Satellite News

United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced it is launching a new programme offering U.S. universities the chance to compete for free CubeSat rides on future launches.

Metal Technology, a custom manufacturing company specialising in reactive, refractory, and high temperature metals headquartered in Albany, Oregon, announced that it is collaborating with NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) to develop the next generation of rocket engines.

Rocket: Soyuz 2-1B; Payload: EKS-1 (EKS No. 1, Tundra [?]); Date: 17 November 2015, 0634 UTC; Launch site: Plesetsk, Russian. The governmental spacecraft, a new early warning system satellite, was accurately placed on the target orbit. This was the thirteenth Soyuz family mission in 2015.

United Launch Alliance said it would not bid for the next U.S. Air Force global positioning system (GPS) satellite launch, effectively ceding the competition to privately held SpaceX.

The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is expected to be launched at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in mid-December.

The ESA-Roskosmos ExoMars 2016 spacecraft are ready to depart Europe for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to prepare for their launch in March.

International Launch Services (ILS) announced a Multi-Launch Agreement with Intelsat for five ILS Proton missions through 2023 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

China is preparing to launch a new-generation quick-response rocket in 2016 to seize more of the international commercial launch market, Chinese state media reported.