Satellite News

Orbital ATK has been given approval to begin building the NASA Landsat 9 spacecraft after completing a comprehensive design review of the mission. Landsat 9, a land surface mapping satellite, will collect space-based images and data that serve as valuable resources for researchers in areas that include agriculture, land use mapping, and disaster relief. Orbital ATK is designing and manufacturing the satellite, integrating two government-furnished instruments, and supporting launch, early orbit operations and on-orbit check-out of the observatory.

Airbus has launched the OPTIMA project, which will deliver a proof of concept demonstrator for the use of photonic payloads in telecommunications satellites.

Thales Alenia Space has shipped the broadband radiometer (BBR), a scientific instrument for the European Space Agency’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission. Designed and built by Thales Alenia Space in the United Kingdom, it was shipped to satellite prime contractor Airbus integration centre in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Deep Space Industries announced that it has signed a contract with Astro Digital to provide several Comet water-based satellite propulsion systems. Comet is a simple electrothermal propulsion system that can be customised for nearly any small satellite application.

Orbital ATK announced its plan for the company’s next generation of satellite life extension and in-space servicing products.

The assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) team at Lockheed Martin has started production of a new commercial satellite, JCSAT-17, that will deliver flexible, high-bandwidth communications to users in Japan and the surrounding region.

Eutelsat Communications has commissioned a nano-satellite from manufacturer Tyvak International SRL, a subsidiary of Terran Orbital Corporation.

BlackSky, the geospatial intelligence service of Spaceflight Industries, announced the first of its next generation of small Earth observation satellites is complete, qualified, and awaiting launch.