Satellite News

SpaceDev, Inc. has been awarded a contract by the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) of Hawaii to conduct requirements definition and preliminary design of the ILO spacecraft’s astrophysics and communications payload.

DigitalGlobe announced that WorldView-1 has reached Full Operating Capability (FOC) for all customers.

Thales Alenia Space announced that RASCOM-QAF1’s Launch Early Operation Procedures have been stopped owing to a leak in the helium sub-system.

The Turkish government is to select the manufacturer of the planned Gokturk military imaging satellite within three months, according to Turkish Press.

Japan’s lunar probe Kaguya (SELENE) has gone into full operation on schedule, JAXA announced.

The U.S. Air Force has exercised an option for a sixth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite and has authorised Boeing to begin construction.

An unknown object has hit NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) on 10 November, the Hampton Roads Daily Press reports.

NASA announced that the next mission in the Mars Scout programme, originally planned for launch in 2011, is now targeted for launch in 2013.