Satellite News

Seven years after China’s anti satellite test, 90 percent of the resulting debris is still in orbit, according to NASA’s Orbital Debris Quarterly News.

International Launch Services (ILS) and Eutelsat Communications announced that the Eutelsat 9B satellite will be launched in 2015 by an ILS Proton launch vehicle.

International Launch Services (ILS) has received the first launch assignment from Intelsat of the two missions announced in spring 2013.

Two Russian carrier rockets are scheduled to blast off next month from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, a spokesperson for Roskosmos was quoted as saying.

China’s moon rover Yutu has completed its first scientific exploration of lunar soil on Tuesday, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said.

NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-L (TDRS-L) is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket on 24 January (UTC) from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

After the replacement of a component on the Ariane 5 ECA launcher and the associated checks, Arianespace has set the date for its next launch, VA217, using an Ariane 5 ECA to orbit the ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus satellites.

Boeing said its Space-Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system has helped the U.S. Air Force cut the danger of satellites being lost by two-thirds in the past year by detecting potential threats more quickly and enabling operators to take earlier action if needed.