Finance

[Via Satellite 06-30-2015] Commercial weather company PlanetiQ is in discussions with Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch its constellation of GPS Radio Occultation satellites. The company told Via Satellite that current discussions are ongoing for launching the first two satellites of the constellation onboard a Polar Satellite...

[Via Satellite 06-29-2015] SpaceX is spearheading the investigation of a launch anomaly after the June 28 Commercial Resupply Services 7 (CRS-7) mission failed 139 seconds into flight. The Falcon 9 rocket used for the NASA cargo mission was to deliver more than 4,000-lbs of supplies including food, water, research equipment, scientific experiments and small satellites...

[Via Satellite 06-23-2015] Arianespace orbited the Copernicus Earth observation program’s Sentinel 2A satellite June 22 from French Guiana aboard a Vega light-lift launch vehicle. From a Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 780 km, the 1,140-kg satellite will join the Sentinel 1A radar satellite launched April last year. Built by Airbus Defence and Space, Sentinel...

[Via Satellite 06-22-2015] The European Space Agency (ESA) reported that the agency and industry partner Airbus Defence and Space have completed a series of hot firings of a 3-D printed platinum combustion chamber and nozzle. The firings consisted of 618 ignitions, including a single burn of 32 minutes that reached a maximum throat temperature of...

[Via Satellite 06-16-2015] Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) has reached an agreement with France and the French Space Agency (CNES) to buy CNES’ 35 percent stake in Arianespace. The shift, subject to completion of all regulatory consultation and approval procedures, increases ASL’s hold to 74 percent of Arianespace’s share capital. The remaining 26 percent, spread across...

[Via Satellite 06-15-2015] Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and a consortium of partners are evaluating the feasibility of landing the Dream Chaser spacecraft at Huntsville International Airport. The announcement, made at both the 2015 Paris Air Show and at a press conference in Huntsville Ala., brings together a team that will determine what steps are necessary...

[Via Satellite 06-15-2015] NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for its recently created commercial Venture Class Launch Services (VCLS) for small satellites and experiments. The agency plans to award one or more firm fixed-price VCLS contracts to accommodate 132 pounds of CubeSats in a single launch or two launches...

[Via Satellite 06-05-2015] Generation Orbit has 11 Letters of Intent (LOI) from prospective customers for its SmallSat air launch system GOLauncher 2. Currently under development, the two-stage rocket system is designed to carry roughly 40 kilograms to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for a price tag of about $2.5 million. “We have continued to sign potential...

[Via Satellite 06-03-2015] The Russian federal space agency Roscosmos issued a statement carried by International Launch Services (ILS) that attributed the May 16, 2015 Proton launch failure to the rocket’s stage three steering engine. The findings come from the Russian State Commission, which traced the mission anomaly to increased vibration loads leading to the failure...

[Via Satellite 06-03-2015] The United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has released a formal solicitation seeking proposals for public-private investments in rocket propulsion system prototypes. This solicitation is part of a comprehensive Air Force plan to transition off the Russian supplied RD-180 propulsion system used on the Atlas 5 rocket by...