Satellite News

China plans to send its first full electric propulsion satellite into orbit around 2020, providing broadband communication data transmission to China and neighbouring regions, according to Wang Min, deputy chief designer of the communication satellite, at the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. will support Principal Investigator Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University (ASU) to develop the Thermal Emission Imaging System for a NASA mission to study Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

COM DEV International Ltd. announced second quarter financial results for the three-month period ending 30 April 2015.

The two satellite passengers for Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 mission in 2015 are advancing through their pre-flight preparations, with MSG-4 and Star One C4 each completing separate fit-check processes during activity at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument, developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is headed toward its Critical Design Review this month following an earlier milestone that included Preliminary Design Review (PDR). Ball is now well into the fabrication of the instrument following the successful PDR and a confirmation review.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has unveiled a plan for an unmanned space probe to bring back sand and other samples from Mars’ in a multiyear mission that could begin as early as 2021.

The engines of the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft, which has been docked with the International Space Station since November 2014, fired unexpectedly on Tuesday during a routine testing of the docking system.

Europe’s latest Galileo was unboxed at ESA’s technical centre in the Netherlands last month, bringing the total number of satellites at the site to four.