June 2020

Xplore Inc., a commercial space exploration company providing Space as a Service, announced they have been awarded a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study for a solar observatory at the Earth-Sun L1 Lagrange point to monitor the Sun and provide early detection of solar events that can disrupt power grids and telecommunications on…

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced that it will acquire CPI ASC Signal Division (ASC) from Communications & Power Industries LLC (CPI) for US$35 million in cash. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061704

China on 15 June indefinitely postponed the launch of the final satellite of its Beidou navigation network because of technical problems in the rocket meant to launch it into orbit. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061600

Intelsat has contracted for new satellites with U.S. manufacturers, a necessary step to meet the accelerated C-band spectrum clearing timelines established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) earlier this year. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061601

SES has selected two U.S. satellite manufacturers, Northrop Grumman and the Boeing Company, to deliver four new satellites as part of the company’s accelerated C-band clearing plan to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s objectives to roll-out 5G services. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061602

The Spanish high-resolution land imaging mission, known as SEOSAT-Ingenio, is currently at the premises of Airbus in Madrid, Spain and is ready to be packed and shipped to Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana – following the mission’s latest successful tests and final technical review. This is another significant milestone in preparing the Earth observation satellite’s…

Airbus Defence and Space has won the next phase of the study contract (Advanced B2) from the European Space Agency (ESA) for the advanced Sample Fetch Rover which will be used to collect samples from the surface of Mars. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061604

The Rokot-M upgraded rocket with the Russian control system may blast off for the first time in 2022, according to Alexei Varochko, CEO of Khrunichev Space Center. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061500

Rocket Lab, has announced its next Electron mission is scheduled to launch just three weeks after its most recent mission in a demonstration of the company’s rapid launch capability. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061501

Exolaunch announced a Launch Services Agreement with Loft Orbital, a San Francisco-based company, to deliver Loft Orbital’s YAM microsatellite into Sun-synchronous orbit on Falcon 9. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020061502