Satellite News

DigitalGlobe, Inc. announced the formation of a joint venture with TAQNIA, a firm dedicated to accelerating technology development for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in partnership with KACST to develop a constellation of highly capable small imaging satellites to support the needs of customers around the world.

Intelsat S.A. announced preliminary financial results for the three months and full year ending 31 December 2015.

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that it has been awarded a US$8.57 million task order, under the Gateway Modernisation Efforts contract, from the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), to make upgrades and enhancements to the U.S. Department of Defense’s dedicated Iridium gateway in preparation for the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation.

On 22 February 1986, exactly 30 years ago, France’s first civilian optical Earth observation satellite, Spot-1, financed by the French space agency CNES, was launched by an Ariane 1 rocket.

The preparations for Arianespace’s second Ariane 5 launch of 2016 are continuing for a lift-off on 9 March from French Guiana, with the heavy-lift vehicle now transferred to the Spaceport’s Final Assembly Building, and its Eutelsat 65 West A satellite payload undergoing its fuelling.

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft has departed from the International Space Station.

The first next-generation navigation satellite of the GLONASS-K series, designed and built by ISS-Reshetnev Company, has started providing services in orbit.

Under the Copernicus agreement it signed with the European Commission on 7 November 2014, EUMETSAT will be the operator of the recently launched Sentinel-3A satellite and will deliver its marine mission on behalf of the European Union, in co-operation with ESA.