Satellite News

The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) confirmed that the launch of the Cbers-4 satellite, developed in co-operation with China, is expected to take place in the first half of December.

The launch of Kazakhstan’s telecommunications satellite KazSat-3 is scheduled for 28 April (possibly 27 April UTC) of this year, according to the Chairman of Kazakh National Space Agency Kazkosmos, Talgat Musabayev .

Planet Labs announced that it has confirmed launches for more than 100 satellites over the next 12 months. The satellites will launch on rockets from the USA and Russia. This constitutes the largest constellation of satellites manifested in history.

Arabsat announced the release of a Request for Proposal for the procurement of four new satellites to be designated HS3, HS4, ARB6E and ARB6A.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has applied power to the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) spacecraft bus for the first time, a significant milestone for achieving on-time delivery to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a planned early 2017 launch.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) decided to launch the H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 24 (H-IIA F24) with the Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) onboard on 24 May.

SpaceX said it was now targeting 30 March for the CRS-3 launch, with April second as a back-up. These represent the earliest available launch opportunities given existing schedules, and are currently pending approval with the Range.

The Astra 5B satellite, one of two passengers for Arianespace’s next Ariane 5 mission, has been delivered to the Guiana Space Center’s Final Assembly Building.