Satellite News

The launch of Yamal-401 aboard a Proton M has reportedly been postponed to 15 December.

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: DirecTV-14, GSAT-16 ; Date: 6 December 2014, 2040 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guyana. The satellites were successfully inserted into geostationary transfer orbit.

Rocket: Chang Zheng-4B; Payload: CBERS-4; Date: 7 December 2014, 0326 UTC; Launch site: Taiyuan satellite launch centre, China. The satellite was placed in its target orbit.

Rocket: Delta IV Heavy; Payload: Orion/EFT-1; Date: 5 December 2014; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The uncrewed Exploration Flight Test-1 tested the Orion capsule’s systems critical to crew safety.

The launch of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Lockheed Martin was scrubbed today when, after an extended hold for ground wind conditions, the liquid hydrogen fill and drain valves on both the port and centre common booster cores did not properly close within the allotted time.

In keeping with the CNES/CSG safety regulations, the launch of Arianespace Flight 221 has been postponed due to unfavourable weather conditions over the launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana.

The launch of the Sino-Brazilian CBERS-4 satellite aboard a Chang Zheng 4B is scheduled for 0326 UTC on 7 December from Tayuan, China.

Russia plans 11 Proton-M launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 2015.