October 2014

The Orb-2 Antares launch under the $1.9 billion CRS contract Orbital Science has with NASA. Photo: Orbital Sciences [Via Satellite 10-17-2016] Orbital Sciences has committed to a new engine for the Antares launch vehicle that it expects will suite both NASA and non-NASA customers. The company did not disclose the engine, nor its manufacturer, but…

Arianespace’s Arian 5 carrying Intelsat 30 with DirecTV’s DL1 A payload and ARsat . Photo: Arianespace [Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Arianespace conducted the 62nd successful Ariane 5 launch on the night of Oct. 16, carrying the Intelsat 30 satellite with DirecTV’s DL1 A payload and the Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anonima’s (ARSAT’s) ARsat 1.…

MetOp Second Generation graphic. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 10-17-2014] The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus Defence and Space to design and build six second-generation Meteorological Operational (MetOP-SG) satellites in a $1.65 billion contract. The constellation is split into two series with three satellites each. The first of the six is planned to launch…

In a cleanroom at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Center, engineers Neil Tomosada and Sean McCully inspect the sensor head for the Geostationary Lightning Mapper. Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Lockheed Martin has transferred the first Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) instrument to its Denver Colo. facility for integration into the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite R…

Artist’s rendition of a Cosmo Skymed satellite. Photo: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI ) [Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Thales Alenia Space will create a Common Interoperability Layer (CIL) between France’s Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO) military system and Italy’s civil/military Second-Generation Cosmo-SkyMed (CSG) satellite constellations. The agreement ensures interoperability between user ground systems for CSO and CSG Systems…

Ongoing construction at the Vostochny Cosmodrome. Photo: Spetsstroy Russia [Via Satellite 10-17-2014] Oleg Ostapenko, the head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, recently visited the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region of Russia. During his visit he evaluated progress on the future spaceport’s technical complexes for rockets, the substation power supply system, and the industrial…

From left to right: Moderator Kay Sears, President, Intelsat General, and panelists Lt. Col. Mark Brykowytch, U.S. Air Force Space & Missile Systems Center; Bryan McGuirk, COO, ViviSat; Janet Nickloy, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development for National Programs, Harris Corporation, and Chair, Hosted Payload Alliance; Col. Alan F. Rebholz, Chief, Space Operations Division,…

The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) will fly three Defense Department experimental hosted payloads when it launches in 2016. Photo: Ball Aerospace [Via Satellite 10-16-2014] The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM), a collaborative demonstration project between NASA, the U.S. Air Force, Ball Aerospace and Aerojet Rocketdyne, will now carry three military hosted payloads. The Department of…

Hispasat’s control center. Photo: Hispasat [Via Satellite 10-16-2014] OUTtv has selected Spanish satellite operator Hispasat to expand its broadcast range throughout Europe. The channel is currently present in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden, however demand from television operators in Central and Eastern Europe prompted the need for new delivery methods. OUTtv has since reached broadcast…

Artist concept of the Bloostar launcher. Photo: Zero2infinity [Via Satellite 10-16-2014] Spain-based Zero2infiniti has unveiled a hybrid balloon-rocket launch system intended to serve the small satellite market and has signed customers totaling more than $200 million in sales, according to the company. Dubbed Bloostar, the “rockoon” uses balloons in lieu of a first stage, not…