Satellite News

Rocket: Chang Zheng 4B; Payload: ZY-1 02D [Ziyuan-1 02D], ICE-PATHFINDER [BNU-1], Taurus 1; Date: 12 September 2019, 0326 UTC; Launch site: Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China. U.S. tracking data show the three satellites in orbits of approx. 732 km x 750 km x 98.6 degrees.

Relativity Space announced that it has signed a launch services agreement with Momentus, a provider of in-space shuttle services that move satellites between orbits, to launch Momentus’ small and medium satellite customers on Relativity’s Terran 1 rocket.

The launch of a Japanese H-2B rocket carrying the KOUNOTORI8 resupply ship from Tanegashima Space Center was scrubbed after a fire broke out on the launch pad a few hours before lift-off.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced the launch time of the H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 8 (H-IIB F8) which carries aboard the H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI8” (HTV8), the cargo transporter to the International Space Station (ISS).

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and NASA conducted experiments to understand the behavior of a high-performance electric propellant compared with a traditional propellant.

Rocket: Rokot; Payload: Geo-IK-2 No. 13L (Kosmos 2540); Date: 30 August 2019, 1400 UTC; Launch site: Plesetsk, Russia. All pre-launch operations and the launch itself were normal. Ground facilities of the Aerospace Force monitored the rocket’s launch and flight.

Rocket: Kuaizhou-1A [KZ-1A]; Payload: KX-09 [Kuxue-09], Xiaoxiang 1-07 [TY 1-07]; Date: 30 August 2019, 2341 UTC; Launch site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China. The two satellites were deployed into a 592 km x 608 km x 97.8 degrees orbit.

Chinese commercial launcher developer and launch service provider LandSpace Technology Corporation Ltd. (LandSpace) announced that the company is seeking and accepting payloads from around the world for the maiden launch of its proprietary ZhuQue-2 (ZQ-2) launcher powered by a LOX/LCH4 [liquid oxygen/methane] rocket engine.