Satellite News

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: six Orbcomm OG2 satellites; Date: 14 July 2014, 1515 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The satellites were successfully separated from the launch vehicle into the proper insertion orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off.

Engineers at University College Dublin have been contracted by the European Space Agency to find new ways to reduce vibrations during lift-off in future launcher designs.

Rocket: Antares; Payload: Cygnus/Orb-2; Date: 13 July 2014, 1652 UTC; Launch site: Wallops Flight Facility, USA. The rocket deployed the Cygnus spacecraft into orbit about 10 minutes after lift-off. It will arrive at the International Space Station on 17 July at about 1039 UTC.

The U.S. Air Force has certified SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch system as having conducted three successful flights, a prerequisite for companies seeking to win business from the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program.

After a month surfing in and out of the atmosphere of Venus down to just 130 km from the planet’s surface, ESA’s Venus Express is about to embark on a 15 day climb up to 460 km.

Rocket: Soyuz ST-B; Payload: four O3b satellites; Date: 10 July 2014, 1856 UTC; Launch site: Sinnamary, French Guiana. After the successful 2 hour, 22 minute mission ground controllers established contact with all four satellites launched.

Orbital announced that the launch of Antares for the Orb-2 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station has been rescheduled for Saturday, 12 July at 1714 UTC.

The Planetary Society announced that its LightSail solar sail spacecraft will reach space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch in 2016.