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[Via Satellite 01-05-2016] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to build its heaviest rocket to carry satellites weighing 10 tons into space. Currently, the space agency’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) can carry satellites weighing only 2 tons, according to a report by Business Standard. ISRO is developing a semi-cryogenic engine that runs...

Small satellites, or SmallSats, have typically been relegated to a secondary position when it comes to launching. But now that SmallSats have grown so numerous, they are changing the launch sector. Whereas previously unprofitable, launch providers are now eager to let SmallSat payloads ride first class.

[Via Satellite 12-31-2015] European Space Propulsion (ESP), a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, successfully completed testing of a five-kilowatt Hall Thruster with a Power Processing Unit (PPU) supplied by Thales Alenia Space in Belgium. The test program was successfully conducted in the United Kingdom, and marks the first time a flight-proven five-kilowatt class Hall Thruster...

[Via Satellite 12-31-2015] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has contracted Orbital ATK to provide large-size composite structures to be used for the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 vehicles in support of the current United States Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELV) programs. During the contract scope, Orbital ATK will produce large composite structures for ULA,...

[Via Satellite 12-30-2015] China has launched its most sophisticated observation satellite, Gaofen 4, as part of the country’s High-Definition (HD) Earth observation project, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua. The satellite launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It was the 222th...

[Via Satellite 12-24-2015] United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced Dec. 23 that the company had ordered additional RD-180 engines for Atlas 5 missions to serve existing and potential civil and commercial launch customers. The new order of the Russian-built engines will keep the Atlas 5 in use until an American-made replacement can be developed and certified....

[Via Satellite 12-22-2015] After a challenging year, SpaceX has returned to flight with an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket that successfully performed the company’s long-time goal of landing the first stage after delivering a payload to orbit. The Dec. 21 mission makes Orbcomm, whose 11 Second Generation (OG2) satellites reached their proper insertion orbit shortly after...

[Via Satellite 12-22-2015] Rocket Lab began construction of an orbital launch site on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula last week, the company announced Dec. 21. The site, located on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island, will be home to the first launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle, designed to lift a 150kg payload to...

[Via Satellite 12-21-2015] Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed a design review for the AR1 engine, which is under development as an alternative to the Russian-built RD-180 engine used to power the Atlas 5 rocket. During the design review, each of the 18 components and subsystems on the AR1 engine were thoroughly analyzed to ensure that each...

[Via Satellite 12-18-2015] Arianespace completed its 12th launch of 2015 on Dec. 17, delivering Galileo satellites 11 and 12 into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at approximately 23,500km using a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana. The mission is the launch company’s last for the year, having conducted six Ariane 5 launches, three Vega launches and now...