Satellite News

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: Ekspress AMU1 (aka Eutelsat 36C); Date: 24 December 2015, 2131 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The rocket lifted off after a 24-hour delay caused by high winds.

ULA has ordered 20 more RD-180 rocket engines from Russia, on top of 29 engines ordered last year.

Airbus Defence and Space has been awarded a contract by Inmarsat to design and develop the first two Inmarsat-6 (I-6) mobile communications satellites, creating the most versatile mobile services satellites in its fleet.

Space Systems Loral has been selected to provide an advanced communications satellite to Telesat. The new satellite called Telstar 18 VANTAGE will operate from 138 degrees East and significantly expand Telesat’s capacity over the Asia Pacific region through a combination of broad regional beams and high throughput spot-beams.

Vanguard Space Technologies, Inc. announced that it has delivered the first set of three primary components for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Program to Orbital ATK, Inc.