Satellite News

The AsiaSat 9 satellite for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) of Hong Kong, arrived at the Baikonur Cosmdrome in Kazakhstan aboard an Antonov cargo jet on 27 August in preparation for mission integration and launch aboard an ILS Proton Briz M launch vehicle in September. AsiaSat 9 will be the third ILS Proton launch in 2017.

ESA’s Sentinel-5p satellite, part of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme and manufactured by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, is currently awaiting transportation to its launch site, Plesetsk Cosmdrome in Northern Russia.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and JAXA announced the schedule of MICHIBIKI No. 4 launch, Quasi-Zenith Satellite System aboard H-IIA Launch Vehicle No. 36.

SES announced a change of launch vehicles and launch slots for its SES-12 and SES-14 satellites.

China and Russia are set to sign a milestone agreement on joint space exploration from 2018 to 2022. The deal is expected to be signed this October and will bring significant benefits to both nations, particularly in manned and future missions to the moon, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.

Rocket: Minotaur IV; Payload: ORS-5, three CubeSats; Date: 26 August 2017, 0604 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Approximately 28 minutes after lift-off, the Minotaur IV deployed the ORS-5 satellite into its targeted low inclination orbit 599 kilometers above the Earth.

The ULA Atlas V carrying the NROL-42 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance office is scheduled for 14 September. The Atlas V will lift off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Khrunichev Space Center is switching over from the production of Proton-M carrier rockets to the output of Angara-A5 and Angara-A5M launchers, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said during his visit to the enterprise on Friday.