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Archive for January, 2019

Airbus receives DARPA contract in support of Blackjack programme

January 14th, 2019 by

Airbus Defense and Space Inc. has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus in support of the Blackjack programme.

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ESA chooses Thales Alenia Space to lead the FLEX mission

January 14th, 2019 by

Thales Alenia Space announced that it has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to lead the Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) satellite mission. FLEX was selected in 2015 as ESA’s eighth Earth Explorer mission, and is scheduled for launch in 2023. It will map the Earth’s vegetation fluorescence to quantify photosynthetic activity using the FLORIS instrument.

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LockMart to sustain, modernise GPS ground control

January 14th, 2019 by

The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS Control Segment Sustainment II (GCS II) contract to continue to sustain and further modernise the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation’s ground control system through 2025. This is the follow-on contract to Lockheed Martin’s current GCS contract awarded in 2013.

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Maxar Technologies announces CEO transition

January 14th, 2019 by

Maxar Technologies announced the appointment of Daniel Jablonsky as President and Chief Executive Officer of Maxar, effective immediately.

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China performs first satellite launch of 2019

January 12th, 2019 by

Rocket: Chang Zheng 3B; Payload: Zhongxing-2D [ChinaSat-2D]; Date: 10 January 2019, 1711 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, China. People’s Liberation Army Daily, a military newspaper, confirmed the payload’s delivery into geostationary transfer orbit 70 minutes later.

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Falcon 9 launch completes deployment of Iridium NEXT constellation

January 12th, 2019 by

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: 10 Iridium NEXT satellites; Date: 11 January 2019, 1531 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. Falcon 9’s first stage delivered the second stage to its targeted orbit followed by deployment of all 10 Iridium NEXT satellites approximately 1 hour and 12 minutes after launch.

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Control of Spektr-R satellite lost

January 12th, 2019 by

Roscosmos said its specialists are attempting to fix problems that have blocked control of the Spektr-R satellite radio telescope.

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Both satellites for next Ariane 5 launch arrived in French Guiana

January 10th, 2019 by

Building on operational success in 2018, payload preparations for Arianespace’s first flight in the new year are moving ahead with this week’s delivery of the mission’s second satellite, GSAT-31, to French Guiana – joining the Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 (HS-4/SGS-1), which arrived earlier in January.

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