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[Via Satellite 04-09-2015] Surrey Satellite Technology US (SST-US) announced its collaboration with Aerojet Rocketdyne and NanoRacks on the development of the FeatherCraft platform, a satellite platform optimized for deployment from the International Space Station (ISS). The 100-kilogram, SST-US-designed platform is intended to exploit the full capabilities of ISS cargo resupply vessels and the NanoRacks Kaber...

[Via Satellite 04-08-2015] NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center Academic Affairs Office in in Huntsville, Ala. is hosting the 15th annual NASA Student Launch event on April 10 and April 11. In this event, middle school, high school and college and university students from more than 30 academic institutions will participate in student-built rocket competitions. The...

[Via Satellite 04-08-2015] The joint Ukrainian-Brazilian launch company Alcantara Cyclone Space (ACS) today received a whole set of Working Design Documentation for the Cyclone 4 launch site ground support equipment. According to the company, the delivery was needed to prepare for installation and testing activities at the Alcantara Launch Center. Ukraine’s state-run Yuzhmash is the...

[Via Satellite 04-07-2015] Blue Origin announced today it has completed acceptance testing of the hydrogen powered BE-3 rocket engine. Built for New Shepard, the company’s vertical takeoff, vertical landing suborbital vehicle, the BE‑3 can be continuously throttled between 110,000-lbf and 20,000-lbf thrust. According to the company, the testing profile included multiple mission duty cycles, deep...

[Via Satellite 04-06-2015] Firefly Space Systems, one of a growing number of ambitious new small satellite launch companies, is successfully hitting a series of milestones on its way to the inaugural launch of the Firefly Alpha rocket. The vehicle, designed to lift approximately 400 kilograms to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), is slated for its first...

[Via Satellite 04-06-2015] Arianespace is preparing Telenor Satellite Broadcasting’s Thor 7 satellite and the joint French-Italian Sicral 2 satellite for an upcoming dual launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The company recently encapsulated the Thor 7 satellite, built by SSL, which will take the upper position in the rocket. The Sicral 2 satellite will deploy...

[Via Satellite 03-31-2015] After a very public downselect from the final round of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) in 2014, the fate of Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Dream Chaser space vehicle appeared unclear. However, the program is very much continuing, evidenced not only by the recently amended NASA Space Act Agreement (SAA) for another Commercial...

[Via Satellite 03-30-2015] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the fourth of seven satellites in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). The March 28 launch of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the 28th successful mission and seventh in the XL configuration, delivered the satellite into an elliptical orbit close to its intended location....

[Via Satellite 03-30-2015] On March 27 Arianespace completed the launch of the third and fourth Full Operational Capability (FOC) satellites for Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Galileo. The 700-kg satellites, known as Adam and Anastasia, reached their intended deployment point following two burns of the Fregat upper stage, separated by a three-hour-plus ballistic phase....

[Via Satellite 03-27-2015] An undisclosed small satellite launch provider based in the United States and Oceania has purchased a turnkey tracking and telemetry ground station from Orbit Communications to support their launch missions. Orbit is providing an integrated turnkey solution based on its AL-4034 5-meter S-band telemetry system, along with complementary equipment, Monitor and Control...