Satellite News

Just after the ignition of Ariane 5’s main stage Vulcain engine, the on-board computer detected an anomaly affecting electrical equipment on one of the two solid-propellant boosters. This anomaly led to an interruption of the automated lift-off sequence.

Orbital ATK recently completed a qualification test of the avionics system for the solid rocket boosters the company has developed and is now manufacturing for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).

EchoStar Corporation and Lockheed Martin announced that the EchoStar III satellite has been successfully recovered following an anomaly that occurred in late July and retired.

Cyfrowy Polsat Group has signed a long-term contract with Eutelsat Communications for the lease of multiple transponders. The agreement covers the extension of existing capacity and expansion at the Hotbird video position.

The attempt to launch Intelsat 37e and BSAT-4a aboard an Ariane 5 was aborted shortly after the ignition of the rocket’s Vulcain main engine. A new launch date was not immediately available.

The launch of JPSS-1, the first in a series of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s four next-generation operational polar-orbiting weather satellites, is scheduled for 10 November at 0947 UTC aboard a Delta 2 (!) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) said it selected SpaceX as the launch provider for its Kacific-1 satellite, which is being built by The Boeing Company. Kacific-1 [which is actually one of two payloads aboard a condo satellite shared with Japan’s Sky Perfect JSAT] will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9.

The U.S. Defense Department will have to continue using Russian RD-180 rocket engines until the mid-2020s, which is longer than it had initially been expected, U.S. media reported.