Launch

ExactEarth completed the rollout of its real-time global satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) service after activating the final six payloads of its exactView constellation, the company reported Feb. 15. The constellation comprises of 58 payloads and seven orbital spares built by Harris, and hosted onboard the Iridium Next constellation, operated by Iridium Communications. Now that exactView...

Spaceflight revealed that it will launch two payloads on its first rideshare mission to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The mission is scheduled for no earlier than mid-February 2019 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launching from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The primary payload on the mission is a telecommunications satellite for...

Airbus and SKY Perfect JSAT signed a cooperation agreement for the design preparation of the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS)-D node. This third communication node of the SpaceDataHighway system is to be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region before 2025. EDRS-D aims to help increase the system’s communication capacity and considerably expand its coverage. This agreement involves the co-financing...

Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company (TSC) staff and guests today at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. revealed that the hybrid rocket motor which powered SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, to space for the first time on Dec. 13 last year, has been donated to the museum. The rocket motor was unveiled...

Iridium Communications revealed that it completed the $3 billion satellite constellation upgrade campaign known as Iridium Next, during a press conference held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. During the press conference, the company also introduced a new small-form-factor transceiver known as the Iridium CertusSM 9770, which will enable creation of new consumer...

Swarm Technologies is making quite a buzz in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). With seven satellites already orbiting and 150 planned total, the ambitious company has made big financial strides in recently securing $25 million in Series-A funding. The company is working to move forward from its misstep with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which...

Arianespace successfully launched its Ariane 5 rocket on Feb. 5 at 6:01 pm (local time) from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. This was Arianespace’s first launch of the year and the 103rd Ariane 5 mission, bringing the number of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites launched by Arianespace to 374. Arianespace successfully orbited two...

U.K.-based communications services hub Goonhilly Earth Station entered into an agreement with a fellow startup launch facility, Shetland Space Center (SSC), to jointly promote and deliver launch, monitoring, and tracking capabilities, the companies announced Feb. 5. Both startup companies will collaborate on vertical and horizontal launch services for U.K. space customers from facilities at the extreme...

After establishing an impressive three-decade-long career at legacy aerospace companies Lockheed Martin and Xtar, Robert Cleave found himself in the C-suite at Vector, an Arizona-based new entrant to the U.S. launch services market. He joined the company last month, tasked with transforming the recently acquired $70 million in Series B capital into Vector’s first major...

ArianeGroup finalized the Prometheus engine demonstration’s Definition Review on Feb 1., with the support of European Space Agency (ESA), France’s National Center for Space Studies (CNES), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). ESA awarded the contract to ArianeGroup in December 2017, which covers the design, construction, and testing of the first two examples of the...