Satellite News

Europe’s next four Galileo navigation satellites and the Ariane 5 rocket due to lift them into orbit are being readied for their 12 December launch from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

A session of the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) to review the results of R&D efforts on the project Development of Conceptual Design for a Medium Launch Vehicle and the project Development of Conceptual Design on a Set of Transportation Equipment for a Medium Launch Vehicle took place in Samara at Rocket and Space Center (RSC) Progress.

NanoRacks has successfully completed the company’s 13th CubeSat deployment mission from the International Space Station. As these five CubeSats enter low-Earth orbit, this brings NanoRacks to 176 total CubeSats deployed into space via the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD). In total, the company has deployed 193 satellites into space.

The high resolution radar, Earth observation PAZ satellite, intended primarily to address civilian surveillance needs and to cover many different applications including defence and security, will be shipped in December 2017 to its launch site in Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 6; Payload: Jilin 1-04, 1-05, 1-06 (Lingqiao 1-04, 1-05, 1-06); Date: 21 November 2017, 0450 UTC; Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China.

Rocket: Delta II; Payload: JPSS-1, five CubeSats; Date: 18 November 2017, 0947 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. Approximately 63 minutes after launch the solar arrays on JPSS-1 deployed and the spacecraft was operating on its own power.

The launch of a classified U.S. government satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket has been postponed.

The launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta II carrying the NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System-1, or JPSS-1, has been rescheduled for 0947 UTC on Saturday, 18 November 2017, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.