Launch

KVH Industries has announced the launch of its next-generation maritime broadband network, joined by service partner Intelsat. Slated for commercial availability in November, KVH expects its high-speed overlay to its current mini-Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) BroadbandSM service to triple, and in some cases increase by a multiple of six, the data speeds for its...

#ICYMI yesterday we successfully launched 10 @planetlabs satellites aboard our #MinotaurC rocket from @30thSpaceWing! pic.twitter.com/pkLlbV7ZXo — Orbital ATK (@OrbitalATK) November 1, 2017 Orbital ATK announced that its Minotaur C rocket — formerly known as Taurus — successfully launched 10 commercial spacecraft for Planet in the afternoon hours of Halloween, Oct. 31. The rocket lifted off...

SpaceX successfully relanded yet another Falcon 9 first stage booster after delivering the Koreasat 5A satellite to orbit for South Korean operator KT Sat on Oct. 30. The rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:34 p.m. EDT, deployed the satellite to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), and then gently touched down...

Ball Aerospace and the Joint Polar Satellite System 1 (JPSS 1) team is currently preparing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next-generation polar orbiting weather satellite for launch at 1:47 a.m. PST on Nov. 10. In preparation for launch, the JPSS 1 team has fueled the satellite with hydrazine, pressurized the propulsion system to flight pressure, completed...

Iridium has reached an agreement with SpaceX to use flight-proven first stages for its next two satellite launches. The company announced it confirmed with its insurers that there is no increase in premium for the launch contract, reflecting Iridium’s conclusion that the risk profile is unchanged. “I believe that reusability is the future for satellite...

Nanosatellite launch provider Vector has entered into an agreement with Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space) to conduct three commercial orbital missions out of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in the next 24 months with an option for five additional launches. According to Vector, these initial flights from MARS — which is located...

Government officials in Myanmar intend to launch a new satellite, MyanmarSat 2, in June 2019, The Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Oct. 21. The country’s government will pay approximately $155.7 million over 10 installments for the satellite. MyanmarSat 2 will carry six C-band and six Ku-band transponders, and will be jointly owned with...

North Korea’s deputy United Nations (UN) ambassador stated that the country intends to launch many more satellites in the future, and also pointed a finger at the United States for attempting to “illegalize” the country’s space capabilities. But with geopolitical tensions rising, the U.S. and the United Nations have expressed concern that North Korea’s satellite...

NASA announced it has selected launch providers for both its Sentinel 6A and Landsat 9 missions. SpaceX plans to launch the Sentinel 6A mission from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in November 2020. United Launch Alliance (ULA) is targeting a launch date of June 2021 for Landsat 9 on an...

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filings have revealed that SpaceX plans to launch an undisclosed payload for Northrop Grumman sometime in November. While it is assumed the satellite will be used for government operations, no official agency has stepped forward to claim the payload, including the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which has launched multiple spy satellites...