Satellite News

ATK has provided the U.S. Air Force a U.S.-made commercial solid rocket solution as a replacement for the RD-180 Russian-made, first-stage engine of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle.

The Dragon commercial cargo craft has completed a two day trip to the International Space Station after launching on 21 September.

Boeing will investigate hosting a scientific payload on a commercial satellite under a new six-month contract awarded by the Air Force’s Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMC).

Iridium Communications Inc. announced the completion of an extensive testing programme for qualification of its new solar panel design for the Iridium NEXT constellation. The array that powers the Iridium NEXT satellites, expected to begin launching in 2015, contains four solar panels and will span 9.4 meters when fully extended, developing more than 2 kilowatts of power over a demanding charging cycle in Iridium’s low Earth orbit.

Contact has been lost with South Korea’s Science and Technology Satellite-2C months ago, according to local media.

Thaicom’s CEO Suphajee Suthumpun has been named ‘Satellite Executive of the Year in the Asia-Pacific’ by the Asia-Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC).