Satellite News

IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle), the European Space Agency’s atmospheric reentry demonstrator, developed and integrated by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, arrived today at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, initiating preparations for the launch, scheduled for this coming November.

ATK has provided the U.S. Air Force a U.S.-made commercial solid rocket solution as a replacement for the RD-180 Russian-made, first-stage engine of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: Dragon; Date: 21 September 2014, 0552 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. After a successful launch, about 2,250 kg of NASA science investigations and cargo are on their way to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

Another lightweight Vega launcher has begun its build-up at the Spaceport, initiating preparations for Arianespace’s mid-November lift-off from French Guiana with the European Space Agency’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV).

CNES has unveiled a revised proposal for the Ariane 6 rocket. The agency said the overhauled plans for the Ariane 6 resulted in a “simple design with great payload capacity,” able to take between five and 10 tonnes into orbit.

The launch of NASA’s International Space Station Rapid Scatterometer, or ISS-RapidScat, on board the fourth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission is scheduled for 0614 UTC on 20 September. The instrument will monitor ocean winds from its perch on the space station. It will track hurricanes and storms, and provide a better understanding of Earth’s climate.

Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: CLIO; Date: 17 September 2014, 0010 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Following separation from the rocket into the target orbit on 0302 UTC, initial contact with the satellite was confirmed at 0308 UTC.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin, LLC, a privately-funded aerospace company owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, announced that they have entered into an agreement to jointly fund development of the new BE-4 rocket engine by Blue Origin.