Satellite News

Arianespace said it is gearing up to beat its record for the number of launches during a year in 2014.

Rocket: Falcon 9 v1.1; Payload: Thaicom 6; Date: 6 December 2014, 2206 UTC; Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Station, USA. The rocket lifted off as planned, however the launch broadcast ended after the first of two burns of the rocket’s upper stage.

ISRO said that the Indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage was successfully flight-tested onboard GSLV-D5 launch vehicle on 5 January 2014. The GSAT-14 communication satellite was launched very precisely to its intended Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. The satellite is healthy and has completed its first orbit-raising manoeuvre.

Thales Alenia Space Belgium has signed with Astrium [now: Airbus Defence & Space] , prime contractor for the Ariane 5 ME (Midlife Evolution) launcher for the European Space Agency (ESA), the contract for the development of the control electronics on the upper-stage Vinci engine steering system.

Rocket: GSLV-D5; Payload: GSAT-14; Date: 5 December 2014, 1048 UTC; Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, India. The rocket, which featured an indigenously built cryogenic upper stage, accurately placed the GSAT 14 communications satellite into the planned geostationary transfer orbit 17 minutes after lift-off.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 is to launch Thaicom 6 on 3 January between 2250 and 0017 UTC.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Orbital Sciences’ Corp. Antares rocket at 1855 on 7 January.

An Iranian aerospace official says the country plans to launch an indigenously designed and manufactured satellite into orbit in early February.