Satellite News

Harris Corporation has completed the first of four antenna-feed upgrades that will provide performance improvements essential to processing the new frequencies and increased volume of meteorological data that will come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite — R Series (GOES-R).

United Launch Alliance said that “ULA and the U.S. Department of Justice filed motions to dissolve the preliminary injunction supporting ULA’s earlier statements that the purchase of the RD-180 engines from our suppliers and partners, RD AMROSS and NPO Energomash, does not violate the Ukraine sanctions.

Rocket: Soyuz-2.1a; Payload: classified military satellite; Date: 6 May 2014, 1349 UTV; Launch site: Plesetsk, Russia. Aerospace Defense Troops Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin said that “The rocket was launched as scheduled.”

Fengyun-III, China’s third polar orbiting meteorological satellite, was put into operation on 5 May, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

Lockheed Martin completed the propulsion module for the fourth Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO-4) space vehicle and is now proceeding with satellite assembly, integration and test.

Analysis of Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites during the U.S. Navy’s 2014 Ice Exercise (ICEX) shows they provided nearly 150 hours of secure data connections. This was the first time military users could transfer large megabyte data files over stable satellite connections in the arctic.

A Delta IV M+ (4,2) will launch the GPS IIF-6 mission for the U.S. Air Force on 16 May (UTC) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The 19-minute launch window opens at 0007 UTC.

EgyptSat-2, produced by S.P. Korolev RSC Energia and launched on 16 April, has completed its initial flight tests in low-Earth orbit.