March 2019

Chinese researchers have found that perovskite solar cells can retain most of their power conversion efficiency in near space, providing perspectives on the new solar cells’ future application in space. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031800

OneWeb said it has secured its largest fundraising round to date with the successful raise of US$1.25 billion in new capital. This brings the total funds raised to US$3.4 billion. This round was led by SoftBank Group Corp., Grupo Salinas, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., and the Government of Rwanda. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031801

Rocket: Delta IV; Payload: WGS-10 [Wideband Global SATCOM 10]; Date: 16 March 2019, 0026 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031700

According to the flight programme, the Soyuz MS-12 rendezvous with the ISS was implemented using a four-orbit rendezvous profile. The approach and docking were performed in automatic mode under supervision of the ISS RS LOCT specialists at MCC and Russian crewmembers of the manned transportation spacecraft and the station. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031701

ESA, together with the UK Space Agency (UKSA) recently reviewed the preliminary design of the demonstrator engine core of the Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE), which Reaction Engines will use to undertake ground-based testing at test facility at Westcott, Buckinghamshire, which is currently under construction. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031702

The Progress Space Rocket Center has signed an agreement with the Center for the Certification of Rocket and Space Activity on certifying four Soyuz-5 medium-class rockets that will undergo flight tests in 2022-2025. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031703

Rocket: Soyuz 2-1a; Payload: Soyuz MS-12; Date: 14 March 2019, 1914 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The crewed vessel arrived at its target orbit less than nine minutes after liftoff. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031400

Lockheed Martin said it has developed a new LTE-over-Satellite system designed to provide connectivity to remote regions, including areas without cellphone coverage, boats off-shore, or during natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, catastrophic floods or volcanoes. New hotspots connect existing phones to satellites for reliable 4G connections. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031401

NSR’s Satellite Capacity Pricing Index, 5th Edition (2019) finds accelerated pricing decline across operator segments, with a global average decline of 18% over the past 12 months. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031402

The Vega launch, designated Flight VV14 in Arianespace’s numbering system, which will deliver the PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) Earth observation satellite to Sun-synchronous orbit, has been rescheduled to allow for additional checks. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019031300