Launch

In September, NASA will launch a laser instrument and begin mission to measure changes in the heights of Earth’s polar ice. NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESAT-2) will measure the average annual elevation change of land ice covering Greenland and Antarctica to within the width of a pencil, capturing 60,000 measurements per second. ICESAT-2 represents a major...

Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) has confirmed the successful commissioning in-orbit of the RemoveDebris spacecraft, which was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on June 20, 2018. Spacecraft operators at SSTL have just completed a series of tests and operations to confirm the functionality of key operating systems such as power management, communications, propulsion, attitude control,...

Aeolus, a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite, successfully launched from French Guiana on Aug. 22 after close to two decades of weather and engineering delays. The satellite will be the first to directly measure wind speed and direction. Aeolus will deploy a wind-sensing lidar in space for the first time. The data will be used...

The U.S. Air Force declared that the second Lockheed Martin-built Global Positioning System GPS III satellite is complete, fully tested, and ready to launch. The Air Force’s Available for Launch declaration is the final acceptance of Lockheed Martin’s second GPS III Space Vehicle (GPS III SV02) – declaring it technically sound and ready to launch. GPS III will...

Arianespace has scheduled the launch of the Horizons 3e and Azerspace 2/Intelsat 38 satellites — the 100th flight of its Ariane 5 rocket. Azerspace 2/Intelsat 38, Azerbaijan’s second Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellite, will share a ride with Horizons 3e, a new spacecraft from Intelsat and Sky Perfect JSAT joint venture Horizons Satellite. The satellites will take off from...

Intelsat revealed that Horizons 3e arrived at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will undergo final preparations before its scheduled launch on an Ariane 5 rocket. Horizons 3e is currently scheduled for launch on Sept. 7 during a window that is currently scheduled to open at 5:56 p.m. EDT and closes at 6:31 p.m....

Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) signed an agreement with Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), for the launch of NovaSAR-1, a small Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite; and SSTL S1-4, a high resolution Earth observation satellite; into a 580km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).  The two satellites will launch on PSLV-C42,...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying NASA‘s Parker Solar Probe spacecraft lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37 on Aug. 12 at 3:31 a.m. EDT. NASA selected ULA’s Delta IV Heavy to begin the Parker Solar Probe’s journey to the sun. This was the 37th launch of the Delta IV rocket, and the 10th in the Heavy configuration....

RUAG Space has signed a major new deal with emerging launch provider Rocket Lab, which will see it become Rocket Lab’s preferred supplier to provide a 15” microsatellite separation system for future missions of its Electron Small Launch Vehicles (SLV). The two companies announced the MOU yesterday. These adapters connect satellites and rockets during the...

Arianespace has secured a highly important contract with one of most high profile companies in the NewSpace arena. The launch service provider announced today that it had signed a multi-launch contract with Spire, a company providing weather, maritime, and aviation data to public and private customers. The deal will see Arianespace launch a significant number...