Satellite News

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: Dragon; Date: 6 December 2020, 0617 UTC; Launch site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida/USA. The Dragon resupply spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with more than 2,880 kg of science investigations, a new airlock, and other cargo.

Rocket: Chang Zheng-3B/G5; Payload: Gaofen-14; Date: 6 December 2020, 0358 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The observation satellite was released into a 481 km x 496 km x 97.36 degrees Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).

The return capsule of JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission has safely landed in Australia, hopefully carrying rock samples from beneath the surface of asteroid Ryugu that scientists say could provide clues to the origin of the solar system and life on our planet.

The ascender of China’s Chang’e-5 probe successfully rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Sunday.

The U.S Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Production Corps successfully transferred Satellite Control Authority of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Space Vehicle 6 to Space Operations Command on 29 October. Operational Acceptance is expected to occur before the end of the year after operational testing has successfully concluded. The fourth Space Operation Squadron will exercise operational control as the satellite is integrated into the constellation.

The scatterometer (SCA) antenna subsystem of the weather satellite MetOp-SG-B, built by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space, has successfully passed the Test Review Board (TRB). This validates the technical quality of the antenna design and production.

China plans to launch a new Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging satellite for monitoring Arctic shipping routes, the satellite developers said.

In its latest research titled, “FSS Capacity Pricing Trends,” Euroconsult, the consulting firm focused on space and satellite-enabled markets, reported that the dramatic pricing declines of the past five years have slowed as a result of notable slowdowns in new capacity supply additions. However, intense pricing pressure is expected to return in advance of new capacity coming online in the 2022-23 time frame.