Launch

Quantum Dynamics Enterprises earlier this month revealed the first propellantless drive for space flight, the Centrifugal Impulse Drive (CID).  This drive uses a new form of propulsion where electricity is turned directly into thrust, to propel the spacecraft without expelling any mass. CID is a reactionless drive or inertia impulse propulsion engine — a propellantless...

SES has selected SpaceX to launch four newly-ordered O3b mPOWER spacecraft for O3b mPOWER, the operator’s next-generation Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) communications system.  The operator chose SpaceX to launch the first seven O3b mPOWER satellites a year ago. All 11 satellites will be launched on Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Four Falcon 9...

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing a Delta IV Heavy rocket with a classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload, NROL-44, for launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Aug. 26. Launch preparations for NROL-44 began last year, and the classified payload arrived and was mounted on the rocket at Space Launch Complex-37 (SLC-37) at...

Exolaunch revealed on Tuesday that it signed a launch agreement for two of Kepler’s 6U XL satellites. Exolaunch will provide launch, mission management, integration, and deployment services to Kepler’s satellites on a Soyuz rideshare mission, with a launch target of September 2020. Kepler’s two new 6U XL satellites both carry a Ku-band communications system and a...

All industrial revolutions have had their economic successes and the space industry is no exception. At the same time, they have impacted the environment leading to the defining issue of our time — climate change. Contrary to what is often believed, the real danger of rocket engine exhaust is particles, not gases that can affect Earth’s...

Arabsat contracted Airbus to build the BADR-8 telecommunications satellite. BADR-8 will replace and increase Arabsat’s capacity at the BADR hotspot at 26 degrees East. Additionally, the BADR-8 satellite will be based on the Airbus Eurostar Neo electric orbit raising platform, and will include the Airbus-developed TELEO optical communications payload demonstrator. The satellite is scheduled for...

SpaceX launched 58 Starlink satellites on Tuesday, along with three Planet SkySats. The Falcon 9 took off at 10:31 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The SkySats were deployed in three maneuvers starting at 12 minutes and 45 seconds after launch, and the Starlink sats deployed...

Exolaunch will provide small satellite end-to-end launch services for Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), a German launch services provider. Exolaunch will procure launch capacities from RFA. Exolaunch provides launch services, mission management, and small satellite deployment systems. Since 2017, Exolaunch has helped launch nearly 100 small satellites into orbit, with 50 more small satellites to...

Arianespace launched three spacecraft for Intelsat, SpaceLogistics LLC, and B-SAT on an Ariane 5 on Saturday, marking the launcher’s return to flight after the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. The launch was delayed from July 28 to perform additional checks, from July 31...

Northrop Grumman conducted its first ground test of an extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) in Promontory, Utah on Thursday. This variation of the company’s GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur vehicle. The motor fired for approximately...