Satellite News

Kleos Space S.A. has signed new contracts with satellite builder Innovative Solutions in Space B.V. (ISISPACE) and global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc. to build and manage the launch its fourth satellite cluster of four satellites, the Observer Mission (KSF3) mid-2022.

A Russian An-124 cargo plane delivered two Ekspress-series telecoms satellites to an airfield in Kazakhstan for their launch from the Baikonur spaceport in December, Roskosmos announced.

On 22 September, ESA’s INTEGRAL (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory) spacecraft went into emergency Safe Mode. One of the spacecraft’s three active ‘reaction wheels’ had turned off without warning and stopped spinning, causing a ripple effect that meant the satellite itself began to rotate.

Related posts:
Ariane 5 ECA launches two satellites for Japan and France
Delay of the day: Ariane 5 ES/ATV
New Chinese rocket on its way to Hainan launch site
Third EKS ‘Tundra’ early warning satellite launched

Spire Global, Inc. announced a new weather customer, Southern Launch, a South Australian rocket launch service provider. Southern Launch will have access to the Spire Weather Point Optimised Forecast, a solution tailored for hyper-local, specific points of interest, for their rocket sites.

Related posts:
Ariane 5 ECA launches two satellites for Japan and France
Delay of the day: Ariane 5 ES/ATV
New Chinese rocket on its way to Hainan launch site
Third EKS ‘Tundra’ early warning satellite launched

Representatives of the Israeli company Helios and representatives of OHB SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Helios hardware to fly on the first three LSAS missions to the lunar surface.

Related posts:
Ariane 5 ECA launches two satellites for Japan and France
Delay of the day: Ariane 5 ES/ATV
New Chinese rocket on its way to Hainan launch site
Third EKS ‘Tundra’ early warning satellite launched

Following a successful launch on 16 October 2021, analysis of NASA’s Lucy spacecraft systems show the spacecraft is operating well and is stable. Lucy’s two solar arrays have deployed, and both are producing power and the battery is charging.

Related posts:
Ariane 5 ECA launches two satellites for Japan and France
Delay of the day: Ariane 5 ES/ATV
New Chinese rocket on its way to Hainan launch site
Third EKS ‘Tundra’ early warning satellite launched

Rocket: Chang Zheng 2F; Payload: Shenzhou 13; Date: 15 October 2021, 1623 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. About 582 seconds after the launch, Shenzhou-13 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit.

Rocket: Atlas V 401/Centaur; Payload: Lucy; Date: 16 October 2021, 0934 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, USA. The Atlas V delivered the Lucy spacecraft into an interplanetary trajectory.