Satellite News

The launch of a Proton-M rocket with Eutelsat-5WB and MEV-1 will take place in the first half of October, Roskosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said.

Thales Alenia Space and the Brazilian Space Agency under the authority of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) signed an agreement to transfer technology that will enable Brazil to enhance its capability to design and develop optical instruments for Earth observation satellites.

Spire Global announced over US$40 million in new funding from strategic partners including ITOCHU, Mitsui, and Scottish Investment Bank and financial investors led by the GPO Fund, Perennial Value Management Limited, and Bessemer Ventures. Existing investors RRE Capital, Expon Capital, Seraphim Capital and Qualcomm Ventures also participated, among others.

KBR announced that it was awarded two contract modifications totalling almost US$40 million to upgrade remote tracking stations in the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN).

Rocket: Soyuz-FG; Payload: Soyuz MS-15; Date: 25 September 2019, 1357 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. According to telemetry information, the crewed spacecraft separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle as scheduled. It docked to the ISS on 25 September 2019 at 1942 UTC.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 2D; Payload: Yunhai-1 02; Date: 25 September 2019, 0054 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. U.S. military tracking data confirmed the Chang Zheng 2D placed its payload into a nearly circular Sun-synchronous orbit of approx. 775 km x 98.59 degrees.

The launch of a Proton launch vehicle with the Eutelsat 5 West B / Mission Extension Vehicle-1 satellites scheduled for 30 September was postponed due to an issue encountered during electrical testing of the Integrated Launch Vehicle.

Eutelsat Communications has unveiled its ELO constellation project targeting the Internet of Things (IoT) market.