Satellite News

Payload preparations for Arianespace’s next Ariane 5 launch are now in full swing, with the mission’s two satellite passengers – Eutelsat 8 West B and Intelsat 34 – undergoing checkout procedures at the Spaceport in French Guiana.

Rocket: Soyuz-FG; Payload: Soyuz TMA-17M; Date: 22 July 2015, 2102 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The manned Soyuz capsule reached its target orbit nine minutes after lift-off.

The launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying the WGS-7 mission has been postponed to 24 July (UTC) due to predicted weather conditions and the potential for high winds during the launch countdown.

One of the sensors that will fly aboard NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S was recently given a clean bill of health from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The sensor, known as EHIS, was successfully tested using the hospital’s proton accelerator and deemed to be in good working order.

Work on the new facility intended for the production of antennas and feeder devices for satellites is well under way at ISS-Reshetnev Company’s site.

The Boeing Company reported second-quarter financial results.

On 28 June 2015, following a nominal lift-off, Falcon 9 experienced an overpressure event in the upper stage liquid oxygen tank approximately 139 seconds into flight, resulting in loss of mission. The following summary provided by SpaceX represents an initial assessment, but further investigation may reveal more over time, the company said.

Officials from the U.S. Air Force’s 50th Space Wing have completed their operations review of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 that was permanently shut down 3 February 2015, precipitating a debris-causing event. The review determined there were no actions that could have been taken to prevent the incident. The mission is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on behalf of the U.S. Air Force.