Satellite News

Boeing has been awarded an 18-month study contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to evaluate technologies for on-demand small satellite launch systems.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 4B (4C?); Payload: Yaogan 15 (YG 15); Date: 29 May 2012, 0731 UTC; Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Chinese state media said the launch of the remote sensing satellite was successful.
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Intelsat and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced the first commercial contract for the Falcon Heavy rocket.
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Iran has apparently postponed the launch of its Fajr satellite aboard an indigenous Safir 1B rocket.
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Kazakhstan is reported to block upcoming Russian satellite launches from Baikonur because of a dispute over drop zones for spent rocket stages.
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An Ariane 5 solid-propellant booster was test-fired yesterday at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to help improve the reliability of Europe’s heavy launcher.

XCOR announced that it has achieved a key technical milestone with its flight weight rocket piston pump hardware. XCOR engineers have successfully and repeatedly pumped liquid oxygen (LOX) at flow rates required to supply the Lynx suborbital vehicle main engines.

The Khrunichev Space Center said it continues to process a test article for shipment to the Plesetsk launch base where this device will be used in the tests aimed at finalising the design of the launch complex of the Angara Launch System.Other Posts:DISH Network/EchoStar results Q1 2010EchoStar reportedly close to taking over Satmex (again)Orbcomm adds another 28,000 billable subscriber communicatorsAriane 5 lifts two comsats, Japanese experimentSirius-FM to launch on 29 JuneIran announces new indigenous satelliteILS to launch Eutelsat’s W3D satellite in 2013China launches geostationary navigation satellite