Satellite News

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft resumed normal operations on 24 November. All science instruments have been turned back on, the spacecraft is properly configured and Cassini is in good health. Mission managers expect to get a full stream of data during next week’s flyby of the Saturnian moon Enceladus.

Originally due to complete its mission of mapping Earth’s gravity in April 2011, approval has been given to extend the life of the GOCE mission to the end of 2012.

Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) announced that it shipped a communications satellite, designed and built for Hispasat Group, to the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where it is scheduled to launch next month aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle.
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COM DEV International Ltd. has been awarded contracts to provide switches and other microwave filters and components for the fifth satellite in a North American military communications programme.
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NASA selected the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory to provide advanced guidance, navigation and control system development and avionics technology development and analysis at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new contract is valued at US$45.8 million.
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Arianespace will loft two communications satellite on its fifth launch of the year: Intelsat 17 for the international satellite operator Intelsat, and HYLAS 1 for the European operator Avanti Communications.
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With the commissioning of ESA’s CryoSat 2 now complete, the mission has been officially transferred to the operations team.
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ESA has decided to extend the productive lives of 11 of its operating space science missions to at least 2014.
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