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[Via Satellite 08-30-2016] SES and SpaceX have reached an agreement to launch SES 10 on a previously flown Falcon 9 orbital rocket booster later this year. The mission is currently scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2016 to put the satellite on its way to geosynchronous orbit for telecommunications services over Latin America. “Re-launching a...

[Via Satellite 08-26-2016] The Alaska Aerospace Corp. (AAC), which oversees the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA), formerly called Kodiak Launch Complex, is looking to woo small satellite launchers to bring commercial business to the facility. While the AAC has traditionally targeted large, government contracts, the company is also working with two private micro-launch companies,...

[Via Satellite 08-26-2016] NASA has selected United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide launch services for Mars 2020, a rover mission to conduct geological assessments of its landing site on Mars, determine the habitability of the environment, search for signs of ancient Martian life, and assess natural resources and hazards for future human explorers. The mission...

[View the story “Heavyweight Arianespace Mission Launches Two Intelsat Satellites on Ariane 5” on Storify]

[Via Satellite 08-22-2016] United Launch Alliance (ULA) completed its seventh launch of the year on Aug. 19, orbiting the second pair of twin Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) spacecraft for the United States Air Force. The company used a Delta 4 Medium for the AFSPC-6 mission, which used a common booster core powered with...

[Via Satellite 08-22-2016] Rocket Lab has installed the launch platform at its private orbital launch facility on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. The installation of the platform, weighing nearly 50 tons, is the final major step in preparing the site for the arrival of the first Electron launch vehicle, scheduled for testing in the coming months....

With SmallSat companies set to send their CubeSats into multiple orbits, the wait to hitchhike into orbit has become increasingly frustrating. But companies are hopeful that greater launch availability is just down the line.

[Via Satellite 08-15-2016] Vector Space Systems, a new micro satellite launch company, is betting big on little rockets. The company successfully tested its P-20 prototype launch vehicle, a sub-scale test vehicle for its 42-foot Vector 1 rocket, which measured just 12 feet in length, in the Mojave Desert on June 30. When built, the company...

[Via Satellite 08-15-2016] SpaceX launched the JCSAT 16 telecommunications satellite for Japan-based Sky Perfect JSAT August 14 using a Falcon 9 rocket and successfully landed the first stage on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.” The mission took place from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, with support from the U.S....

[Via Satellite 08-11-2016] Scotland-based startup Orbital Access is designing a family of rockets to launch small payloads from the United Kingdom’s future spaceport, as well as other potential locations around the world. The first, an air-launched vehicle called the Orbital 500, aims to deliver a 500kg maximum payload to a minimum orbit of 650km. The...