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[Via Satellite 09-27-2016] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has kicked off the 3-2-1 Liftoff! ULA Rocket Hardware Challenge via GrabCAD Community Challenges, inviting participants to design a launch support attachment bracket — to be produced using additive manufacturing technology — for ULA’s current Atlas 5 rocket. The design will subsequently be evaluated for application on ULA’s...

[Via Satellite 09-26-2016] SpaceX, the U.S. launch provider that suffered a dramatic Falcon 9 failure three weeks ago, has given a further update as to the probable cause of the anomaly. According to a SpaceX statement issued on Sept. 23, a preliminary review of the data and debris suggests that a large breach in the...

[Via Satellite 09-26-2016] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), in its 37th flight (PSLV C35) has successfully launched eight satellites in a landmark mission today. This was a highly significant mission for ISRO as it marked the first time its PSLV launch vehicle had launched payloads...

[Via Satellite 09-22-2016] Space Systems Loral (SSL) has certified the EchoStar 21 satellite ready to ship ahead of a fourth quarter 2016 launch. The communications satellite — to be located at 10.25 degrees east — was intended for launch in April 2016, but was placed in storage after the delay of its May 2016 Proton...

[Via Satellite 09-21-2016] Fire officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California reported as of 11:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Sept. 20th that the boundary of the wildfire that delayed the launch of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView 4 satellite is now relatively stable. The fire continues to burn along portions of the southeast ridgelines, however...

[Via Satellite 09-21-2016] The European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES completed a test firing of the Ariane 5’s solid-propellant booster on Sept. 8 in Kourou, French Guiana. The burn lasted 128 seconds with the motor delivering a mean thrust of more than 500 tons, simulating the firing time of an Ariane...

[Via Satellite 09-19-2016] Arianespace completed its first fully commercial mission with the Vega light lift launch vehicle Sept. 15, orbiting four SkySat satellites for Terra Bella, a Google company, and PeruSAT 1 for the Peruvian space agency CONIDA. The mission marks the seventh launch of Vega, which is the newest member of the Arianespace launch...

[Via Satellite 09-19-2016] Clayton “Clay” Mowry, president of Arianespace’s U.S. subsidiary Arianespace Inc., has joined Blue Origin. He joins the Kent, Washington-based company around the same time it announced New Glenn, its forthcoming pair of reusable orbital launch vehicles. Mowry led Arianespace’s Washington, D.C. office for 15 years, handling customer, industry and governmental relations. In...

[Via Satellite 09-16-2016] International Launch Services (ILS) has announced a product line extension of the Proton Breeze M commercial launch vehicle designed to expand the addressable GEO market for cost-effective launch solutions in the small and medium satellite class range (3 to 5 metric tons). Designated as “Proton Variants,” these two additional vehicles will be...

[Via Satellite 09-14-2016] Following the explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with Spacecom’s Amos 6 satellite, Arianespace CEO Stephane Israel said satellite operators have reached out to the company to inquire about launch services. However, the European launch services provider has only one launch slot for a large satellite available between now and the end...