Satellite News

Millennium Space Systems announced the completion of structural qualification of its AQUILA M8 satellite structure. AQUILA M8–under development for a confidential customer–joins Millennium’s AQUILA platform product line, supporting missions of up to 3000 kg total mass in low, medium and geostationary Earth orbits (LEO, MEO and GEO).

Inmarsat-2 F2, the second Eurostar satellite designed and built by Airbus Defence and Space, was retired from operational service and safely decommissioned this week after completing a record breaking flawless commercial mission in geostationary orbit of 23.5 years.

NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft makes a comeback with the discovery of the first exoplanet found using its new mission — K2. The discovery was made when astronomers and engineers devised an ingenious way to repurpose Kepler for the K2 mission and continue its search of the cosmos for other worlds.

Researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center recently assembled an engineering model Stirling power system using valuable assets that became available after the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) flight project was cancelled in late 2013.

Inmarsat confirmed the U.S. Government Business Unit’s successful testing of its on-demand lease service using the prototype L-band Advanced Communications Element (LACE) terminal.

Rocket: GSLV Mk-III; Payload: Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE); Date: 18 December 2014, 0400 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, India. The mission, the first experimental flight of India’s next generation launch vehicle, was successful.

Rocket: Soyuz ST-B; Payload: four O3b satellites; Date: 18 December 2014, 1837 UTC; Launch site: Sinnamary, French Guiana. The third batch of four spacecraft in the O3b medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation, operated by O3b Networks, was successfully launched.

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. TESS will launch aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, with lift-off targeted for August 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.