Satellite News

The Russian space industry will continue paying enhanced attention to the quality of products manufactured by the Voronezh Mechanical Plant, despite the successful launch of a Proton carrier rocket, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin was quoted as saying.

NanoRacks said it successfully deployed four Spire LEMUR-2 CubeSats from Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft at a nearly 500-kilometer orbit.

The Eutelsat 172B satellite has initiated its ascent to geostationary orbit.

Two further satellites have formally become part of Europe’s Galileo satnav system, broadcasting timing and navigation signals world-wide while also picking up distress calls across the planet.

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: EchoStar XXI; Date: 8 June 2017, 0345:47 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The EchoStar XXI/Briz M upper stage separation occurred 9 hours 13 minutes after lift-off. The separated spacecraft mass was approximately 6900 kg.

NASA has selected Dynetics, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, to develop and build a universal stage adapter for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

The Russian company S7 Sea Launch has signed a contract with the Ukrainian company Pivdenmash for the purchase of 12 Zenit rockets, Dnepropetrovsk-based Pivdenmash said. But there are doubts about the availability of Russian engines for those rockets.

SpaceX will fly its first mission for the U.S. Air Force in August when it launches the military’s X-37B miniature spaceplane, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said. Four previous X-37B missions were launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets.