Satellite News

A ban on launching Dnepr carrier rockets from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan that was imposed after a Russian Dnepr crashed in that country may be lifted within days, Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) chief Anatoly Perminov said.

The launch of South Africa’s second low Earth orbit satellite, Sumbandila, has been postponed to 2007, SABC reports.

The launch of ESA’s ExoMars mission has been delayed to 2013 from 2011 in connection with plans to switch the launch vehicle, BBC News reports.

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: Badr 4 (Arabsat 4B); Date: 8 November 2006, 2001 UTC; Launch Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The satellite was successfully put in geostationary transfer orbit about four hours after lift-off.

A Proton M rocket with Briz M upper stage lifted off at 2001 UTC on 8 November as planned, carrying Arabsat’s Badr 4 spacecraft (a.k.a. Arabsat 4B).

Arianespace and TerreStar Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Motient Corporation and an emerging North American mobile communications operator, signed a “Launch on Demand” contract for TerreStar I, which according to Terrestar will be the largest commercial communications satellite ever launched into geostationary orbit.

Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) and Alliant Techsystems announced that ATK will become the lead contractor for RpK’s K-1 launch vehicle, which was recently awarded a Space Act Agreement by NASA for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) programme.

Rocket: Delta IV Medium; Payload: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F-17 Block 5D-3; Date: 4 November 2006, 1353 UTC; Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, USA. The payload was successfully deployed approximately 18 minutes after lift-off.