @ISROOFFICIAL on Twitter

A SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 is to launch Thaicom 6 on 3 January between 2250 and 0017 UTC.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Orbital Sciences’ Corp. Antares rocket at 1855 on 7 January.

An Iranian aerospace official says the country plans to launch an indigenously designed and manufactured satellite into orbit in early February.