Satellite News

The launch of a Cygnus cargo vessel to the ISS aboard an Antares rocket from Wallops Island was scrubbed on 9 February 2020. A new launch date was not immediately announced.

Thirty-four OneWeb satellites were successfully deployed into a circular low Earth orbit on 7 February during a flight lasting 3 hours and 45 minutes from lift-off to final payload separation.

Rocket: H2A No. 41; Payload: IGS-Optical 7; Date: 9 February 2020, 0134 UTC; launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The successful lift-off of the H2A rocket marked the 35th in a row, raising the success rate of Japan’s workhorse launch vehicle to 97.6%.

China’s Chang Zheng-5B carrier rocket arrived at the launch site in southern China’s Hainan Province Wednesday after a week of ocean and rail transport, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Another Iranian attempt to launch a satellite has failed, even though reportedly all stages of the flight took place as planned. However, the satellite did not reach the speed needed to inject it into the desired orbit, according to the Iranian Fars news.

Boeing narrowly missed a “catastrophic failure” during its December flight test of the CST-100 Starliner that was cut short by an unrelated problem, a NASA safety review panel said. It recommended that the agency examine Boeing’s software verification process before letting it fly humans to space.

Airbus has redefined its portfolio of turnkey Earth observation systems, specifically designed for the international market. The company said it now offers a portfolio of end-to-end systems that complies with the increasing variety of user requirements and business models of its customers.

Viasat reported financial results for the third quarter fiscal year 2020.