Satellite News

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded a contract from Lockheed Martin Corporation to supply its LN-200S fibre-optic Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for the LM 300 satellite bus.

Kymeta Corporation and Intelsat S.A. said they will combine Intelsat’s space-based communication with Kymeta’s antenna technology to bring high speed connectivity to cars on a global basis.

“ISRO’s Second Vehicle Assembly Building (SVAB) is being realised as an additional integration facility, with suitable interfacing to a second launch pad at Sriharikota, even as the space agency plans to increase its launch frequency to more than 12 missions per year.” (Business Standard)

“Several projects have recently appeared on the scene, all planning to use low earth orbiting satellites (LEO) to change the dynamics of how internet access is delivered to underserved regions of the globe.” (New Electronics)

“Farewell, Philae. The space lander that touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (and in our hearts) in November 2014 has not responded to a last-ditch attempt to wake it, and it now looks almost certain that the lander is permanently sleeping.” (New Scientist)

As the GOES-R satellite goes through mechanical testing in preparation for launch in October 2016, the remaining satellites in the series (GOES-S, T, and U) are also making significant progress, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

The U.S. Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center released a solicitation seeking proposals for the Global Positioning System’s GPS III Space Vehicles (SV) 11+ Phase 1 Production Readiness Feasibility Assessment contract.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., has entered a public-private partnership with NASA to mature the development of an MPS-130 CubeSat propulsion system using a green propellant, known as AF-M315E.