Satellite News

JAXA plans to launch a small lunar landing probe on an H-2A rocket in fiscal 2021. The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, will be launched together with a successor model of the X-ray astronomy satellite Hitomi and will target a landing on a small crater in Mare Nectaris.

NOAA looks to test the capabilities of privately funded small satellites because a new NOAA Satellite Observing System Architecture study shows that future satellite instruments with lower cost and/or increased performance could provide significant benefit in NOAA’s future observing systems.

Airbus Defence and Space has been selected by Telesat as a major industrial partner to support their System Design and Risk Management phase for Telesat’s LEO constellation now in development.

Hispasat and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. have entered into a partnership to commercialise Hispasat’s Ka band satellite capacity over Brazil, with an estimated potential revenue of tens of millions of dollars over a period of several years.

Yahsat has completed the acquisition of a majority and controlling stake in mobile satellite services operator Thuraya.