Satellite News

The launch of a Proton launch vehicle with the Eutelsat 9B satellite has been delayed two days due to weather-related logistical issues associated with the nominal delivery of the second stage solid retro rockets.

On 20 January 2016, China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), which is subordinated under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and APT Satellite company Limited (APT) jointly conducted the ceremony to celebrate the successful in-orbit delivery to the customer for the Apstar-9 satellite.

Rocket: PSLV-C31; Payload: IRNSS-1E; Date: 20 January 2016, 0401 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, India. The navigation satellite was placed into a 288 km x 20566 km x 19.2 degrees transfer orbit.

Russia’s state commission has not yet made a decision to postpone the launch of the Proton-M carrier rocket with the European communications satellite Eutelsat 9B from 27 January to 29 January (UTC), a source at the Baikonur Cosmodrome said according to TASS.

The first launch of a Soyuz-2 from Russia’s new Vostochny spaceport may be carried out in the second half of April, head of the State Corporation for Space Activity Roskosmos Igor Komarov was quoted as saying.

The U.S. Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center and the 460th Space Wing have confirmed the Remote Sensing Systems Directorate’s ongoing success of the Space-Based Infrared System’s Block 10 Integrated Test and Evaluation (IT&E) Readiness comprehensive evaluation.

LeoSat Enterprises, an emerging company with plans to launch a constellation of up to 108 low-earth-orbit communications satellites, has announced the appointment of Ronald van der Breggen as Chief Commercial Officer. In this position Ronald will be responsible for managing the global sales and marketing operations of LeoSat.

The launch vehicle for Arianespace’s first mission of 2016 has received its payload, as the initial Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellite has been mated to the Ariane 5 at the Spaceport in French Guiana.