Launch

China launched two BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) satellites into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 8:55 a.m. Saturday. The satellites were launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket with a  Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper stage attached to the carrier rocket. They satellites entered their planned orbit, and are the 50th...

Arianespace and Measat, a Malaysian satellite operator, signed a launch services contract for MEASAT-3d, a new multi-mission telecommunications satellite. The satellite launched into geostationary transfer orbit by an Ariane 5 heavy-lift launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (South America) in 2021. MEASAT-3d aims to serve the growth requirements...

Astrobotic and Bosch revealed the launch of SoundSee to the International Space Station (ISS). As part of a research collaboration with NASA, the lunchbox-sized SoundSee module will assist astronauts by free flying through the space station and using fully-autonomous sensing capabilities to gauge ISS performance and predict when maintenance is needed. SoundSee launched on Nov....

Airbus, The European Space Agency (ESA), and Eutelsat presented the new multibeam active antenna payload today at Airbus in Madrid. Airbus’ ELSA+ (ELectronically Steerable Antenna+) is a first for commercial satellite communications in Europe. The versatility of its performance represents a step change for communications satellites with a spacecraft able for the first time to adapt...

It looks like SpaceX‘s shiny new Starship prototype has entered the test phase. The full-size Starship Mk1 vehicle “breathed” during an apparent pressure test yesterday evening (Nov. 18) at SpaceX’s facilities near the South Texas village of Boca Chica. Read More at Space.com >>

Firefly Aerospace revealed this past summer the Dedicated Research and Education Accelerator Mission (DREAM), a global competition to host academic and educational payloads as rideshare participants on the inaugural flight of the Firefly Alpha launch vehicle. Firefly recently revealed the payloads selected to fly on Alpha’s maiden flight to support and stimulate STEM on a...

Eutelsat Communication‘s Konnect satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, is now undergoing final preparation prior to being shipped to the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, for a launch planned mid-January 2020. The new Konnect satellite features all-electric propulsion and operates in Ka-band. It is the first to use Thales Alenia Space’s all-electric Spacebus...

Inmarsat received formal confirmation from its launch partner, Arianespace, that the company’s GX5 satellite will be launched from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on Nov 22. The launch window is between 21:08 and 22:43 UTC. The expected mission time of the Ariane 5 rocket is 34 minutes, 14 seconds, with separation of...

Airbus space engineers are currently testing the Copernicus Sentinel-6A satellite at the Space Test Center of Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG) in Ottobrunn — near Munich, Germany — to prove its readiness for space. During the test campaign, which will last until spring 2020, the Airbus team will check that the satellite is able to survive the...

Atlas Space Operations has established a new partnership with launch and space logistics service provider Aevum to collaborate on the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Agile Small Launch Operational Normalizer (ASLON)-45 space lift mission. The $4.9 million ASLON-45 mission will provide orbital launch services to the DoD Space Test Program and other government agencies.  Atlas...