Satellite News

Rocket: Soyuz FG; Payload: Soyuz MS-09 [Soyuz 55S]; Date: 6 June 2018, 1112 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz MS-09 manned transport spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station.

Launch vehicle elements for Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 flight at the service of Europe’s Galileo global satellite navigation system, which is planned for July, have been delivered to the Spaceport.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: SES-12; Date: 4 June 2018, 0445 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Following separation from the launcher 32 minutes after lift-off, SES-12 – the most powerful all-electric satellite ever – completed its initialisation phase and started its electric orbit raising (EOR) operations as planned.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. (Firefly), a developer of orbital launch vehicles for the small to medium satellite market, announced the execution of a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) for use of the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle from 2020 through 2022.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 2D; Payload: Gaofen-6, Luojia-1; Date: 2 June 2018, 0413 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. Gaofen-6 will be mainly used in agricultural resources research and disaster monitoring, state media said. A scientific experiment satellite named Luojia-1 was sent into space at the same time.

SpaceX has delayed the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SES 12 communications satellite. Lift-off from Cape Canaveral is set for Monday, 4 June at 0429 UTC.

Arianespace announced that ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space – has joined the group of customers who have signed contracts to launch payloads on Vega’s Small Spacecraft Mission Service (SSMS) Proof Of Concept flight (POC flight) in early 2019.

China has developed and tested a wireless onboard control system for rockets, the Science and Technology Daily reported.