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After two scrubs last week and a further delay yesterday, SpaceX will make another attempt at launching SES’ SES 8 satellite today using its redesigned Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket. During the last launch attempt on Thursday, Nov. 28, the countdown was stopped at T-2 seconds after the Merlin 1D engines fired and automatically shutdown. As...

[Via Satellite 12-2-13] Inmarsat has confirmed the launch date for the first Global Xpress (GX) satellite, Inmarsat 5 F1 (I-5 F1). The satellite is scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard an International Launch Services (ILS) Proton Breeze M rocket at 12:12 GMT on Sunday Dec. 8. The satellite was built by...

[Via Satellite 11-27-13] Space analysts from Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consulting firm, have identified 3,164 space payloads that have been proposed to be built and launched to Earth or deep space orbits between 2013 and 2032. They estimate the value of these potential satellites and other space payloads at more than $235 billion....

[Via Satellite 11-26-13] After stopping the countdown clock three times, SpaceX had to scrub its first attempt at launching SES’ SES 8 satellite – its first time launching a commercial satellite to geosynchronous orbit. The excitement that had built up prior to the launch quickly turned into disappointment. “At least we still have a satellite,”...

[Via Satellite 11-25-13] Today at precisely 5:37 p.m. EST the window opens for a historic event in the satellite launch industry. It is the time when SpaceX will attempt its first commercial satellite launch ever. Using an updated model of its Falcon 9 rocket dubbed v1.1, SpaceX will transport SES’s SES 8 satellite into geosynchronous...

[Via Satellite 11-21-13] The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology’s (EIAST) Dubai Sat 2 was successfully launched into space at 11:10 a.m.  local UAE time. The launch took place from the Yasny Launch Base in Russia, using the Russian Dnepr rocket provided by the Russian International Space Company (Kozmotras), carrying Dubai Sat 2 as...

[Via Satellite 11-21-13] Arianespace has ordered 10 Vega rockets from the Italian manufacturer European Launch Vehicle, to be ready for launch starting at the end of 2015. They follow the original Vega launcher used for the qualification flight, and the five Vega launchers already ordered in 2010 within the scope of the VERTA contract. The...

[Via Satellite 11-20-13] Last night at 8:15 p.m. EST, Orbital Sciences launched the Ball Aerospace-built STPSat 3 satellite onboard a Minotaur 1 rocket. The satellite was launched as one of 29 separable payloads on board, with the remaining 28 being all cubesats. STPSat 3 was built for the United States Department of Defense and is...

[Via Satellite 11-20-13] Xcor Aerospace and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have completed the first successful hot fire of the subscale 2500 lbf thrust XR 5H25 engine in the Xcorand ULA liquid hydrogen (LH2) engine development program. The 5H25 engine is intended as a test bed, but could also be suitable for future in-space use on...

[Via Satellite 11-15-13] Arianespace has delayed the launch of SES’ Astra 5B satellite to January 2014 due to the non-availability of Astra 5B’s co-passenger satellite, Hispasat’s Amazonas 4A. The launch, aboard an Ariane 5 booster from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guyana, was previously scheduled for Dec. 6, 2013. The Astra 5B spacecraft will...