Astrium to Develop ReUsable Upper Stage Launcher

The European Space Agency (ESA) awarded Astrium a two-year contract to develop technologies for reusable upper stages for launchers.

The contract, worth 20 million euros ($24.4 million), will see Astrium attempt to enable the engines of liquid hydrogen- and liquid oxygen-powered cryogenic upper stages to be reignited under an ESA project dubbed CUST (Cryogenic Upper Stage Technologies). The work will focus particularly on fuel management in the state of zero gravity and on the thermal insulation of the fuel tanks filled with cryogenic fuel.

SpaceX Wins $492 Million Iridium Next Launch Contract

Iridium Communications has awarded a $492 million launch contract to SpaceX to carry multiple Iridium Next constellation satellites on Falcon 9 rockets.

The deal represents the largest commercial launch contract to date for SpaceX. Over a two-year period starting in early 2015, SpaceX will insert the satellites into a low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Launch services are included in the total estimated cost of $2.9 billion for Iridium Next.

BSkyB Awards ground system deal to INtegral systems

Integral Systems Europe (ISE) has been awarded a satellite ground station contract from British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) for Harlequin 1, Sky’s state-of-the-art broadcast facility.

ISE will deliver 11 Earth station systems with antennas up to 7.3 meters in diameter to BSkyB as part of the Harlequin 1 development phase. The antennas will be designed to transmit and receive RF subsystems and terrestrial transmissions receiver equipment.

ISE’s U.K. business has been a supplier to Sky since 1997. Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.