March 2020

Two Galileo navigation satellites will be launched into space in December from the Kourou space centre in French Guiana on a Russian Soyuz launch vehicle, instead of an Ariane 6 rocket, a source in the rocket and space industry was quoted as saying. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033100

exactEarth Ltd announced that it has entered into an agreement to divest four satellites from its first-generation constellation and its ground station assets to Myriota Canada Inc. ("Myriota Canada"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Myriota PTY Ltd. ("Myriota"). http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033101

NASA has selected a new mission to study how the Sun generates and releases giant space weather storms – known as solar particle storms – into planetary space. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033000

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that it has been designated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the contractor of the Global Observing SATellite for Greenhouse gases and Water cycle (GOSAT-GW), the third in the GOSAT series, and has already initiated development activities. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033001

Controllers at ESA’s mission control centre are preparing for a gravity-assist flyby of the European-Japanese Mercury explorer BepiColombo. The manoeuvre, which will see the mission adjust its trajectory by harnessing Earth’s gravitational pull as it swings past the planet, will be performed amid restrictions ESA has implemented in response to the coronavirus pandemic. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033002

In response to the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, ESA’s Directorate of Navigation has shifted to teleworking while also ensuring the continuity of essential tasks, in particular the continued delivery of positioning, navigation, and timing services of the European satellite navigation system Galileo and the augmentation system EGNOS. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033003

Cobham Aerospace Connectivity announced that it has been awarded a contract by the UK MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) to research Advanced Anti-Jam techniques for the protection of navigation signals received from the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033004

OneWeb Satellites said it is still operating with no plans to file for bankruptcy. However, the OneWeb/Airbus joint venture is reducing workforce at its Florida factory effective immediately, citing concerns about the coronavirus situation. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020033005

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite for the U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center. AEHF-6 successfully separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket approximately five hours and 45 minutes after launch and is responding to commands from…

OneWeb announced that the company and certain of its controlled affiliates have voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The company intends to use these proceedings to pursue a sale of its business in order to maximise the value…