Launch

After seven months of traveling through space, the NASA InSight mission has landed on Mars. A few minutes after landing, InSight sent the official “beep” to NASA to signal that it was alive and well, including a photo of the Martian surface where it landed. Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory exploded into celebratory...

The Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute (ESSTI) announced that the nation’s first satellite — a weather monitoring spacecraft — will be launched next year from anunnamed site in China. ESSTI first announced plans to launch a satellite during its establishment in 2016, and stated that China agreed to contribute $6 million to the total...

Arianespace successfully launched the Mohammed VI – B Earth observation satellite on Tuesday at 10:42 p.m. local time from the Guiana Space Center (CSG). The satellite was developed for Morocco by a consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space as system prime contractor and Airbus as co-prime. This was Arianespace’s ninth launch of the year. It was also...

China launched its Shiyan-6 Earth observation satellite, along with four nanosatellites. The satellites were carried on a Long March-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, local time. Shiyan-6 will be used for conducting space environment exploration experiments. As for the four nanosatellites, additional information was not given....

The first satellite with Accion Systems engines launched from New Zealand last week. The satellite launched, Irvine 01, was built by high school students and will take pictures of Venus and other objects. “It’s a huge milestone, across the board,” Accion Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Natalya Bailey said before the launch. Yet, the startup is...

Airbus has been selected by Eutelsat to build two Hotbird next generation telecommunications satellites, which will replace the current spacecraft and enhance capacity at Eutelsat’s position of 13 degrees East. The two satellites aim to deliver improved performances over Europe and the Middle East. These new satellites are aiming to ensure full service continuity over the...

The SSO-A: SmallSat Express launch originally schedule for Nov. 19 has been delayed. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket would have launched 64 smallsats from more than 30 different countries. “Standing down from Monday’s launch attempt of Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express to conduct additional pre-flight inspections. Once complete, we will confirm a new launch date,” SpaceX...

China launched two new BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) satellites into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. Liftoff took place at at 2:07 a.m. local time on Nov. 19. Previously, China launched a set of twin BeiDou satellites on Oct. 15. Following its October launch,...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved SpaceX‘s request to deploy over 7,000 satellites for its Starlink constellation, which aims to provide broadband internet services. The Commission granted SpaceX’s application with certain conditions, authorizing SpaceX to construct, deploy, and operate this new very Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation using V-band frequencies. The Commission also granted SpaceX’s...

The Mitsubishi Electric-built Es’hail-2 communications satellite launched successfully from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:46 p.m. EST on Nov. 15. The launch was conducted by SpaceX using a Falcon 9 rocket. Following completion of in-orbit tests, the satellite is scheduled to be delivered to Doha-based Qatar Satellite Company Es’hailSat in January 2019....