Satellite News

Rocket: GSLV Mk. II/CUS; Payload: Insat 3DR; Date: 8 September 2016, 1120 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India. The weather satellite was successfully launched and has meanwhile been catalogued in a 152 km x 35,935 km x 20.6 degrees geostationary transfer orbit.

ESA and Arianespace have signed a contract to secure the launch of the Aeolus satellite.

The WorldView-4 satellite, built by Lockheed Martin for DigitalGlobe, Inc., has been encapsulated in its protective launch vehicle fairing. It is scheduled to launch 16 September aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Vector Space Systems, a micro satellite space launch company, announced that NASA has selected its Phase II proposal under the 2015 SBIR/STTR programme to continue development of an advanced prototype of the upper stage for the Vector-R launch vehicle.

Frequency Electronics, Inc. has received and commenced engineering design work on a new multi-satellite payload contract valued in excess of US$6 million.

Thuraya Telecommunications has finalised its next generation constellation plans and said it will extend its geographical reach, move into new market sectors and launch new services and devices.

Intelsat has released details of its customers’ and ecosystem partners’ achievement of a 165% to 330% increase in spectral efficiency with ground platforms and modem technologies; and up to a 300% improvement in throughput using next generation antenna technology to connect to the Intelsat EpicNG high-throughput satellite (HTS) platform.