Satellite News

NASA has selected two proposals for new Earth science investigations that will put new instruments in low-Earth orbit to track harmful particulate air pollutants and study the development of tropical cyclones.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been selected by NASA to deliver a concept study for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Wide Field Instrument (WFI), the agency’s next major astrophysics project to follow the 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Lockheed Martin said will expand its reach in the Internet of Things (IoT) through a memorandum of understanding with Orbcomm . As the world becomes increasingly connected and automated, Lockheed Martin plans to leverage Orbcomm’s Machine-to-Machine (M2M) portfolio and expertise to explore opportunities for customers and across the corporation.

The World Meteorological Organisation has provided satellite data receiving and processing systems to nine countries in East Asia and the Western Pacific region in co-operation with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: Eutelsat 65 West; Date: 9 February 2016, 0530 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guiana. Ariane 5 deployed its passenger at the conclusion of a 27-minute flight sequence. Estimated orbital parameters at injection of its cryogenic upper stage were 249.8 km x 35,909 km x 0.48 degrees (target: 250 km x 35,896 km x 0.50 degrees).

The U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin delivered the fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 3 March prior to its expected May launch.

NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission to study the deep interior of Mars is targeting a new launch window that begins 5 May 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for 26 November 2018.

The Eutelsat 9B satellite of Eutelsat Communications has been fully powered up and is now providing TV services to homes across Europe. The satellite has replaced Eutelsat 9A to broadcast a diverse line-up of over 350 channels, of which 100 in High Definition, to cable, DTH and DTT homes.