Satellite News

Rocket: Soyuz 2-1a; Payload: Foton M4; Date: 19 July 2014, 2050 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The spacecraft, which carries biological and other experiments, was accurately placed on the target orbit. This was the twelfth Soyuz family mission in 2014.

Preparations are in full swing for the launch of Angara 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle, marking the next testing phase of the new Angara Space Rocket Complex (SRC).

In order to proceed with complementary verifications on the Ariane 5 ES launch system, Arianespace has decided to delay the VA219 launch for a few days.

A Delta IV Medium+ (4,2) will launch the AFSPC-4 mission for the U.S Air Force on 23/24 July between 2200 and 0200 UTC from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: six Orbcomm OG2 satellites; Date: 14 July 2014, 1515 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The satellites were successfully separated from the launch vehicle into the proper insertion orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off.

Engineers at University College Dublin have been contracted by the European Space Agency to find new ways to reduce vibrations during lift-off in future launcher designs.

Rocket: Antares; Payload: Cygnus/Orb-2; Date: 13 July 2014, 1652 UTC; Launch site: Wallops Flight Facility, USA. The rocket deployed the Cygnus spacecraft into orbit about 10 minutes after lift-off. It will arrive at the International Space Station on 17 July at about 1039 UTC.

The U.S. Air Force has certified SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch system as having conducted three successful flights, a prerequisite for companies seeking to win business from the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Program.