Bill Gattle, president of space systems at L3Harris Technologies, said the Space Development Agency’s procurement of communications and missile warning satellites in mass quantities reflects a “fundamental transformation” in how the Department of Defense buys space platforms, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.
Read More »Northrop-Built Galaxy 30 Comms Satellite, Mission Extension Vehicle Arrive at Launch Site
Northrop Grumman has shipped the first communications satellite in Intelsat's Galaxy fleet replacement program and a second mission extension vehicle to French Guiana in preparation for a launch mission scheduled to take place later this month.
Read More »Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch on Inmarsat’s Global Xpress 5 Satellite
Inmarsat is seeking to meet increased U.S. military and commercial demand for more bandwidth in the Middle East and Europe with its Global Xpress 5 communications satellite, C4ISRNET reported Thursday. “GX5, adding to that mix, looks at an area where we’ve got increased and significant demand. It is a very, very dense environment for commercial as well as military," said Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president of government strategy and policy at Inmarsat Government.
Read More »ULA to Carry Air Force Cubesat Rideshare Payload on AEHF-5 Mission
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket will carry a cube satellite for the U.S. Air Force along with the service’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite as a rideshare payload, Space News reported Monday.
Read More »SpaceX Puts Falcon Heavy Center Core Stage Through Static Fire Test
SpaceX conducted a static fire test of the Falcon Heavy rocket’s center core booster at the company’s McGregor, Texas-based facility to prepare for a launch mission that will bring 23 satellites to orbit in June, Space.com reported Monday.
Read More »ULA Delivers AEHF-5 Satellite Rocket Hardware to Cape Canaveral Launch Site
United Launch Alliance delivered rocket hardware that will launch the fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in June, Spaceflight Now reported Friday.
Read More »Matt Desch: Iridium’s Satellite Launches Benefit From SpaceX’s Transport System
Iridium Communications CEO Matt Desch has said the company “synergistic” relationship with SpaceX and the latter’s launch vehicle helped bring the seven batches of communications satellites into space, The Hill reported Friday. “I don’t think we would have been able to get these 75 new satellites into space over the last two years …
Read More »Lockheed-Built AEHF-4 Comms Satellite Launches Aboard ULA Rocket; Tory Bruno Quoted
Lockheed Martin received in-orbit signals from the U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency spacecraft just hours after the communications satellite launched Wednesday atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V 551 rocket. AEHF-4 that took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida completes a geostationary satellite constellation that will deliver …
Read More »Lockheed Completes AEHF-4 Comms Satellite Encapsulation; Mike Cacheiro Quoted
Lockheed Martin has enclosed the U.S. Air Force’s fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite in a payload fairing in preparation for its Oct. 17 launch atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket. Mike Cacheiro, vice president of protected communications at Lockheed, said in a statement published Monday AEHF-4 will complete a constellation of …
Read More »SSL-Built Satellite for Indonesian Telecom Begins Post-Launch Maneuvers
A communications satellite SSL built for telecommunications firm PT Telkom Indonesia has started conducting post-launch maneuvers a day after its liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Merah Putih released the satellite’s solar arrays and would fire its primary thruster to reach final orbit, SSL parent company Maxar Technologies said Tuesday. The system is designed …
Read More »SSL-Built Telesat Comms Satellite Begins Post-Launch Activity
A communications satellite that Maxar Technologies‘ SSL business produced for Telesat has started to conduct post-launch operations. The Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite deployed its solar arrays on time after launching aboard a SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida early Sunday morning, Maxar said Tuesday. On early Tuesday, the …
Read More »General Dynamics to Help Navy Update Satellite Simulator; Manny Mora Comments
General Dynamics’ mission systems business has secured a contract from the U.S. Navy to update and maintain a satellite simulator at the Naval Postgraduate School. The simulator at the school’s Spacecraft Research and Design Center/Adaptive Optics Center of Excellence is a model of a communications satellite, Navy Fleet Satellite, and works …
Read More »SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Launches SES-12 Satellite Aboard Pre-Flown Rocket
A communications satellite of Luxembourg-based SES took off Monday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX said Monday the rocket’s first stage used to launch the SES-12 satellite was initially deployed in September 2017 to support the Orbital Test Vehicle 5 mission. The satellite is …
Read More »SpaceX’s Falcon 9 ‘Block 5’ Rocket Model Sends Comms Satellite Into Orbit
An updated configuration of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Friday from a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to bring into orbit Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite, Spaceflight Now reported Friday. The first-stage booster of the rocket’s Block 5 version landed on SpaceX’s drone ship approximately 400 miles …
Read More »SpaceX Targets May 4 Launch for Falcon 9 ‘Block 5’ Rocket Configuration
SpaceX plans to launch on May 4 its updated Falcon 9 rocket from a launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to bring into orbit a Thales Alenia Space-built communications satellite for Bangladesh, Spaceflight Now reported Tuesday. The rocket’s Block 5 configuration will take off to send into …
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