Finance

[Via Satellite 10-20-2014] China has launched Yaogan 22, a new remote sensing satellite using a Long March 4C rocket according to Xinhua, China’s state-run media agency. The launch — the 195th for the Long March family — occurred on Oct. 20 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, located in Taiyuan, the capital of north China’s...

[Via Satellite 10-17-2016] Orbital Sciences has committed to a new engine for the Antares launch vehicle that it expects will suite both NASA and non-NASA customers. The company did not disclose the engine, nor its manufacturer, but expects it to be ready for a first launch in late 2016 or early 2017. Orbital Sciences has...

[Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Arianespace conducted the 62nd successful Ariane 5 launch on the night of Oct. 16, carrying the Intelsat 30 satellite with DirecTV’s DL1 A payload and the Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anonima’s (ARSAT’s) ARsat 1. Both satellites bring new capacity to Latin American markets. Intelsat 30, built by SSL, carries C-...

[Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Oleg Ostapenko, the head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, recently visited the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region of Russia. During his visit he evaluated progress on the future spaceport’s technical complexes for rockets, the substation power supply system, and the industrial and construction base. Ostapenko also swung by the Tsiolkovsky...

[Via Satellite 10-16-2014] Spain-based Zero2infiniti has unveiled a hybrid balloon-rocket launch system intended to serve the small satellite market and has signed customers totaling more than $200 million in sales, according to the company. Dubbed Bloostar, the “rockoon” uses balloons in lieu of a first stage, not firing any engines until passing through 99 percent...

[Via Satellite 10-16-2014] On Oct. 15 2014 the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the third satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PLSV). The 1425kg IRNSS C satellite launch marks the sixth time the PSLV has flown in the XL configuration, and the 27th successful consecutive...

[Via Satellite 10-15-2014] The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has selected Innovative Solutions in Space (ISIS) for the launch of multiple CubeSats through ISIS’ ISILaunch services for small satellites. ISIS will be responsible for the launch of five satellites in 2015, developed under the first rounds of the University Cube Satellites Mission and Design Contest...

[Via Satellite 10-15-2014] CNES, the French space agency, has renewed a six-year bilateral agreement with 17 Guianese municipalities. From 2014 to 2020, the agency will provide approximately $15.5 million for economic, social and cultural development. The French government began operating from Kourou in 1964, and has shared the center with the European Space Agency (ESA)...

[Via Satellite 10-08-2014] Independent inquiry boards established by Arianespace and Roscosmos have come to the same conclusion regarding the root cause of the Fregat anomaly that occurred 35 minutes into the Soyuz mission VS09. The culprit was found to be frozen hydrazine that was chilled by its proximity to cold helium feed lines within the...

[Via Satellite 10-08-2014] On Oct. 7, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) launched the Himawari 8 geostationary weather satellite from Tanegashima Space Center. An H2A rocket, built by MHI, carried the satellite. Mitsubishi Electric was the prime contractor for Himawari 8, which it built on the DS2000 platform. The Himawari...