Satellite News

United Launch Alliance (ULA) engineers have completed the preliminary design and development of an in-space inflatable Sun shield for the Atlas V launch vehicle’s upper stage.
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The launch of the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM-2 satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is scheduled for 4 April with a launch window of 0031 – 0133 UTC. In related news, the Atlas V launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has slipped to June.

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been selected by Boeing as the contractor for the Ares I Instrument Unit Assembly (IUA) Flight Computer (FC) and Command Telemetry Computer (CTC).

The first captive firing test (CFT) of the first stage flight model tank for the H-IIB launch vehicle has been postponed again.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. have announced a new date for the first Captive Firing Test (CFT) of the first stage flight model tank for the H-IIB launch vehicle.
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Space shuttle Discovery and its crew landed at 1914 UTC on Saturday, 29 March at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completing a 13-day journey of more than 8.5 million km.
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Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) announced that the launch window for ATSB’s RazakSAT on Falcon 1 Flight 5, is currently scheduled to open on 20 April, 2300 UTC.
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The launch of the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM-2 satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is now targeted for no earlier than 3 April.
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