Satellite News

Azerkosmos JSC of the Azerbaijani Communications and IT Ministry has announced a tender for the construction of the second telecommunications satellite Azerspace-2, Azerbaijani Communications and IT Minister Ali Abbasov was quoted as saying.

Bolivia’s first communications satellite is under its full control and expected to be ready for operation on 1 April, the Bolivian Space Agency (ABE) announced.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. announced that its Kratos Integral Systems International (Kratos ISI) business unit has been awarded a contract by Sky Perfect JSAT to upgrade its Epoch IPS satellite fleet management system to support its JCSAT-14 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2015.

Manoeuvres are under way to steer ESA’s trio of Swarm satellites into their respective orbits so that they can start delivering the best-ever survey of our magnetic field, the agency said.

Exelis has delivered the primary payload for the future Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) weather satellite. The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which provides high-resolution imagery of environmental conditions, has arrived in Denver where it will be integrated into its GOES-R satellite for a scheduled 2016 launch.

The “green light” has been given for this week’s heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission, which is to orbit a dual-passenger payload consisting of two advanced relay platforms: ABS-2 and Athena-Fidus. The Ariane 5 is now cleared for rollout to the ELA-3 launch zone – where it will be readied for lift-off on 6 February during a 2-hr., 5-min. launch window opening at 2030 UTC.

ESA has selected Primoceler Inc. of Tampere, Finland, to develop and fabricate its new optical sensor packages for use in future orbital missions. The benefits of the technology include a permanent, transparent seam and a hermetic seal to protect package contents, namely delicate optical sensor equipment, Primoceler said.

Optus announced that it has signed a new, five-year agreement with NBN Co to operate its two new satellites that will deliver high-speed broadband services to rural and remote Australia.