Satellite News

The fourth modernised Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIR satellite built by Lockheed Martin for the U.S. Air Force is set for launch aboard a Delta II rocket on 17 October from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

A Russian Soyuz rocket will launch four Globalstar satellites from the Baikonur cosmodrome on 20 October (UTC), the press service of the Russian federal space agency said.

The first launches of new light and heavy-class Angara rockets are planned for 2011 as scheduled, and there will be no schedule revision, Russian Vice-Premier Sergei Ivanov said.

Rocket: Atlas V 421; Payload: WGS SV-1; Date: 11 October 2007, 0022 UTC; Site: Cap Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. The satellite was released into geostationary transfer orbit 31 minutes, 40 seconds after lift-off.

Rocket: Soyuz FG; Payload: Soyuz TMA-11; Date: 10 October, 1322 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz TMA-11 manned transport spacecraft was placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station.

Arianespace on 5 October, 2202 UTC successfully orbited two communications satellites: Intelsat 11 for the international operator Intelsat, and Optus D2 for the Australian operator Optus. Both satellites were built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is to launch two new enhanced Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) satellites in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The Atlas V launch of the WGS SV-1 military communications satellite has been delayed by one day to 11 October (UTC).