August 2020

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: Galaxy-30, MEV-2, BSAT-4b; Date: 15 August 2020, 2204 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket successfully placed three spacecraft in geostationary transfer orbit: the B-SAT-4b satellite for the Japanese operator B-SAT, the Galaxy 30 satellite for the global operator Intelsat, and MEV-2 (Mission Extension Vehicle) for Space Logistics LLC,…

The Ariane 5 with its three satellite payloads for Flight VA253 was transferred to the Guiana Space Center’s ELA-3 launch zone. However, due to currently unfavourable wind conditions at altitude above the Guiana Space Center, Arianespace has decided not to initiate the final phase of launch preparation operations. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081300

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft performed its final practice run of the sample return mission’s touch-and-go landing on asteroid Bennu later this year. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081301

Arianespace Flight VA253 – which will utilise an increased-lift Ariane 5 version – is a "go" for launch on 14 August following an additional Launch Readiness Review (LRR) performed in French Guiana. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081200

On 4 July, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) finished its primary mission, imaging about 75% of the starry sky as part of a two-year-long survey. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081201

KSAT has signed a contract for ground station support of HYPSO-1, a Smallsat mission from the Norwegian university of science and technology (NTNU), aiming to detect toxic algae blooms. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081202

NASA has selected Southwest Research Institute to take part in the US$6 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV contract. SwRI will be listed in the NASA spacecraft catalogue used by the U.S. government to easily contract for proven spacecraft. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081100

Intelsat announced it has been selected to continue distributing content for ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and across the Asia Pacific region. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081101

Exolaunch, a Berlin-based rideshare launch and deployment solutions provider, signed a launch agreement with Swarm Technologies to launch 24 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission. Under the contract, Exolaunch will provide launch, integration and deployment services to the Swarm satellites. The spacecraft will be launched to a Sun-synchronous orbit on the Falcon 9…

The United States Space Force (USSF) and the Space and the Missile Systems Center achieved a Global Positioning System (GPS) milestone on 27 July when the GPS III Space Vehicle (SV) 03 received USSF’s Operational Acceptance approval. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020081001