Finance

[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...

[Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Arianespace has signed a contract with Italian manufacturer European Launch Vehicle (ELV) for 10 Vega rockets. The order will supply enough of the light-lift launcher to fulfill Arianespace’s small- to medium-sized satellite missions for more than three years. The first of the new orders is set to enter service in 2015. The...

[Via Satellite 10-28-2014] O3b Networks’ next four satellites have been fast tracked from a 2015 launch date to Dec. 18, 2014. The earlier launch date follows the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) decision to delay the launch of the next two Galileo navigation satellites. In September O3b launched its second batch of four satellites on an...

[Via Satellite 10-24-2014] SpaceX has completed the 100th Merlin 1D engine used to power the Falcon 9 rocket less than two years since beginning production. SpaceX currently manufactures four engines per week; by the end of the year, that number is projected to reach five per week. The Merlin 1D engines are manufactured in California...

[Via Satellite 10-23-2014] Rocket Lab, manufacturer of the Electron small satellite launch vehicle, has set its sights on launching no less than once per week when commercial operations begin. The company grabbed headlines after announcing that it had already signed 30 customers for the as-of-yet proven launch vehicle. With a price tag of $5 million...

[Via Satellite 10-23-2014] SpaceQuest has signed a letter of intent to launch satellites on Mishaal Aerospace’s M-OV orbital launch vehicle once it is ready. The agreement defines the launch requirements and minimum payload requirements necessary for launch. SpaceQuest has launched its past four satellites on Kosmotras Dnepr rockets, but has expressed a strong preference for...

[Via Satellite 10-22-2014] On Oct. 21 a Proton rocket carried the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) Express AM6 satellite into orbit. The government launch marks the second consecutive successful Proton mission since its May failure, and gives a fresh restart to RSCC’s fleet renewal plan. Originally RSCC intended to conduct five launches this year, with...

[Via Satellite 10-21-2014] ViviSat will soon begin orbiting a constellation of Mission Extension Vehicles (MEVs) with room to carry hosted payloads into Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). Jim Armor, Vice President, ATK Space Systems Division, which has invested in the in-orbit servicing venture, as has U.S. Space, said they are planning regular launches starting in three...