Satellite News

In-flight network switching between commercial Ku- and Ka-band satellites has been successfully demonstrated by ViaSat Inc., using a dual-band terminal and a new radome. The test flights, conducted in July and August on a commercial 757-200 aircraft, demonstrated broadband enroute communications with the aircraft transitioning among multiple satellite beams from six satellites and three Ku- and Ka-band networks.

CNES has unveiled a revised proposal for the Ariane 6 rocket. The agency said the overhauled plans for the Ariane 6 resulted in a “simple design with great payload capacity,” able to take between five and 10 tonnes into orbit.

The launch of NASA’s International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer, or ISS-RapidScat, on board the fourth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission is scheduled for 0614 UTC on 20 September. The instrument will monitor ocean winds from its perch on the space station. It will track hurricanes and storms, and provide a better understanding of Earth’s climate.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. announced that its UK subsidiary has received authorisation to proceed from the European Space Agency (ESA) for the development and construction of a Ka band Data Relay terminal flight model for use on the ESA Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS).

India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft will enter Martian orbit on 24 September for scientific exploration of the red planet after a 300-day voyage through inter-planetary space.

The GOES-R Satellite System Module and Core Module subassemblies were successfully mated and now form the GOES-R spacecraft. This is an important milestone in the development of the satellite, as it merges together the elements that form both the “brain” and the “body” of the satellite that will be launched in early 2016.

Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: CLIO; Date: 17 September 2014, 0010 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Following separation from the rocket into the target orbit on 0302 UTC, initial contact with the satellite was confirmed at 0308 UTC.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin, LLC, a privately-funded aerospace company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, announced that they have entered into an agreement to jointly fund development of the new BE-4 rocket engine by Blue Origin.