Satellite News

Engineers are getting their first look at the Lockheed Martin -built Orion spacecraft following its successful flight test and recovery on 5 December.

Airbus Defence and Space has signed as the leader of the industrial team (including Thales Alenia Space as co-prime contractor), a contract with the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates (UAEAF) for the development, manufacture and launch of Falcon Eye, a high-performance optical Earth-observation satellite system. The contract was officially signed by the United Arab Emirates in August 2014 and is now entering into force.

The latest member of ESA’s Proba mini-satellite family will begin its ambitious mission in about four years’ time, the agency said. Two satellites will be launched together then separate to fly in tandem, going on to experiment with high-precision formation-flying techniques.

Airbus Defence and Space has signed a contract to build three MicroWave Sounder (MWS) instruments for the MetOp Second Generation series of satellites (MetOp-SG).

Eutelsat Communications announced the software-defined “Eutelsat Quantum” class of satellites, which according to the company will set new standards in terms of coverage, bandwidth, power and frequency configurability for users operating in government, mobility and data markets.

Northrop Grumman Corporation said it has delivered fourth AEHF payload to prime contractor Lockheed Martin 4 1/2 months early.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. announced that its Kratos Integral Systems Europe (Kratos ISE) subsidiary has been awarded a contract to extend the existing Capacity Management Center (CMC) of Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, to accommodate the Es’hail-2 satellite, scheduled to launch in late 2016.

On 28 November 2014, the flight control team at ESOC reported loss of contact with Venus Express.