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SpaceDev, Inc. (OTCBB: SPDV) has signed a multi-year contract with Scaled Composites to assist that firm in the development of a production rocket motor for the first commercial space vehicle designed for space tourism called SpaceShipTwo. The vehicle is being designed by Scaled for Virgin Galactic and is part of a complete space system that also includes the recently unveiled WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.
Read MoreWith all of the necessary components for the launch of the RapidEye satellite constellation currently waiting in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, all appears to be set for the August launch for the German company RapidEye AG. All five earth observation satellites will be sent into orbit on a DNEPR-1 launch vehicle, released into a shared orbit at 630 km and will circle the globe 15 times daily.
Read MoreGeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) has announced the Air Force 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base has now approved the September 4th launch date for GeoEye-1 clearing the way to complete final preparations for launch. The previously reported retest of a booster range safety antenna was successfully completed on Aug. 14th.
Read MoreA successful launch has placed the Superbird-7 and AMC-21 telecommunications satellites into accurate geostationary transfer orbits. This was the 9th mission performed by Ariane 5s in a 12-month period, during which the workhorse vehicles carried 16 civilian and military telecommunications satellites along with the first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) for the International Space Station. The combined total payload weight equals 75,430 kg. Thursday's flight also marked the Ariane 5's 27th consecutive successful launch, and was the fifth of seven missions planned by Arianespace in 2008.
Read MoreBall Aerospace & Technologies Corp.’s Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Protoflight Model (PFM) that will fly aboard the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) has entered final integration and acceptance testing. The Company expects to complete integration and testing in August and deliver the OMPS PFM for spacecraft integration no later than September 30th.
Read MoreThe launch date for the Inmarsat-4 F3 communications satellite has now been reset by International Launch Services (ILS) to August 19th from launch pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (August 18th GMT) at 04:43, local time. Set to lift off aboard a Proton M/Breeze M launch vehicle, this satellite is based on the Eurostar 3000GM bus.
Read MoreOrbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) is helping to support its customer, MEASAT Satellite Systems (MSE: MEASAT) in replanning the MEASAT-3a satellite mission following an accident that occurred over the past weekend that damaged the spacecraft, the company stated today. While at the Baikonour, Kazakhstan launch site, an overhead crane operated by MEASAT’s launch service provider accidentally impacted the satellite.
Read MoreOn July 30, in Tel Aviv, a contract was signed between the JSC “Academician M.F. Reshetnev” Information Satellite Systems” and Israeli-based Space Communication Ltd. The deal finds the former set to build the geostationary satellite system AMOS-5, based on the Express-1000H platform.
Read MorePre-launch preparations are now underway for the Japanese Superbird-7 satellite. Built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation using their DS2000 bus, the satellite packs Ku-band capabilities and will occupy the orbital slot at 144? E. The satellite has now completed the fueling process. Superbird-7 will have a companion onboard the heavy lift Ariane 5 ECA launch vehicle, that being SES AMERICOM's AMC-21 satellite.
Read MoreWe reported yesterday about the delay in launching the MEASAT 3a satellite, but at that time didn't have all of the details. Since then we've learned that Orbital Sciences Corporation [NYSE: ORB] is supporting its customer, MEASAT Satellite Systems [MSE: MEASAT] in replanning the MEASAT 3a satellite mission following an accident that occurred over the weekend resulting in a damaged spacecraft.
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