Satellite News

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: Amazonas 2, SATCOMBw 2a; Date: 1 October 2009, 2159 UTC; Site: Kourou, French Guiana. Amazonas 2 was released into geostationary transfer orbit 27 minutes after lift-off, followed by SATCOMBw 2a six minutes later.
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Rocket: Soyuz-FG; Payload: Soyuz-TMA 16; Date: 30 September 2009, 0713 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. After separating from the rocket’s third stage, the Soyuz TMA-16’s two solar wings and radio antennas deployed as planned.
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ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair said that India would launch a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) using an indigenously developed cryogenic engine by the end of the year.
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The launch of the two satellites aboard an Ariane 5 ECA has been postponed 24 hours to allow additional checks on the launch vehicle.
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Rocket: Delta II 7920-10c; Payload: Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Demonstration; Date: 25 September 2009, 1220 UTC; Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The two STSS Demo spacecraft were both successfully deployed during a nominal flight lasting approximately 55 minutes.
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Seiji Maehara, Japan’s state minister in charge of space development, said that a new rocket launch site is needed to replace the current Tanegashima Space Center because of its numerous restrictions in launching.
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Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) said it will launch a prototype of its reusable Dragon cargo capsule on the inaugural flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, which has been further delayed.
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The launch of the Delta II with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s STSS Demo mission has been delayed again. The postponement will also cause a delay of the following Delta II mission.