Satellite News

Phase Four, the creator of the radio-frequency thruster for satellite propulsion, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Orbit Fab. The companies seek to ensure that future Phase Four Maxwell engines may be refuelled in-orbit to extend mission lifetimes and maximise ROI for spacecraft.

The second satellite in Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation Earth Observation programme is to be launched on 27 January at 2311 UTC from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida (USA) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

On the evening of Tuesday, 18 January, NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory entered into safe mode, suspending pointed science observations. The mission team is investigating a possible failure of one of the spacecraft’s reaction wheels as the cause.

China plans to launch its new generation rocket Chang Zheng-8 Y2 between late February and early March from the southern island of Hainan, sources with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the country’s leading rocket maker, were quoted as saying.

JAXA has confirmed that it will put off the launch of the first model of the new H-3 rocket under development after a problem was found with its main engine.

Rocket: Atlas V 511; Payload: USSF-8 (GSSAP-5 and GSSAP-6); Date: 21 January 2022, 1900 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, USA. The satellites were successfully delivered to near-geosynchronous orbit after a nearly 7-hour mission.

OneWeb and Hughes Network Systems announced a strategic six-year Distribution Partner agreement to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services across India. The arrangement between OneWeb and Hughes Communications India Private Ltd. (HCIPL), a joint venture between Hughes and Bharti Airtel Limited, follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the companies in September 2021.

NanoAvionics confirmed the reception of signals and healthy telemetry data from all of the three satellites launched into low Earth orbit via the successful SpaceX Transporter-3 mission.