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[Via Satellite 09-16-2014] United Launch Alliance (ULA) has announced it has completed a study on domestically produced engines that could replace the Russian-built RD-180 for the Atlas 5. In June 2014 the joint Boeing-Lockheed Martin venture signed several contracts with U.S. companies to evaluate domestic alternatives following the degradation of political relations between the United...

[Via Satellite 09-12-2014] Small satellite manufacturer SpaceQuest is looking to accelerate the pace of launches for its satellites. In December 2013 the company launched AprizeSat 7 and AprizeSat 8, and in June 2014 it launched two more satellites. But the limited availability of cost-effective launch options for small satellites, or SmallSats, has become a hindrance....

[Via Satellite 09-11-2014] Japan-based Sky Perfect JSAT has selected SpaceX to launch the in-orbit backup satellite JCSAT 16. The launch is scheduled for the first half of 2016. Sky Perfect JSAT is also launching JCSAT 14 with SpaceX in 2015. The company chose SSL to build both satellites on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. JCSAT...

[Via Satellite 09-09-2014] Arianespace has secured contracts for five Ariane 5 launches in 2016 and 2017. The launch provider received contracts from Intelsat to launch Intelsat 36, Sky Perfect JSAT for JCSat 15, Korea Telekom for KoreaSat 7, Avanti Communications for Avanti 4, and YahSat to launch Al Yah 3. All of the satellites are...

[Via Satellite 09-08-2014] After two delays, AsiaSat’s newest communications satellite, Asiasat 6, successfully lifted off on Sept. 7. This was the second SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for AsiaSat this summer, after AsiaSat 8 on Aug. 5. Approximately 32 minutes after liftoff, the AsiaSat 6 spacecraft successfully separated from the launch vehicle. AsiaSat acquired the first...

[Via Satellite 09-04-2014] Russia’s federal space agency Roscosmos has announced the first Proton launch since the May 2014 failure that claimed RSCC’s Express AM4R satellite. Roscosmos said Proton manufacturer Khrunichev and several other companies completed an autonomous inspection of the launch vehicle, the upper stage and the spacecraft fairing. The return launch of the Proton-M rocket...

[Via Satellite 09-04-2014] NanoRacks is continuing to study an anomaly that occurred with the company’s CubeSat deployers on the International Space Station (ISS), which have ceased to deploy CubeSats when commanded. While looking for a solution, the company intends to continue attempting to deploy satellites already aboard the space station. Both NASA and JAXA are...

[Via Satellite 09-03-2014] SpaceX has filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office over private launch company Blue Origin’s patent for “Sea Landing of Space Launch Vehicles and Associated Systems.” SpaceX asserts in its petition that the technology patented by Blue Origin should be deemed “unpatentable,” followed by arguments against the 15...

[Via Satellite 08-29-2014] The National Commission on Space Activities (CONAE), Argentina’s space agency, has completed the second experimental flight of the Tronador 2 launch vehicle. The rocket, VEX 1B, reached a height of 2,200 meters during the 27 second flight. CONAE launched the Tronador 2 rocket in Pipinas, near Buenos Aires. Engineers tested the propulsion...

[Via Satellite 08-29-2014] NASA has completed an extensive set of tests on a new large 5.5-meter diameter composite cryogenic fuel tank. Built by Boeing, the lightweight tank is being evaluated for use on rockets. Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. simulated the physical stresses experienced during launch by applying structural loads...