Satellite News

The launch of the modernised Soyuz MS manned spacecraft, which is due to take a new expedition to the International Space Station, has been rescheduled for 7 July from 24 June due to control system flaws that may disrupt the ship’s docking with the ISS, TASS reported citing a source in the Russian aerospace industry.

Orbital ATK announced it conducted a full-power “hot fire” test of the upgraded first stage propulsion system of its Antares medium-class rocket using new RD-181 main engines, built by Energomash in Russia. The 30-second test took place on 31 May 2016 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0A. Initial indications are that the test was fully successful.

Arianespace said that it has six satellite launches planned for Asia-Pacific customers in 2016. The Asia-Pacific region is a core market for Arianespace, contributing significantly to a 60% global market share for commercial launches. This represents around 25 % of Arianespace’s global business. Also, the company may start marketing its new launchers before the end of the year.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: Thaicom 8; Date: 27 May 2016, 2139 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The upper stage engine fired two times to deploy the satellite into a 250 km x 90,000 km supersynchronous transfer orbit approx. 32 minutes after lift-off.

The NROL-37 Delta IV launch is delayed at the request of the customer, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The NROL-37 spacecraft and launch vehicle are secure on Space Launch Complex 37.

China will send its lunar probe Chang’e 5 to land on the moon and return with lunar samples in the second half of 2017, according to State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).

On the first flight of its new Space Launch System (SLS), NASA will demonstrate the rocket’s heavy-lift capability and send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into deep space. The agency will also take advantage of additional available mass and space to provide the rare opportunity to send more than a dozen small satellites, called CubeSats, to conduct experiments beyond low-Earth orbit. In addition to the 10 CubeSats announced earlier this year, the agency will be sending three from international partners.

Lift-off of a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Thaicom 8 on board did not take place as scheduled at 2140 UTC.