Launch

China Great Wall Industries Corporation (CGWIC) orbited Kepler Communications’ first telecommunications nanosatellite, KIPP, on Friday, Jan. 19, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) in Northwestern China. The mission serves as a technology demonstration for Kepler’s novel Ku-band telecommunications payload. Kepler intends to launch a network of satellites that will eventually enable in-space connectivity for other satellites,...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket carrying the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Flight 4 mission successfully lifted off on Jan. 19. The launch took place at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and the U.S. Air Force’s 460th Space Wing confirmed signal acquisition with the...

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched a commercial Earth Observation (EO) satellite, Ansaro 2, on Jan. 18, using an Epsilon 3 solid fuel rocket. The Epsilon 3 carried the small radar satellite into orbit from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture around 6 a.m. JST (4 p.m. EST). NEC Corporation and the...

GomSpace has purchased a launch for several nanosatellites onboard a LauncherOne rocket from the California-based company Virgin Orbit. The flight, which is bound for a low-inclination orbit, is scheduled to occur in early 2019. GomSpace will use the launch to further build out a constellation of small satellites that will use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and...

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 4 rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Jan. 12. Because the mission — designated NROL 47 — is classified, NRO has not released information on what the satellite will be used for, stating only that...

A team of oceanic researchers from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is preparing to launch a new CubeSat this summer, dubbed SeaHawk 1. The satellite will fly into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9, as part of Spaceflight Industries’ first dedicated rideshare mission, Sun-Synchronous Orbit A (SSO-A). According to oceanographer John Morrison, SeaHawk’s...

Telesat announced the successful launch of its first Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite, an important milestone in the company’s plans to deploy a global LEO constellation to provide broadband communications services around the world. Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite flew into orbit aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) operated by the Indian Space Research...

Finnish startup Iceye announced the successful launch of its proof-of-concept satellite mission, Iceye X1, on the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) PSLV C40 rocket. The Iceye X1 microsatellite is equipped with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and, according to the company, is Finland’s very first commercial satellite. Iceye stated it has successfully established communications with the...

According to rumors circulating at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Verizon is working on new services to ensure it can compete with Over-the-Top (OTT) content providers like Hulu and Netflix. Already, Verizon has reportedly invested between $4 billion and $5 billion in content deals. Read more at TechCrunch.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is preparing its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) for its 42nd flight on Friday, Jan. 12. The primary payload for the mission is India’s Cartosat 2 Earth Observation (EO) satellite, but it will also carry 30 co-passenger satellites when it lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC)...