Satellite News

Rocket: Proton M/Block DM-3; Payload: Ekspress-AM8 ; Date: 14 September 2015, 1900 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Lift-off and flight have so far proceeded nominally.

An Atlas V 421 will launch the Morelos-3 satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 2 October during a 1008-1028 UTC launch window. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V is provided by Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services.

Arianespace has been selected by SSL to launch the BSAT-4a satellite for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan.

International Launch Services (ILS) and Hispasat announced a contract for the launch of a satellite on ILS Proton in the first half of 2017 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

SpaceX announced two new orders for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. The contracts include launch of a communications satellite [probably Hispasat 1F or Amazonas 5] for Hispasat on a Falcon 9 and launch of the Saudi Arabian Arabsat 6A communications satellite on a Falcon Heavy.

Virgin Galactic said it has nearly doubled the amount of payload that customers can deliver to orbit for the same price.

Rocket: Soyuz 2-1.b/Fregat; Payload: Galileo 9, Galileo 10; Date: 11 September 2015, 0208 UTC; Launch site: Sinnamary, French Guiana. All Soyuz stages performed as planned, with the Fregat upper stage releasing the satellites into their target orbit around 3 hours and 48 minutes after lift-off.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin, LLC announced the signing of an agreement to expand production capabilities for the BE-4 engine that will power the Vulcan next generation launch system.