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[Via Satellite 12-02-2014] The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have launched the Hayabusa 2 asteroid explorer satellite aboard an H2A rocket. Liftoff occurred on Dec. 3 from the Tanegashima Space Center, and the spacecraft separated on an Earth-escape trajectory after 47 minutes and 21 seconds. Hayabusa 2 follows the 2003 Hayabusa...

[Via Satellite 11-24-2014] XCOR has successfully conducted hot fire testing of the XR-5H25 engine’s regeneratively cooled thrust chamber, with both liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants supplied in pump-fed mode through the company’s proprietary piston pump technology. The engine is under development for United Launch Alliance (ULA) under the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen (LH2)...

[Via Satellite 11-24-2014] Orbital Sciences has received a launch contract from NASA for the agency’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) scientific satellite. Orbital will use the air-launched Pegasus rocket to deliver the satellite into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). ICON’s launch is slated for mid-2017 from the Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Island, located in the Pacific...

[Via Satellite 11-14-2014] United Launch Alliance (ULA) will focus first on an expendable rocket to succeed the Atlas 5 using Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine. Delivering 550,000lbs of thrust each, ULA chose the American-made engine to replace the Russian-built RD-180. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in D.C. on Nov. 13, ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno...

[Via Satellite 11-14-2014] International Launch Services (ILS) reports the Astra 2G satellite’s fueling has been completed at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. A joint team is now preparing for Proton’s 400th launch in late November. The Breeze-M upper stage was delivered from the Khrunichev Center in October. Built by Airbus Defence and Space for SES, the Astra...

[Via Satellite 11-12-14] Advantech Wireless announced that its S4120 VSAT terminal has been selected by a major government services organization in Latin America to support multiple services including enterprise, critical infrastructure, communications on the move, 3G and 4G mobile backhaul, and broadband access. The S4120 VSAT terminals are DVB-RCS compliant and fully support DVB-S2 ACM/VCM/CCM...

[Via Satellite 11-05-201] Spaceflight Inc. and Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation (JAMSS) have announced a cooperative launch service agreement to integrate and deploy CubeSats from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Astro-H mission. Under this cooperative agreement, Spaceflight and JAMSS will launch and deploy eight 3U CubeSats for U.S. commercial customers. Spaceflight is integrating the...

[Via Satellite 11-04-2014] Outernet, a satellite startup company with a mission to broadcast free information via satellite to any Wi-Fi-enabled device, has signed a letter of intent to use Mishaal Aerospace’s M-OV orbital launch vehicle once it is ready. The M-OV is designed to deliver satellites ranging from 363 to 454 kg to Low Earth...

[Via Satellite 10-30-2014] NASA’s Wallops Incident Response Team has concluded its preliminary assessment of the launch pad at Wallops Island, Va. following Orbital Sciences’ Oct. 28 Antares launch vehicle explosion. Initial findings show the damage was largely contained to the southern third of the island. The team discovered imploded doors and shattered windows at many...

[Via Satellite 10-29-2014] An Orbital Sciences Antares rocket suffered a launch failure at 6:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Oct. 28. The mission, the third of eight in the company’s $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply (CRS) contract with NASA, was carrying 2215 kg of cargo, including 26 satellites for Planet Labs, the Arkyd 3 satellite...