Satellite News

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: Sirius 4; Date: 17 November, 2239 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. After a 9-hour-13-minute mission, the launcher released the satellite into geostationary transfer orbit.

The launch of Thuraya 3 aboard a Zenit 3 SL continues to be delayed by bad weather at the equatorial launch site in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA and industry engineers successfully tested the main parachute for Constellation Program rockets during a drop test at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Arizona/USA.

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: Skynet 5B, Star One C1; Date: 14 November 2007, 2206 UTC; Site: Kourou, French Guiana. Skynet 5B was deployed by the launcher approximately 27 minutes into the mission, and Star One C1 was released about six minutes later.

The estimated launch date for the Thuraya-3 satellite aboard a Sea Launch Zenit 3-SL is now provisionally set for 19 November at 1541 UTC, Thuraya said on its web site.

The Indian Space Research Organisation said it achieved a significant milestone when it successfully tested the indigenously developed Cryogenic Stage, to be employed as the upper stage of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI), an instrument for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), has been delivered to NASA’s Goddard Spacecraft Center for integration on SDO, which is scheduled to launch in December 2008.

Alliant Techsystems said it has been awarded an initial three-year US$15 million services contract by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).