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[Via Satellite 07-29-2014] Rocket Lab revealed plans to build a carbon-composite dedicated small satellite launch vehicle named Electron. Currently under construction in New Zealand, the company anticipates launching payloads of up to 100-kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for less than $5 million. Silicon Valley venture firm Khosla Ventures is the principal funder. The Electron...

[Via Satellite 07-29-2014] United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, launched three Air Force satellites on July 28, 2014. Using a Delta 4 rocket, the company carried two Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites and the Automated Activation and Guidance Experiment for Local Space (ANGELS) satellite to near-Geostationary Orbits...

[Via Satellite 07-25-2014] Interns from United Launch Alliance and Ball Aerospace are planning to launch Colorado’s largest rocket on July 26, 2014. More than 100 students are participating in the seventh annual Student Rocket Launch, where a total of 18 payloads will be carried on three high-power sports rockets. The Ball Aerospace interns collectively known...

[Via Satellite 07-23-2014] SpaceX released video footage showing the company’s latest attempt to soft-land the Falcon 9 rocket following the launch of six OG2 satellites for Orbcomm. After the soft-landing, the rocket was purposefully allowed to fall sideways, splashing down into the ocean. SpaceX reports that enough information was gained from this process to prove...

[Via Satellite 07-21-2014] Arianespace has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to launch Sentinel 1B, the second radar satellite in the Copernicus program. The launch is planned for 2016 using a Soyuz rocket and will deliver the satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit. Sentinel is a joint environmental monitoring program between the European...

Satellite launch services providers are re-examining vessel management, engine design, and diversity of manifests, among other strategies, to lower costs and remain competitive. We take a deeper look at how each of the key players in the market is strategizing for future challenges. It’s a busy time for the satellite launch industry if one goes by...

[Via Satellite 07-16-2014] Though more prominently known for its suborbital spaceflight business, Virgin Galactic has also been working on a dedicated small satellite launch system known as LauncherOne. Speaking to Via Satellite, George Whitesides, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said the company hopes to have liftoff using its air-launch system within the next two years. “We try not to...

[Via Satellite 07-16-2014] Spaceflight Inc. and NanoRacks are assisting Planet Labs in the launch of 28 CubeSats from the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a joint teaming agreement. The Earth-imaging satellites were carried aboard an Orbital Sciences-built Cygnus spacecraft, which docked with the ISS today. Spaceflight Inc. tapped its launch-industry network to arrange...

[Via Satellite 07-15-2014] SpaceX has completed the long-awaited launch of Orbcomm’s first batch of second-generation satellites. After repeated delays, the launch took place from Cape Canaveral Air Force station using a Falcon 9 rocket. Orbcomm, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) satellite company, is using the satellites to fill a hole in its existing constellation, OG1 where some...

[Via Satellite 07-14-2014] SpaceX has confirmed the Air Force certified the Falcon 9 rocket as meeting the three-launch prerequisite for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The company expects to complete the remaining requirements by the end of 2014. In April SpaceX filed a bid protest against the Air Force over the block buy...