Satellite News

Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) has reportedly cancelled a satellite order with Boeing because of ongoing uncertainty of the project’s financing. Funding was partially to be provided by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which is currently shuttered after its charter expired on 30 June.

The International Launch Services (ILS) Failure Review Oversight Board (FROB) concluded its work, concurring with the most probable cause and the associated corrective action plan which were identified by the Russian Interagency Commission (IAC) as a result of the Proton launch vehicle failure carrying the Centenario spacecraft on 16 May.

The Russian Federal Space Agency Roskosmos plans to carry out six Proton-M launches within the next four months, one of them for the Defense Ministry.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launching nine nano / micro satellites for United States during 2015-16 time frame. This will be the first time that ISRO will launch U.S. satellites.

The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument, developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., has completed its Critical Design Review, confirming the integrity of the design and its ability to meet mission requirements. The instrument began fabrication in June after an earlier set of reviews.

NASA has selected five proposals submitted to its Explorers Program to conduct focused scientific investigations and develop instruments that fill the scientific gaps between the agency’s larger missions.

Arianespace said it is gearing up for its upcoming Soyuz Flight VS12 – scheduled for 10 September from French Guiana – with initial fit-check activities completed for the mission’s two passengers: the latest European Galileo navigation satellites.

Roskosmos plans to allocate US$7 million to develop a segment of the GLONASS satellite-based navigation system to improve the system’s accuracy in Russia and in the Arctic, according to documentation posted on the website of state purchases.