Finance

[Via Satellite 06-08-2016] Arianespace has delayed the launch of EchoStar 18 and BRIsat, Flight VA230, from June 8 to June 16 following a hiccup during the preparations for the rollout of the Ariane 5 ECA launcher. An anomaly occurred on a fluid connector between the cryogenic upper stage and the launch table, prompting the launch...

[Via Satellite 06-03-2016] The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is building a new test rig for the Ariane 6 upper stage engines at its Lampoldshausen site. DLR and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed the agreement for the development and construction of the P5.2 test rig for the Ariane launcher...

[Via Satellite 06-01-2016] Orbital ATK conducted a full-power “hot fire” test of the upgraded first stage propulsion system of its Antares medium-class rocket using new RD-181 main engines on May 31. Initial indications are that 30 second test, which took place at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad 0A, was fully successful. The primary...

[Via Satellite 05-31-2016] SpaceX completed the launch of Thaicom 8 for Thai satellite operator Thaicom on May 27, delivering the spacecraft to a Super Synchronous Transfer Orbit (SSTO), followed by the company’s fourth successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage booster. Thaicom 8 separated from the launch vehicle approximately 32 minutes into the mission,...

[Via Satellite 05-24-2016] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on May 23 flight tested India’s first winged body aerospace vehicle operating in a hypersonic flight regime. The mission flew a Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) to test critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, a reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management,...

[Via Satellite 05-23-2016] Arianespace has signed a contract with OneWeb to design, qualify and supply 21 payload dispensers for the deployment of the company’s small satellite constellation, along with five more on option. Ruag Space in Sweden will be the prime contractor in charge of development and production of the dispenser systems, which will first...

[Via Satellite 05-20-2016] NanoRacks deployed its 111th customer CubeSat on May 18 from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) Kibo module on the International Space Station (ISS). A milestone for commercial activity in space, NanoRacks is able to offer its CubeSat deployment opportunity through a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA as part of the...

[Via Satellite 05-12-2016] Airbus Safran Launchers has started its hot-fire testing campaign for Arianespace’s Ariane 6 launch vehicle’s re-ignitable Vinci upper stage engine on the P4.1 test bench at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Lampoldshausen. The Vinci engine is designed for the upper liquid propulsion module of the launcher. Once ignited, the engine burns for...

[Via Satellite 05-06-2016] SpaceX successfully launched Sky Perfect JSAT’s JCSAT 14 communications satellite today from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and landed the rocket’s first stage on the company’s platform in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite separated from the launch vehicle approximately 32 minutes after lift off. Using the drone ship “Of Course I Still...

[Via Satellite 05-04-2016] Generation Orbit Launch Services (GO) has signed a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) to collaboratively pursue the flight test and envelope clearance for the GOLauncher 1 air launched rocket vehicle. Using AFRC’s experience and capabilities in flight test engineering for air launch rocket systems, the two-year program...