Satellite News

Rocket: Dnepr; Payload: DubaiSat 2, STSAT 3, SkySat 1, AprizeSat 7, AprizeSat 8 and several smaller satellites; Date: 21 November 2013, 0710 UTC; Launch Site: Yasny, Russia. All payloads were successfully deployed into orbit.

Arianespace and ELV (European Launch Vehicle) have signed an agreement for Arianespace to order 10 Vega launch vehicles from the Italian manufacturer.

Rocket: Minotaur I; Payload: ORS-3 (STPSat-3 plus 28 cubesats); Date: 20 November 2013, 0115 UTC; Launch site: Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, USA. Approximately 12 minutes after lift-off, the Air Force’s Space Test Program Satellite-3 spacecraft was deployed into its intended orbit at an altitude of approximately 500 km.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 4C; Payload: Yaogan 19 (YG-19); Date: 20 November 2013, 0331 UTC; Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China. The launch, which had not been announced in advance, reportedly was successful.

Vega’s top stage has been subjected to the forces of launch on a shaker table at ESA’s main technical centre. This testing is intended to boost the carrying capacity of Europe’s newest launcher for future flights.

XCOR Aerospace and United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced a significant milestone, the first successful hot fire of the subscale 11,1 kN (2,500 lbf) thrust XR-5H25 engine in the XCOR and ULA liquid hydrogen (LH2) engine development programme.

Rocket: Atlas V 401; Payload: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN); Date: 18 November 2013, 1828 UTC, Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The NASA spacecraft separated from the rocket’s second stage 53 minutes after launch. The solar arrays deployed approximately one hour after launch and currently power the spacecraft. MAVEN now is embarking on a 10-month interplanetary cruise before arriving at Mars next September.

Preparations for Friday’s launch of ESA’s magnetic explorer have reached an important milestone – the constellation is now in the Plesetsk launch tower.