Satellite News

Arianespace and Astrium have signed a contract for 18 additional Ariane 5 ECA launchers, worth more than EUR2 billion. These 18 new Ariane 5 rockets will be launched starting in 2017, following the 35 launchers that were already ordered in 2009, in the PB batch.

NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. Saturday moved the targeted launch date of the Orbital-1 resupply mission to the International Space Station to no earlier than 20 December (UTC) to enable engineers to continue their analysis of data involving a suspect Flow Control Valve in a pump module on the starboard truss of the station that malfunctioned last week.

Sierra Nevada Corporation announced that the company has successfully completed all milestones under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) phase.

Iran said it has sent a second live monkey into space and brought it back safely, state news agency IRNA reported.

NASA and ATK have successfully completed two key avionics tests for the solid rocket boosters for the U.S. space agency’s new heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).

Both satellite passengers for an Ariane 5 flight planned in early 2014 (currently: 23 January) have arrived at French Guiana, clearing the way for Arianespace’s start-up of payload preparations following their transfer by road to the spaceport.

The Ekspress-AT1 and Ekspress-AT2 satellites will be launched on 4 March 2014. According to RSCC plans, Ekspress-AT1 will start operations no later than March 2014. Previously, the satellites were scheduled to be launched in December 2013 (and originally at the end of 2012). Both will fly on a single Proton M rocket.

The launch of the GPS IIF-5 mission on a ULA Delta IV launch vehicle, which has been postponed several times, is being further delayed.