Satellite News

The final day of fuelling of the Astra 2G spacecraft was completed on schedule today in Baikonur. Joint operations are on schedule to begin tomorrow to support the ILS Proton launch of SES’s Astra 2G on 27 November at 2124 UTC. This will be the 400th Proton launch since its first flight in 1965 and the 7th Proton mission this year.

The landing of Philae on its target comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was even more eventful than originally thought. The lander is stable, though, has sufficient power (at least for the time being) and is transmitting data from several of its instruments onboard. The main problem: it is not where it was supposed to be (where exactly is unknown), and it is not in the position it should be.

NASA has officially confirmed the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, mission, clearing it to move forward into the development phase. ICON will explore a swath of Earth’s atmosphere where weather close to the ground impacts the dynamic space environment above in unexpected ways.

The OHB Group reported financial results for the first nine months of 2014.

Despite glitches, ESA’s Rosetta mission has soft-landed its Philae probe on its target comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko despite some glitches. But even hours after the confirmation it appears unclear what exactly had happened. The lander is working, but it is unknown whether it is safely anchored.

Boeing has successfully mated two 702SP (small platform) satellites in a stacked configuration in preparation for the first-ever conjoined satellite launch.

NASA’s new Orion spacecraft now is at its launch pad after completing its penultimate journey. It arrived at Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, where the spacecraft then was lifted onto a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in preparation for its first trip to space.

On 10 November, the Angara-A5 left the Integration & Testing Facility in Area 41 of the Plesetsk State Test Cosmodrome in the Archangelsk Region. The first-ever rollout of the heavy-lift launch vehicle and its transfer to the Angara multi-purpose launch pad proceeded as planned.