Satellite News

On its fourth launch of the year and second with the Ariane 5 heavy launcher, Arianespace will orbit two direct-to-home (DTH) TV broadcast satellites: DirecTV 15, the most powerful direct TV broadcast satellite in the United States For DirecTV; and SkyM-1 for Sky Mexico. Lift-off is planned between 2116 and 2240 UTC on 27 May.

The GOES-R weather satellite, slated to launch in 2016, is ready for environmental testing.

Rocket: Atlas V 501; Payload: AFSPC-5 (X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and 10 cubesats); Date: 20 May 2015, 1505 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA.

ViaSat Inc. announced fiscal fourth quarter financial results.

According to Euroconsult’s newly released research report, Profiles of Government Space Programs, world government expenditures for space programmes decreased by 4% to US$66.5 billion in 2014.

“You can compare it to the fall of the Roman Empire. The Russian space industry is collapsing.” – Space industry analyst Pavel Luzin according to the Moscow Times.

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.