Satellite News

ASTROSAT, the first dedicated Indian astronomy satellite aimed at studying distant celestial objects, has been fully assembled and entered testing.

NASA’s new Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission to map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed has begun science operations.

DigitalGlobe’s Ikonos commercial imaging satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, was retired on 31 March after a more than 15-year service life. The satellite was owned and operated by DigitalGlobe, Inc., and performed on-orbit for more than double its original design life.

Speaking several days after the botched launch of a Proton rocket, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said the industry was plagued by “morally decayed” officials and underpaid personnel.

Forty years ago this week, a satellite ground station in Spain became the first to be assigned to what would become ESA. Since then, the network – Estrack – has expanded world-wide and today employs cutting-edge technology to link mission controllers with spacecraft.