Satellite News

Raytheon Company said it has successfully completed a key satellite payload trade study with Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS, formerly SBIRS Low).

The core propulsion module of the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite was recently shipped from Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, and arrived safely at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California.

Northrop Grumman Corporation said it successfully completed one of the most critical spacecraft environmental tests on NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) two months ahead of schedule.

Satelites Mexicanos S.A.B. de C.V. (Satmex) announced that it has issued an Authorisation To Proceed (ATP) with the construction of Satmex 7 to Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). The new satellite will provide Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) in the Americas.

Boeing announced the on-orbit handover of the Thuraya-3 Geo-Mobile satellite, which will extend Thuraya’s coverage to 170 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia.

CNES has processed the first Operational Data Record (OGDR) product from Jason-2 only 48 hours after its launch by NASA from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Delta II. These first products are uncalibrated and are purely for testing purposes.

COM DEV International Ltd. has been awarded an C$8.6 million (EUR5.5 million, US$8.5 million) contract to design, build and launch a micro-satellite for the Government of Canada.

NASA has selected two science proposals to be the agency’s next Explorer Program Mission of Opportunity investigations.