Satellite News

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission has resumed collecting science-quality data and planned in-orbit checks after successfully completing a switchover to a backup system in the microwave instrument (MWI) on one of the mission’s twin spacecraft.

On 31 October 2018, Parker Solar Probe began its first of 24 solar encounters. This period — which lasts until 11 November — is the time during which the spacecraft is within 0.25 astronomical units, or 37 million km, of the Sun’s centre.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft missed scheduled communications sessions with NASA’s Deep Space Network on 31 October and 1 November.

Harris Corporation has provided Lockheed Martin with its sixth of ten advanced navigation payloads contracted for the U.S. Air Force’s GPS III satellite programme.

Telesat announced that its new Telstar 18 VANTAGE high throughput satellite (HTS) is fully operational at 138 degrees East and has entered commercial service.

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations. NASA has decided to retire the spacecraft within its current, safe orbit, away from Earth. Kepler leaves a legacy of more than 2,600 planet discoveries from outside our solar system.

RemoveDEBRIS carried out a test of its onboard vision-based navigation (VBN) system on 28 October.

The 2.5 m long boom carrying the magnetometer sensors onboard ESA’s BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) has been successfully deployed. The sensors are now prepared to measure the magnetic field on the way to Mercury.