Satellite News

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin (LMT) a US$68 million contract to provide mission readiness, launch, early orbit checkout and on-orbit operations engineering support for the first two GPS III space vehicles. The first and second GPS III satellites are on schedule for launch availability in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is being prepared for the final journey to its launch pad on Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean. The mission will study everything from massive black holes to our own Sun. It is scheduled to launch no earlier than 13 June.Other Posts:Thales Alenia Space to deliver Giove-B satellite to ESAHayabusa to return to Earth on 13 JuneLaunch of SERVIS-2 set for JuneHow To Start A Forum For Cable TV Providers?Russia starts equipment delivery to French GuyanaMany Business Strategies For 2010 Include Satellite TV in the LineupChinese rocket engine completes initial testsWildBlue Names Gary S. Howard To Board of Directors

Reshetnev Information Satellite Systems finished building two Gonets-M satellites and a small spacecraft MiR. On 28 May they arrived at the Plesetsk cosmodrome to undergo pre-launch preparations.Other Posts:Four more GLONASS satellites to be launched next monthMDA to provide “technology solutions” for Boeing 702B satellitesDnepr launch ban expected to be lifted soonSatellite Systems Corp. launches Dominion Test InstrumentsSatellite TV Comparison – Cable VS Satellite TV PackagesSES Astra extends distribution of Astra2Connect to PolandNSR examines government, military demand for satellite capacityWGS-4 encapsulated in payload fairing

Brazil’s planemaker Embraer S.A. and Telecomunicacoes Brasileiras S.A. (Telebras) have signed a shareholder agreement to form Visiona Tecnologia Espacial S.A., whose capital will belong 51% to Embraer and 49% to Telebras. Initially, Visiona will focus on the Brazilian Geosynchronous Satellite, in line with a Memorandum of Intent announced in November 2011.Other Posts:A Quick Rundown of Satellite TV Options Including PackagesNOAA-N Prime delayed a daySecretive U.S. military space plane mission launchedRaytheon first to successfully test with on-orbit AEHF satelliteGCI successfully transitions all traffic to Galaxy 18Spacehab, Incorporated results Q2 FY2007JAXA Sets Solar-B LaunchAsiaSat 7 launch in progress

The Lockheed Martin team developing the next generation Global Positioning System III satellites has completed a major integration and test event on the programme’s satellite pathfinder, known as the GPS III Non-Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST). The milestone is a key indication that the GPS III team is on track to deliver the first satellite for launch availability in 2014, the company said.
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The mission team of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, with twin probes named Ebb and Flow, is now preparing for extended science operations starting 30 August and continuing through 3 December 2012.
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Space innovators at the University of Surrey and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) are developing ‘STRaND-2′, a twin-satellite mission to test a novel in-orbit docking system based upon XBOX Kinect technology that could change the way space assets are built, maintained and decommissioned, SSTL said.
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The International Space Station’s Expedition 31 crew grappled and attached SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the space station Friday. This is the first time a commercial company has accomplished this type of space operation.