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[Via Satellite 09-11-2015] Two Full Operational Capability (FOC) Galileo satellites for Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) launched Sept. 10 aboard an Arianespace Soyuz rocket. Galileo 9 and 10, also known as Alba and Oriana, entered their target orbit close to 23,500-km altitude approximately 3 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff. Two further Galileo satellites...

[Via Satellite 09-10-2015] Firefly Space Systems, designer of a series of dedicated launch vehicles for small satellites, today tested its first rocket engine Firefly Rocket Engine Research 1 (FRE-R1). The test took place at the recently completed 200 acre test facility in Briggs, Texas, located 25 miles from the company’s main engineering office in Cedar Park....

[Via Satellite 09-02-2015] United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched the U.S. Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 4) satellite on Sept. 2 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. The fourth satellite globalizes the MUOS footprint, bringing both legacy Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) and new Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) communications capabilities. The narrowband tactical satellite communications...

[Via Satellite 09-02-2015] ARCA Space Corporation, a company designing both drones and orbital and suborbital launch vehicles, has selected Spaceport America as the site for its space launch vehicle and high altitude autonomous aircraft testing. ARCA Space Corporation is building the Haas 2B single stage suborbital manned rocket and the Haas 2C, an orbital rocket...

[Via Satellite 08-31-2015] Inmarsat’s third satellite in its Global Xpress (GX) High Throughput Satellite (HTS) constellation launched on Aug. 29 aboard an International Launch Services (ILS) Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The mission successfully delivered the satellite to Super-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (SSTO) — the fifth such mission for ILS — after a...

[Via Satellite 08-28-2015] NASA has awarded a $5.6 million contract to Harkins Contracting of Salisbury, Md., for the construction of a new Mission Launch Command Center (MLCC) at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va. The new 14,174 square-foot facility will serve as the hub for interfacing with and controlling rockets, their payloads...

[Via Satellite 08-27-2015] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) completed the ninth flight of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle on Aug. 27, carrying the GSAT 6 communications satellite. The mission, conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Center Shar (SDSC SHAR), Sriharikota, was the fifth developmental flight of GSLV and the third to carry the indigenous Cryogenic...

[Via Satellite 08-21-2015] Russia is pushing to have the first launch mission from the Vostochny Space Center conducted by December this year, according to an Aug. 20 statement from the Russian government. The government has created and approved a list of the minimal number of launch facilities and a plan including specific deadlines for commissioning...

[Via Satellite 08-21-2015] Arianespace launched two satellites on Aug. 20, one for Intelsat and one for Eutelsat, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Eutelsat 8 West B, riding in the upper payload position, deployed first, 28 minutes into the flight. Intelsat 34 deployed second, 40 minutes into the mission. Built by Thales Alenia Space, Eutelsat 8...

[Via Satellite 08-20-2015] On Aug. 19 an H2B rocket from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) successfully launched the H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV) 5 to the International Space Station (ISS), delivering more than 4.5 tons in supplies including food and water, equipment, and small satellites. Among SmallSat operators, Planet Labs...