Satellite News

Arianespace announced the signature of a launch services contract with Ovzon (f.k.a. OverHorizon) for the company’s first geostationary-orbiting telecommunications satellite: Ovzon-3.

New Delhi and Moscow are negotiating the organisation of the India-based production of semi-cryogenic rocket engines using Russian technology for the Indian space programme, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said in an interview.

The launch of a Boeing-developed unmanned Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) was postponed to 6 October from 17 September, and the test launch of a crewed Starliner was rescheduled to 30 December from 30 November a space industry source said.

NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida has selected five companies to provide commercial CubeSat dispenser hardware and mission integration services.

Rocket: Soyuz 2.1-a; Payload: Soyuz MS-14; Date: 22 August 2019, 0338 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station. This was the twelfth Soyuz family mission in 2019.

Rocket: Delta IV; Payload: GPS III SV02; Date: 22 August 2019, 1306 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Two hours after lift-off, the satellite separated from the upper stage.

A new generation radio-frequency (RF) Power Processing Unit (PPU) for the VASIMR engine, built by Aethera Technologies Ltd. of Canada, has completed a series of full power acceptance tests at Ad Astra Rocket company’s Texas facility near Houston.

Rocket: Chang Zheng 3B/E; Payload: Chinasat-18 ( Zhongxing-18); Date: 19 August 2019, 1203 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China. The satellite appears to have been placed into geostationary transfer orbit as planned but has since suffered an anomaly.