Satellite News

Rocket: Chang Zheng 3A; Payload: Beidou 22 [Beidou Daohang Weixing 21, Beidou DW 21, Beidou-2 I6]; Date: 29 March 2016, 2011 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The navigation satellite was placed in a 200 km x 35,797 km x 55.0 degrees geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Russia may launch two or three GLONASS navigation satellites this year, a senior space industry official said. The official noted that the launches of the satellites would depend on the state of the GLONASS system.

India is planning to launch a record 22 satellites by a single rocket in May this year from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota, an official said.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced its new Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) programme, which is to develop technologies that would enable co-operative inspection and servicing in GEO and demonstrating those technologies on orbit within the next five years.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. has been awarded two contracts with a total value of several million dollars from DigitalGlobe Inc. to provide new ground station solutions to two international customers.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said that communication with the X-ray Astronomy Satellite “Hitomi” (ASTRO-H), launched on 17 February 2016 (UTC), failed at the start of its operation originally scheduled for 0740UTC, Saturday, 26 March.

Rocket: Soyuz 2-1A (no upper stage); Payload: Bars-M No. 2; Date: 24 March 2016, 0942 UTC; Launch site: Plesetsk, Russia. The governmental spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit of 326 km x 538 km x 97,6 degrees.

A Geo-IK-2 geodetic satellite of the Russian defence ministry is scheduled to be launched in May 2016, the Izvestia daily said citing Nikolai Testoyedov, the director general and general designer of Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems.