Satellite News

The UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Leicester have published a paper that reveals a spacecraft’s position in space in the direction of a particular pulsar can be calculated autonomously, using a small X-ray telescope on board the craft, to an accuracy of 2 km.

Inmarsat announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Inmarsat Government, has been issued modification P00001 to lift the stop-work order issued due to a bid protest filed on the initial award.

Orbcomm Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ending 30 June 2016.

Evaluation of the fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite determined that the satellite experienced a failure of the orbit raising propulsion system during a transfer manoeuvre on 29 June, a spokesman for the Naval Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command said. It is the second failure of a Lockheed-Martin-built military satellite within a few weeks.

ECAPS, an SSC Group company, announced that the High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP) system included on the Terra Bella SkySat-3 satellite has been successfully commissioned on-orbit and declared fully operational.

Aerojet Rocketdyne has been awarded a contract from Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to supply the electrical power system for the Dream Chaser, a commercial spacecraft that will carry cargo to and from the International Space Station.

The U.S. Government has granted Moon Express, Inc. (MoonEx), permission to travel beyond Earth’s orbit and land on the Moon in 2017. This decision provides authorisation to Moon Express for a maiden flight of its robotic spacecraft onto the Moon’s surface.

A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium (4,2) will launch the AFSPC-6 mission for the U.S. Air Force on 19 August 2016 between 0400 and 0800 UTC from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.