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Arianespace successfully launched two telecommunications satellites on Tuesday, May 4, from the Guiana Space Center: SGDC for Visiona Tecnologia Espacial, on behalf of the Brazilian operator Telebras and the Brazilian government, and Koreasat 7 for South Korean operator KTsat. This launch was the fourth of the year for Arianespace and the second in 2017 with...

Vector, a microsatellite launch company, announced the successful test launch of the P-19H engineering model of the Vector-R launch vehicle. According to the company, this flight test is the first of several upcoming launches that will enable Vector to evaluate critical technologies and functions of the operational family of Vector launch vehicles. The flight test,...

SpaceX successfully completed its NROL-76 mission Monday morning, launching a classified satellite from Launch Complex 39A for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) before landing the first stage booster on a launch pad nearby. NROL-76 was originally scheduled to launch on Sunday, but was delayed due to an issue with a sensor on the first stage...

Arianespace has announced the dates for its next two missions, VS17 and VA237. For VS17, a Soyuz launcher will orbit SES’ SES 15 satellite on May 18, and for VA237, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher will orbit ViaSat’s ViaSat 2 and Eutelsat’s E172B on June 1. SES 15 will orbit at 129 degrees west to...

Arianespace has resumed operations for its upcoming three launches: VA236 and VA237 with Ariane 5, and VS17 with Soyuz, after a halt in operations due to labor protests in French Guiana. The new launch date for VA236 is set for May 4, as early as possible within the launch window of 4:31 to 7:19 p.m....

Deep Space Industries (DSI) hopes to revolutionize the smallsat industry by developing new propulsion systems based on non-toxic fuel. The company plans to test its Comet 1 line of water-based thrusters on three Hawkeye 360 smallsats, set to launch later this year aboard a Falcon 9 as part of Spaceflight Industries’ inaugural dedicated rideshare mission,...

Satellite companies are eagerly awaiting the arrival of new vehicles that will speed up launch and overhaul their process for creating new applications. Announcements from some heavy hitters in rocketry should provide hope for exponential progress in the next 10 years.

Airbus Safran Launchers and its industrial partners have passed a major milestone in the development of Ariane 6, under contract with the European Space Agency (ESA). The Maturity Gate 6.1 review confirmed that the maturity of the industrialization of Ariane 6 is sufficient to begin production of the ground qualification models for the future European launcher,...

Arianespace announced that it will launch Horizons 3e, a satellite belonging to the Horizons joint venture owned by Intelsat and SKY Perfect JSAT. Arianespace will orbit this Boeing-built payload in the launch period starting late 2018 on an Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Horizons 3e will complete Intelsat’s global Epic...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket carrying the OA 7 resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 on Tuesday morning. The OA 7 mission represents the first execution of a RapidLaunch service contract, with contractual agreements finalized five months ago. ULA flew the mission for Orbital...