Satellite News

Rocket: Electron/Curie; Payload: ELaNa-XIX [13 cubesats]; Date: 16 December 2018, 0633 UTC; Launch site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. The Curie third stage injected the CubeSats, which had a total mass of 78 kg, into a 500 km circular orbit at an inclination of 85 degrees.

Everything is progressing toward the ULA Delta IV Heavy launch carrying the NROL-71 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

The Khrunichev Space Center has shipped the flight adapter system assigned to the commercial Proton M/Briz M dual launch of Eutelsat 5 West B and MEV-1 (Mission Extension Vehicle-1) mission for joint fitcheck testing with the spacecraft.

Exactly one year after the signing of the Prometheus demonstrator development contract between the European Space Agency (ESA) and ArianeGroup, testing of the 3D-printed gas generator has started at the DLR site in Lampoldshausen, Germany.

Northrop Grumman Corporation along with NASA and Lockheed Martin successfully performed a ground firing test of the abort motor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft Launch Abort System (LAS) at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah.

Three Russian engines RD-181 have been handed over to Northrop Grumman, the research and industrial association NPO Energomash said.