Satellite News

Astronauts aboard the ISS have found a problem with the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) installed four months ago. A quick inspection revealed metal shavings and unusual wear on part of the joint, which is used to rotate two of the station’s solar arrays.

China’s lunar probe Chang’e-1 is expected to arrive at an apogee of more than 70,000 kilometers from the Earth on early Saturday morning after having completed its second orbital manoeuvre today, Xinhua reported.

Chinese scientists have successfully activated the first instrument on the Chang’e 1 lunar orbiter in order to start exploring the space environment between Earth and moon.

NASA’s Northrop Grumman-built James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will use a new technology network interface called SpaceWire that enables the components on the telescope to work more efficiently and more reliably with each other.

Malaysia’s government wants its own communications satellite, to be used for internal security and defence purposes, reports said.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) injected the Kaguya main satellite in its scheduled orbit and shifted its operation mode to the regular control mode.

GeoEye, Inc. has contracted with ITT Corporation to begin work on the camera for GeoEye’s next satellite, GeoEye-2.

Japan’s first lunar probe, Kaguya,had been successfully put into observation orbit around the moon, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.