Satellite News

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have postponed the launch of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 7 (H-IIB F7) which carries aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI7” (HTV7), the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS) from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: Telstar 18 VANTAGE/Apstar-5C; Date: 10 September 2018, 0445 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after lift-off.

Arianespace and Eutelsat Communications have concluded a long-term multiple-launch service agreement.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has chosen Arianespace to launch its GSAT-31 and GSAT-30 telecommunications satellites.

Arianespace announced the launch services contract signature with CNES for the CSO-3 satellite, which will be launched aboard the future Ariane 6 launch vehicle – in its A62 version – from the Guiana Space Center. This option already was included in the previously-signed launch contract for the CSO-1 and CSO-2 satellites on missions using the Soyuz launcher.

Viasat Inc. announced it selected United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) Atlas V vehicle to launch one of its ViaSat-3 satellite missions. This is the first commercial contract ULA has directly signed since assuming responsibility for the marketing and sales of the Atlas V launch vehicle from Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services earlier this year.

Qualification of the two liquid propulsion engines and the solid propulsion engine for the Ariane 6 launcher passed major technological milestones over the summer of 2018.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and SpaceX are finalising plans for launch day operations as they prepare for the company’s first flight test with astronauts on board. The teams are working toward a crew test flight to the International Space Station, known as Demo-2, in April 2019.