Satellite News

Airbus Defence and Space has successfully concluded in-orbit trials with Measat-3b. One month after launch, the satellite is now ready to enter commercial service and has been officially handed over to its operator, Measat.

Airbus Defence and Space has signed the formal contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA) to design and build the second generation of Meteorological Operational (MetOp-SG) satellites. Covering the design and build of six spacecraft, these contracts are worth a total of EUR1.3 billion.

On 27-28 September, the two satellites launched on 22 August were handed over from ESA’s Space Operations Centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany, to the Galileo Control Centre, Oberpfaffenhofen, which will care for them pending a final decision on their use.

Orbital Sciences Corporation reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2014.

Rocket: PSLV-C26 (XL); Payload: IRNSS-1C; Date: 15 October 2014, 2002 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, India. The satellite was deployed into its target orbit 21 minutes after lift-off. The mission used the largest version of the PSLV with six strap-on boosters.

The fifth Arianespace Ariane 5 flight in 2014 has been given the “go” for its lift-off on 16 October between 2300 and 0051 UTC following a successful launch readiness review, conducted at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a $422 million contract from Lockheed Martin to produce sensor payloads on the fifth and sixth Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites, known as GEO-5 and GEO-6. The U.S. Air Force’s SBIRS provides the nation with continuous early warning of ballistic missile launches and other tactical intelligence.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announced SNC’s Space Systems based in Louisville, Colorado, has been competitively selected to develop and build a next-generation science and technology demonstration satellite. Known as STPSat-5, the satellite is for the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Space Test Program (STP).