Launch

China launched its fourth Long March-11 (LM-11) rocket on Thursday, carrying multiple small satellites into orbit. The launch took place from a mobile launch platform at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 04:42 UTC. Onboard the LM-11 rocket were four hyperspectral satellites from the OHS-2s series and the OVS-2 upgraded version of Zhuhai-1 video satellite,...

NanoAvionics has signed a contract with Lacuna Space to support its in-orbit demonstration of an Internet of Things (IOT) communications network. NanoAvionics’ M6P satellite platform and mission integration services will allow Lacuna Space to begin testing its technology in the third quarter of this year, paving the way for deployment of the full Lacuna Network,...

The seventh Sentinel satellite from the European Earth observation program Copernicus has been placed into space following the successful launch on April 25. The 1,150kg Sentinel-3B satellite was carried into orbit on a Rockot launcher from Plesetsk, Russia, at 17:57 GMT on Wednesday to join its identical twin Sentinel-3A. Just 92 minutes after lift-off, Sentinel-3B...

Globalstar has signed a merger agreement with Thermo Acquisitions, following which Globalstar will acquire assets including metro fiber provider FiberLight, 15.5 million shares of common stock of CenturyLink, $100 million of cash and minority investments in complementary businesses, and assets of $25 million in exchange for Globalstar common stock valued at approximately $1.65 billion, subject...

Arianespace has announced the delay of flight VA243 tasked to carry the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) GSAT-11 satellite into orbit. The delay is caused by additional technical checks needed for the satellite, according to the company. The Ariane 5 launch initially planned for May 25, will be conducted from the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)...

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has completed full system and “ready for launch” pre-flight testing of its Orbital Test Bed (OTB) satellite. OTB will launch as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Technology Program (STP-2) flight on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The OTB hosts multiple payloads on a single platform for on-orbit technology...

Arianespace has announced that it will launch BSAT-4b as part of a turnkey contract between Japanese satellite operator B-SAT and Maxar’s California-based satellite manufacturer SSL. Since the creation of B-SAT, Arianespace has launched all nine of its satellites. BSAT-4b not only marks the 10th launch but also the 32nd commercial geostationary satellite launch contract awarded...

The mathematics driving the resurgence of reusable rockets is more nuanced than it may seem. As it turns out, the economic considerations behind making reusability a core element of your business can be as complex as the rocket science itself. In February, SpaceX pulled off one of the most impressive feats in modern rocket science...

SpaceX successfully launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for NASA from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. TESS, built by Orbital ATK, will perform a survey of the entire sky to identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to Jupiter-sized, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and in various orbital...

Intenational Launch Services (ILS) announced the successful launch of a Russian military payload into orbit the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This was the first launch for the Proton launch vehicle in 2018. The payload, Blagovest 12L, is the second of four planned Blagovest communications satellites for Russia’s Ministry of Defense, built by ISS Reshetnev. The first of...