Satellite News

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) now is scheduled to launch at 2305 UTC on 10 February from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Another two Galileo satellites have touched down in French Guiana ready to take their place in Europe’s satellite navigation constellation.

Kosmotras will fulfil its contract obligations with regard to launches of Dnepr rockets with foreign-owned spacecraft, the programme’s CEO Alexander Serkin was quoted as saying.

Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems and OHB System AG (OHB) announce the completion of the initial Dream Chaser for European Utilisation (DC4EU) study co-funded by the Space Administration of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and OHB. OHB and DLR are both based in Germany.

The fourth Vega has completed its build-up at the Spaceport in French Guiana, preparing this lightweight member of Arianespace’s launcher family for final checkout ahead of its 11 February lift-off with the European Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) spaceplane.

An International Launch Services (ILS) Proton Briz M successfully placed the Inmarsat-5 F2 (I-5 F2) satellite into a d 4366 km x 64698 km x 26.8 degrees super-synchronous transfer orbit (SSTO) earlier today. Controllers confirmed the satellite was operating normally.

Rocket: Safir; Payload: Fajr; Date: 2 February 2015, approx. 0850 UTC; Launch site: unknown, Iran. The satellite was placed into a 223 km x 470 km x 55.5 degrees orbit.

Rocket: Delta II 7320; Payload: SMAP, four CubeSats; Date: 31 January 2015, 1422 UTC; Launch site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. This successful launch marked ULA’s second launch of 13 planned for 2015, and the 93rd successful mission since the company was formed.