Satellite News

NASA is rescheduling the launch of its Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) spacecraft for no earlier than Wednesday, 14 December from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, during a one-hour window that opens at 1320 UTC.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 3B; Payload: Fengyun 4A; Date: 10 December 2016, 1611 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The Fengyun-4 satellite, the first of China’s second-generation weather satellites in geostationary orbit to have been launched, is also the country’s first quantitative remote-sensing satellite in high orbit.

The launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying EchoStar XIX (aka Jupiter-2) mission has been postponed to 18 December.

The launch of a Pegasus XL rocket from Orbital ATK’s L-1011 aircraft was cancelled after a hydraulic system was not meeting its prescribed pressures, indicating a problem with a pump.

Rocket: H-IIB; Payload: H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI6” (HTV6); Date: 9 December 2016, 1326 UTC; Launch site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The launch vehicle flew as planned, and at approximately 15 minutes and 11 seconds after lift-off, the separation of HTV6 was confirmed.

The U.S. Air Force’s Rocket Systems Launch Program, part of the Launch Enterprise Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), awarded the National Reconnaissance Office Launch-111 contract to Orbital ATK.

Rocket: PSLV-C36; Payload: Resourcesat-2A; Date: 7 December 2016, 0454 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota, India.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 6 (H-IIB F6) with the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI6” (HTV6) on board on 9 December.