January 2020

Ball Aerospace and General Dynamics Mission Systems have agreed to collaborate with Telesat in separate demonstrations that will highlight how high-performing commercial satellite systems, such as Telesat LEO, can provide important advantages for the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center’s Commercially Augmented Space Inter Networked Operations (CASINO) programme. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011402

In its latest analysis of satellite manufacturing and launch services, Satellites to be Built and Launched by 2028, Euroconsult projects that the satellite market will experience a radical transformation in the quantity, value and mass of the satellites to be built and launched with a four-fold increase in the number of satellites at a yearly…

Rocket Lab has announced it will open a new facility which will serve as its Corporate Headquarters, provide incremental production capacity, and bring Mission Control Center capabilities to Long Beach, California. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011404

OneWeb and SatixFy UK announced plans to add a digital technology pathway payload that will include a full digital payload into OneWeb’s launch schedule during 2021. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011300

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that on 19 December 2019 a Letter of Compliance was signed by the International Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO), stating it has positively verified the operational and technical requirements as requested by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for Iridium to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety…

exactEarth Ltd. and Hisdesat announce that in partnership they have been selected by the European Maritime Safety Agency ("EMSA") to provide satellite-AIS data services for a four-year period. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011302

Hispasat has awarded to Thales Alenia Space the construction of the Amazonas Nexus satellite, which will replace and expand the capacities of Amazonas 2, in orbit at 61º West. Thales Alenia Space said it won the award against an international field of competitors. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011200

For its initial flight of 2020, Arianespace will orbit two telecommunications satellites using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center: Eutelsat KONNECT for the operator Eutelsat; and GSAT-30 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011201

The first test of the ARGOS NEO instrument on the ARGOS ANGELS (Argos NEO Generic Economic Light Satellites) nanosatellite, launched on 18 December 2019, was a complete success according to its manufacturer, Thales Alenia Space. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020011202

Final payload integration has begun for Arianespace’s year-opening mission on 16 January with GSAT-30 now installed atop its Ariane 5 launcher at the Spaceport in French Guiana. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020010900