Satellite News

Rocket: Atlas V; Payload: NROL-42; Date: 24 September 2017, 0549 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. About two hours after lift-off, officials declared the launch a success.

A Proton/Briz M is to launch AsiaSat 9 for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat), Hong Kong, on 29 September at 1852 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

ViaSat Inc. has completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) milestones for the ViaSat-3 class spacecraft. The payload CDR was successfully completed last week, and when combined with the successful bus CDR, conducted with Boeing in mid-August, ViaSat and Boeing are now moving forward with building, integrating and testing the first two satellites.

Thales Alenia Space has recently been awarded one of three competitive studies funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) to lead the design definition of the Payload Module (PLM) for SMILE (Solar Wind Magnetospheric Ionospheric Link Explorer).

NASA’s asteroid sample return spacecraft successfully used Earth’s gravity to slingshot itself on a path toward the asteroid Bennu, for a rendezvous next August.