Satellite News

The launch date for a United Launch Alliance Delta IV carrying the WGS-9 satellite for the U.S. Air Force has been postponed to no earlier than 14 March.

Rocket: Kaituozhe-2 (KT-2); Payload: Tiankun-1 (TK-1); Date: 2 February 2017, 2553 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. The experimental satellite entered its intended orbit.

Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: NROL-79; Date: 1 March 2017, 1750 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. The payload was probably placed in a 1,120-km x 63 degrees orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

Aerojet Rocketdyne recently completed hot-fire acceptance testing of eight auxiliary engines that will be used on the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft with the Space Launch System rocket, slated to launch in 2018.

China is planning to develop the next-generation Chang Zheng 8 medium-lift carrier rocket and will conduct the first test flight by the end of 2018, Li Tongyu, the head of carrier rocket development at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology was quoted as saying.

Europe’s Vega small launcher is set to demonstrate its extended capability to deploy multiple light satellites using its new versatile Small Satellites Mission Service (SSMS) dispenser, in the second half of 2018.

Rocket: Soyuz-U; Payload: Progress MS-05; Date: 22 February 2017, 05587 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Progress MS-05 cargo spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for the ISS resupplying mission.

Russia’s S7 Space Transportation Systems (STS) company, part of the S7 Group, has been given a license to conduct launches and other space activities in Russia, the company said.