Satellite News

Assembly of the ascent unit has begun at Baikonur for the Proton-M launch vehicle scheduled to orbit the Russian Express-AM7 satellite on 19 March.

Activities for Arianespace’s Ariane 5 launch next month have moved into a new phase as the first of this heavy-lift mission’s two payloads is fuelled in French Guiana.

The Soyuz launcher for Arianespace’s upcoming mission with two European Galileo navigation satellites is taking shape for a lift-off on 27 March from French Guiana.

SES has chosen Arianespace to launch its new, all-electric telecommunications satellite, SES-15. The launch service contract marks Arianespace’s 41st contract with SES.

The launch of India’s fourth Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1D onboard PSLV-C27, originally scheduled for 9 March 2015 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, has been postponed.

The Ekspress-AM8 satellite was delivered to the Baikonur Cosmodrome on 2 March 2015. The spacecraft is currently being processed for launch. The launch of Proton-M/Briz-M with the Ekspress-AM8 on board is scheduled for 6 April 2015.

The Sicral 2 telecommunications satellite, a joint undertaking of the Italian Ministry of Defense and the French defence procurement agency DGA (part of the Ministry of Defence), has arrived at the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana for an Ariane 5 launch on 15 April.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: ABS 3A, Euetlsat 115 West B; Date: 2 March 2015, 0350 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Thirty minutes into flight, the ABS 3A satellite deployed into a supersynchronous transfer orbit followed by Eutelsat 115 West B approximately five minutes later.