Satellite News

Orbital ATK has announced they are working on the first space Commercial Servicing Vehicle (CSV) for its MEV-1 (Mission Extension Vehicle) programme.

Newtec, a specialist in designing, developing and manufacturing equipment and technologies for satellite communications, announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with the 54th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC54) to strengthen its position in China and across Asia.

Two Harris Corporation unfurlable mesh antenna reflectors have successfully deployed in orbit onboard the U.S. Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-5) satellite. MUOS-5, an advanced, new secure communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin, launched on 24 June from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Airbus Defence and Space has finished construction of the first of the two GRACE-FO (GRACE = Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, FO = Follow-On) satellites in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The satellite will now be transferred to Ottobrunn near Munich for several months of operational testing in the IABG test centre.

ESA has selected Italian company Leonardo to build the main instrument for the upcoming FLEX satellite to study the health of Earth’s vegetation.

The U.S. Navy’s fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite has reached operational orbit and has successfully deployed its arrays and antennas.

Member states of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping have agreed to set up a joint grouping of space satellites for the Earth remote sensing purposes, Igor Komarov, the head of the Russian Space Corporation (Roskosmos), was quoted as saying.

Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the South Korean space agency KARI (Korea Aerospace Research Institute) to supply a satellite navigation system called KASS (Korea Augmentation Satellite System).