News on key developments at SupremeSAT, and general news on the Space and Satellite industry from across the web
Rocket: Falcon 9; Payload: 58 Starlink satellites, 3 SkySat satellites; Date: 18 August 2020, 1431 UTC; Launch site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Planet’s SkySats deployed sequentially beginning about 12 and a half minutes after lift-off, and the Starlink satellites deployed approximately 46 minutes after lift-off. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081800
Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) signed a contract with Airbus Defense and Space to manufacture Badr-8 satellite, which is the first of its seventh generation satellites, expected to be launched at the beginning of 2023. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081801
In partnership with NASA, Ball Aerospace is demonstrating the operational Landsat programme’s next generation technology, having successfully completed the final airborne science flights of two NASA Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) instruments – the Reduced Envelope Multispectral Imager – Airborne (REMI-AB) and the Compact Hyperspectral Prism Spectrometer – Airborne (CHPS-AB). http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081802
The launch of India’s unmanned space mission under the first leg of Gaganyaan, planned for December 2020, is likely to be delayed, sources said according to PTI news agency. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081700
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) conducted its first ground test of an extended length 1.6-m diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) in Promontory, Utah. This variation of the company’s GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur vehicle. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081600
The launch of Russia’s next-generation GLONASS-K navigation satellite, which has been postponed several times since March, is now planned for mid-October. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081601
Exolaunch, a Berlin-based rideshare launch and deployment solutions provider, signed a wide-ranging MOU with Germany-based launch service provider, Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA), to provide end-to-end launch services for small satellites, with Exolaunch procuring launch capacities from RFA. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081602
Planet is set to launch three more new SkySats (SkySats 19-21) into Low Earth Orbit on 18 August (date subject to change), rounding out the fleet of SkySats already in operations and joining SkySats 16-18 that successfully launched aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 in June. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081603
Kleos Space reports that as part of the expansion of its constellation a contract has been signed with rideshare provider Spaceflight Inc to manifest a cluster of Kleos satellites on the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, scheduled for mid-2021. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081604
Following the European Commission’s decision to accelerate development of Galileo Next Generation, ESA has asked European satellite manufacturers to submit bids for the first batch of the Galileo Second Generation (G2) satellites. The new spacecraft are expected to be launched in about four years. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081605