Satellite News

Rocket: Chang Zheng 2C; Payload: Jilin-1, Lingqiao-A, Lingqiao-B, LQSat; Date: 7 October 2015, 0413 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, China. The satellites were placed into a 640 km x 664 km x 98 degrees sun-synchronous orbit.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch the NROL-55 mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) on 8 October from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

There is some doubt over the completion of the construction of Russia’s new Vostochny cosmodrome, however the details are sketchy. The problem seems to lie with the assembly building for Soyuz 2.1a rockets, the first of which recently arrived at the launch site.

The launch of the Sentinel 3A satellite aboard a Russian Rokot, originally planned for 10 December, may be postponed until late December, a source in the rocket and space industry was quoted as saying by TASS.

Rocket: Soyuz-U; Payload: Progress M-29M [Progress 61P]; Date: 1649 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Less than nine minutes after launch, the resupply ship reached preliminary orbit and deployed its solar arrays and navigational antennas as planned.

The U.S. Air Force has released a final Request for Proposal (RFP) for Global Positioning System (GPS) III Launch Services. Launch services include launch vehicle production, mission integration and launch operations for a GPS III mission scheduled to launch in 2018. Proposals are due back to the Air Force no later than 16 November in accordance with the solicitation instructions.

30 September marked the completion of the major repair work at the Virginia Space – MARS Launch Pad-0A, located on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

One of the satellites launched on India’s most recent PSLV mission was missing in yesterday’s article: Indonesia’s LAPAN-A2, which at a mass of 78 kg actually was the second-heaviest payload on board after ASTROSAT.