July 2019

Rocket: Proton M/Block DM-03; Payload: Spektr-RG [Spektrum-Röntgen-Gamma]; Date: 13 July 2019, 1230 UTC; Launch site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071400

ISRO said that "A technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system at T-56 minute. As a measure of abundant precaution, Chandrayaan2 launch has been called off for today. Revised launch date will be announced later." http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071401

The new Amos-17 satellite is in the final stages of its prelaunch preparation, operator Spacecom announced. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071402

Maxar Technologies has begun production on a Legion-class geostationary satellite for Ovzon, a company located in the United States and Sweden dedicated to meeting the demand for increased mobile broadband connectivity in underserved regions. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071403

Munich Re confirmed it is one of the insurers for the Vega rocket which failed after take-off on 11 July (UTC), destroying a military observation satellite about to be placed in orbit for the United Arab Emirates. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071404

Approximately two minutes after the Vega launcher’s lift-off from the Spaceport in French Guiana, a launcher anomaly occurred shortly after ignition of the Zefiro 23 second stage – leading to the premature end of the mission. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071100

Rocket: Soyuz-2.1v/Volga; Payload: four military satellites [probably designated Kosmos 2535, 2536, 2537 and 2538]; Date: 10 July 2019, 1714 UTC; Launch site: Plesetsk, Russia. The successful separation of all four satellites was announced four hours later. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071101

Spaceflight announced it is providing mission management and rideshare integration services on an upcoming launch from the International Space Station (ISS) and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus launch vehicle. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071102

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on 11 July (UTC) performed a series of operations for the second touchdown of Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 on the Ryugu asteroid and the collection of its soil samples. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2019071103

The mission critical design review (M-CDR) of NASA’s Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) space-based astrophysics observatory was recently completed at Ball Aerospace’s Boulder, Colorado, facility. The IXPE mission is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, with support from Ball Aerospace, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at University of…