Satellite News

The Ukrainian government has approved a list of priority measures aimed at setting up a national satellite communication system in Ukraine before the end of 2011.

SES Americom has ordered a replacement satellite, AMC-5R, plus a ground spare with an option to add up to three more spacecraft per its contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation.

NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander was delivered by its builder Lockheed Martin to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on 7 May. The vehicle will undergo three more months of testing and integration in preparation for its launch on a Delta II launch vehicle in early August.

Russia has silently deactivated two Uragan satellites in its GLONASS navigation satellite constellation, which might make it harder to accomplish the goal of having 18 working spacecraft in orbit by the end of the year.

A Lockheed Martin /Northrop Grumman team has successfully completed a key design review of the Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT) Space Segment.

GMV said it has signed two contracts with Intelsat, Ltd., offering satellite flight dynamics software support for some of Intelsat’s advanced satellites.

Earlier this week, GIOVE-A successfully transmitted its first navigation message, containing the information needed by user receivers to calculate their position.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science said that the proposed science and climate change research budget cuts would threaten satellites essential for such activities as weather forecasts, hurricane warnings, and studies of global climate change.