Satellite News

Roskosmos plans to launch a new sample soil expedition to Mars’ satellite Phobos, according to a draft of Russia’s space programme for 2016-2025.

Mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, have confirmed NASA’s MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft impacted the surface of Mercury, as anticipated, at 1926 UTC.

Arabsat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) announced contracts for Lockheed Martin to manufacture two A2100 communications satellites. One will be launched by Arianespace, the other by SpaceX.

MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. announced that it has signed a six year contract with a ceiling of C$29 million with the European Space Agency.

Airbus Defence and Space has signed a contract with the French space agency (CNES) to build the platform and carry out final integration of the MERLIN (MEthane Remote sensing LIdar missioN) satellite. From 2020 MERLIN will measure methane (CH4), one of the main greenhouse gases, in the Earth’s atmosphere. MERLIN is the first joint Earth observation satellite programme between the French (CNES) and German (DLR) space agencies.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft entered into its first science orbit around dwarf planet Ceres on Thursday, 23 April as scheduled.

The transport cargo vehicle Progress M-25M made at RSC Energia has undocked from the ISS and reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean.

A Proton M launch vehicle, utilising a five-burn Briz M mission design, will lift off from Pad 39 0707 UTC on 29 April 2015 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with the Centenario (MexSat-1) satellite on board.