Satellite News

Oneweb is reportedly relinquishing its majority stake in a joint venture with Russia’s Gonets after objections from Moscow, citing security concerns.

The Boeing Company reported third-quarter financial results.

Lockheed Martin reported third quarter 2018 financial results.

NASAA is optimistic that a backup gyroscope (gyro) can be used to operate the Hubble Space Telescope. The backup gyro was turned on after the spacecraft entered safe mode due to a failed gyro on 5 October but was incorrectly returning extremely high rotation rates. The rotation rates have since reduced and are now within an expected range. Additional tests will be performed to ensure Hubble can return to science operations with this gyro.

NOAA’s GOES-17 satellite is getting ready to move to its new location at 137.2 degrees west. For the past seven months, the satellite has been in a temporary position – at 89.5 degrees west – known as its on-orbit checkout location. Since then, scientists have been testing and calibrating GOES-17’s instruments.

The C-Band Alliance (CBA) announced that up to 200 MHz of mid-band (C-band downlink) spectrum could be cleared, dependent upon demand, under its updated proposal to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opening new spectrum to support 5G wireless deployment while protecting current users.

MDA announced that it has shipped, as planned, the third and final satellite for the Radarsat Constellation Mission (RCM) that MDA is building for the Canadian Space Agency. The constellation will launch from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft executed its second Asteroid Approach manoeuvre (AAM-2). The spacecraft’s main engine thrusters fired in a braking manoeuvre designed to slow the spacecraft’s speed relative to Bennu from 141 m/s to 5.2 m/s. Likewise, the spacecraft’s approach speed dropped from nearly 12,200 km to 450 km per day.