Satellite News

On 19 June, Roskosmos and Arianespace signed a contract that covers 10 additional missions of Russian Soyuz-ST rockets from the Guiana Space Center (CSG).

“Cold” bench tests of the second stage module, URM 2, of the Angara rocket have begun at the Space-Industry Research-and-Test Center (NITs RKP), a Russian Federal Governmental Enterprise, rocket manufacturer Khrunichev said.

Rocket: Dnepr; Payload: TanDEM-X (TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement); Date: 21 June 2010, 0214 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Around ten minutes after lift-off, the satellite separated from the launch vehicle’s upper stage.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed to Indian External Affairs minister S. M. Krishna’s suggestion to launch South Korean satellites on Indian launch vehicles.

Rocket: Soyuz-FG; Payload: Soyuz TMA-19; Date: 15 June 2010, 2135 UTC; Launch Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The manned transport spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station.
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Iridium Communications Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced that the Falcon 9 will be a major [but not exclusive] provider of launch services for Iridium NEXT, Iridium’s next-generation satellite constellation. The companies said the US$492 million contract is the largest single commercial launch deal ever signed.
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Rocket: Dnepr; Payload: Prisma “Mango,” Prisma “Tango,” Picard; Date: 15 June, 1442 UTC; Launch Site: Yasny, Russia. Separation of the satellites from the Dnepr upper stage was recorded by a mobile telemetry post in the Sultanate of Oman pursuant to the mission injection profile, launch service provider Kosmotras said.
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Rocket: Chang Zheng 2D; Payload: Shijian 12 (Shijian XII); Date: 15 June 2010, 0139 UTC; Site: Jiuquan satellite launch centre. The spacecraft was deployed into a 571 km x 594 km x 97.7 degrees orbit.
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