Satellite News

Rocket: Atlas V 541; Payload: NROL-35 (USA 259); Date: 13 December 2014, 0319 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. According to amateur observations, the payload was deployed into a 2,101 km x 37,748 km. Its final (highly elliptical) orbit after some manoeuvring is expected to be a standard Molniya 2:1 resonant ground track, where the orbital period is roughly 12 hours.

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: Yamal-401; Date. 15 December 2014, oo16 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The successful launch was the 400th mission for the Proton launch vehicle since its first flight in 1965.

The first experimental suborbital flight of India’s latest generation Launch Vehicle – GSLV Mk-III, carrying the Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE), is scheduled on 18 December 2014 from SDSC SHAR.

A Russian Strela rocket with the Kondor-E 2 Earth observation satellite on board is due to be launched from the Baikonur space in Kazakhstan on 18 December at 0455 UTC.

Eutelsat Communications and Polish pay-TV provider nc+ announced the signature of a major contract for the renewal of nine transponders at Eutelsat’s Hotbird video neighbourhood.