Satellite News

Rocket: Electron; Payload: R3D2; Date: 26 March 2019, 2327 UTC; Launch site: Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand. The mission launched a prototype reflect array antenna to orbit for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Rocket: Chang Zheng 3B/G2; Payload: Tianlian 2-01; Date: 31 March 2019, 1551 UTC; Launch site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The People’s Liberation Army media arm said that the communications relay satellite was sucessfully deployed into geostationary transfer orbit.

For its fourth mission of 2019 — and the second this year with the Soyuz medium launcher from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana, Arianespace will be launching four more O3b satellites for SES. Lift-off is currently scheduled for 4 April 2019, 1630 UTC.

Russia’s privately-owned S7 Space company will scrap a contract it has with a Ukrainian state rocket maker, Yuzhmash, on the production of 12 Zenit launch vehicles , the Russian firm’s co-owner was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Rocket Lab said it is currently targeting no earlier than 2230 on 28 March 2019 UTC for the DARPA R3D2 launch.

Russia’s State Space Corporation Roskosmos will cut the cost of launching a Proton-M rocket to the level of a U.S. Falcon 9 (produced by SpaceX) through lower expenses on ground-based preparations, Roskosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin said.

As part of a global industry research project, combustion experts from the University of Sydney’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering are one step closer to developing a more efficient and cost-effective access to space platform for satellite launches.

The second GPS III Space Vehicle was delivered to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to begin satellite launch processing.