Satellite News

International Launch Services (ILS) announced a contract today with S2M, United Arab Emirates, to use a Proton M/Briz M vehicle to launch the first dedicated mobile television satellite for the MENA region.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries expects to win its first orders for commercial satellite launches with its H-IIA rocket from foreign companies, its president said.

Rocket: H-IIA; Payload: Kizuna (Wideband Inter-Networking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite, WINDS); Date: 23 February 2008, 0855 UTC; Site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and at about 28 minutes and 3 seconds after lift-off the separation of the satellite into geostationary transfer orbit was confirmed.

NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis, which successfully delivered ESA’s Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station, has safely returned to Earth with its crew of seven. Landing took place at 1407 UTC on 20 February on the shuttle landing strip of Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.

NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corporation to develop and demonstrate commercial orbital transportation services that could pave the way for contracts to launch and deliver crew and cargo to the International Space Station.

NASA selected Orbital Sciences Corporation to develop and demonstrate commercial orbital transportation services that could pave the way for contracts to launch and deliver crew and cargo to the International Space Station.

Iranian officials said the launch of the country’s Kavoshgar (Explorer) sounding rocket earlier this month had been successful.

Alliant Techsystems received a contract modification from NASA valued at US$812.5 million for the continued production and refurbishment of four-segment reusable solid rocket motors (RSRM) for the space shuttle programme.