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[Via Satellite 1-07-2014] Sea Launch, through Energia Logistics, has conducted a Hardware Acceptance Review of the Zenit 2S launch vehicle to be utilized in support of Eutelsat’s Eutelsat 3B mission.  A team of specialists from the chief system engineer’s office at Energia Logistics, together with specialists from RSC Energia, reviewed all of the acceptance data...

[Via Satellite 1-07-2014] Arianespace has delayed the launch of the ABS 2 and Athena-Fidus communications satellites. The company cited the need to change-out unspecified equipment on the VA217 Ariane 5 ECA launcher. The original mission was scheduled for Jan. 23, 2014. A new date for the mission will be announced very soon.

[Via Satellite 1-7-2014] SpaceX successfully launched the Thaicom 6 satellite for Asian satellite operator Thaicom. A Falcon 9 rocket was used to deliver the satellite to its targeted geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) at 22.5 degrees inclination. The launch occurred from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 5:06 p.m. Eastern Time. Approximately 184 seconds...

[Via Satellite 1-6-2014] The Indian Space Research Organization accomplished a milestone launch with its GSLV D5 launch vehicle on Jan. 05, 2014 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch included the successful use of an indigenous cryogenic upper stage, making India the sixth space agency to successfully use the engine. The communications...

[Via Satellite 1-6-2014] Thales Alenia Space Belgium has signed a contract for the development of the control electronics on the upper-stage Vinci engine steering system with Astrium, prime contractor for the Ariane 5 ME (Midlife Evolution). Scheduled to make its first flight in mid-2018, Ariane 5 ME is a higher performance version of Europe’s Ariane...

[Via Satellite 1-2-2014] After two delays, the new Soyuz 2.1v rocket completed its inaugural launch on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia at 4:30 p.m. Moscow time. The launcher carried two payloads: an AIST student built microsatellite, and two SKRL 756 radar calibration spheres for the Russian Ministry of Defense. The...

[Via Satellite 12-31-13] Energia has completed a full cycle of ground tests, assembly and factory trials for EgyptSat 2. The satellite launch is expected to occur in April 2014 using a Soyuz U booster at the Baikonur commodore. Egyptsat 2 is an Earth observation satellite capable of both visible and infrared imaging.  

[Via Satellite 12-30-13] The launch date has been set for Thaicom’s Thaicom 6 satellite for the first week of 2014. The 87-minute launch window is set for Jan. 3, 2014 from 5:50 p.m. to 7:17 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral, Fla. using a Falcon 9 rocket. This will be SpaceX’s second commercial GEO launch. The...

[Via Satellite 12-27-13] NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have selected a launch window on Thursday Feb. 27, 2014 from 1:07 p.m. to 3:07 p.m. EST (3:07 a.m. to 5:07 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28, 2014) for a Japanese H 2A rocket carrying the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory satellite from JAXA’s...

[Via Satellite 12-27-13] Florida-based Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) has signed its first tenant agreement at Cecil Spaceport with Generation Orbit Launch Services (GO). GO, based in Atlanta, will use Cecil’s hangar space, its 12,500-foot runway and the safe flight paths that have already been coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), among other things, to...