Satellite News

Build-up of the initial Ariane 5 to be launched in 2016 has begun at the Spaceport in French Guiana, readying an unusual single-payload flight for the heavy-lift workhorse.

The launch campaign for Sentinel-3A, the next satellite of the European Commission’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme, has started.

NASA’s InSight Mars lander has a leak that could delay the mission. The agency said that the leak is in one of two prime science instruments. The seismic experiment belongs to the French Space Agency.

Rocket: Vega; Payload: LISA Pathfinder; Date: 3 December 2015, 0404 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite was placed in a 213 km x 1,482 km x 6.0 degrees orbit.

PlanetiQ has signed a contract with Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the launch of PlanetiQ’s first two weather satellites on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Virgin Galactic has introduced a Boeing 747 to its fleet of vehicles as part of a technical update on its LauncherOne small satellite launch service. The 747-400 commercial jet aircraft, previously operated by Virgin Atlantic under the nickname ‘Cosmic Girl,’ will provide a dedicated launch platform for the LauncherOne orbital vehicle.

During the final step of VV06 launch campaign, a technical issue on the Vega launch vehicle required additional analysis. The launch initially scheduled for 2 December 2015 is postponed.

NASA commercial partner Orbital ATK has set Thursday, 3 December for the launch of its fourth contracted mission to the International Space Station under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.