Satellite News

The EU Commission has started an investigation into Airbus Safran Launchers’ purchase of Arianespace. In a statement, the EC said it was concerned the proposed deal could lead to less innovation and higher prices in the satellite and launch service markets.

SES S.A. announced that its SES-9 satellite is ready to be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 24 February (UTC) – too late for this issue. There is a 60% chance weather will co-operate for lift-off.

A NASA team at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is collaborating with Ohio State University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to build and launch a new CubeSat mission that will test next-generation techniques for detecting and discarding radio-frequency interference (RFI).

MEI Technologies, Inc. (MEIT) announced the successful deployment of two satellites – built by two Texas universities – from the International Space Station. This mission, named the Low Earth Orbiting Navigation Experiment for Spacecraft Testing Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (LONESTAR) investigation, is comprised of Texas A&M University’s AggieSat4 satellite and University of Texas’ Bevo-2 satellite.

Japan will collaborate with the U.S. and others to monitor the skies for orbiting space debris, suspicious satellites and other objects, sharing its data with international partners.

SES S.A. and Gogo announced a major satellite capacity deal in the aero market to meet the growing demand for high-speed inflight connectivity on travel routes over the Americas, Caribbean and North Atlantic.

ISRO on 19 February successfully hot tested its ‘Cryo CE 20’ Engine for a flight duration of 640 seconds, with the space agency Chairman A. S. KiranKumar describing the feat as a “phenomenal achievement in the shortest time.”

Orbital ATK, Inc. announced the successful completion of its fourth cargo delivery mission (OA-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), including the initial demonstration flight and three operational missions under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft delivered 3,465 kg of cargo to the ISS, the largest cargo shipment to date by a commercial company.