Satellite News

A Chang Zheng-7 Y2 carrier rocket arrived at Wenchang, Hainan, in preparation for the launch of China’s first cargo spacecraft next month.

Following a static fire test, SpaceX is targeting the launch of the EchoStar XXIII satellite from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 14 March between 0534 and 0804 UTC.

OneWeb announced that the company has contracted for launches of its satellites on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which is under development.

The launch of EchoStar 23 aboard a Falcon 9 has reportedly been postponed to no earlier than 14 March 2017. The postponement could be the result of delays with the static fire test.

Rocket: Vega; Payload: Sentinel-2B; Date: 7 March 2017, 0149 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guiana. The first stage separated 1 min 55 sec after lift-off, followed by the second stage and fairing at 3 min 39 sec and 3 min 56 sec, respectively, and the third stage at 6 min 32 sec. After two more ignitions, Vega’s upper stage delivered Sentinel-2B into the targeted Sun-synchronous orbit. The satellite separated from the stage 57 min 57 sec into the flight.

International Launch Services (ILS) announced the availability of a 5 meter diameter payload fairing (PLF) for use with both the Proton Briz M and Proton Medium launch systems for commercial launch services beginning in first quarter of 2020.

Eutelsat Communications announced the conclusion of a contract with Blue Origin for a launch on the New Glenn rocket that is expected to initiate flights in 2020.

NASA’s Launch Services Program announced that it selected United Launch Alliance’s (ULA’s) Atlas V vehicle to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-2) mission. This award resulted from a competitive Launch Service Task Order evaluation under the NASA Launch Services II contract.