SatNews

Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983

Missions & Constellations

ISRO To Grab GPS Goodies

August 29, 2007 / Navigation & PNT

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is reported to be developing an India-specific navigation system along the lines of the Global Positioning System (GPS) at an investment of about Rs 1,600 crore, according to The Economic Times (Indiatimes) online news site. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), comprising seven satellites, should be ready in 2011-12 according to a statement made by the ISRO Chairman, G Madhavan Nair, on September 27th.

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DAWN Is On Its Way

August 27, 2007 / Exploration & Science Missions

NASA's Dawn spacecraft initiated its 3 billion kilometer (1.7 billion mile) journey through the inner solar system on Thursday at 7:34 a.m. Eastern Time (4:34 a.m. Pacific Time). The mission is to study a pair of asteroids. The Delta 2 rocket, fitted with nine strap-on solid-fuel boosters, safely climbed away from the Florida coastline and launch complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

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YES2 Is Now A NO NO

August 27, 2007 / Spacecraft & Payload Technology

As we reported yesterday, in spite of the fact the Young Engineers’ Satellite (YES2) was able to detach the Fotino capsule from the Foton 3M research satellite. The tether began to unwind, but only 8.5 kilometers of the strong, man-made fiber was deployed of the total 30 km length.

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Yes On YES2… It Worked!

August 26, 2007 / Spacecraft & Payload Technology

One of the projects closely watched by SatNews is the Second Young Engineers’ Satellite (YES2). Aboard a Foton-M3 orbital mission that launched via Soyuz rocket on September 14th from Baikonur, the satellite separated from the spacecraft on September 25th. The tether then deployed for 8.5 km due to a preprogrammed command cutting Fotino loose from the spacecraft itself.

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Successful Subject Safety Or Critter Crunch With Foton-M?

August 26, 2007 / Exploration & Science Missions

From the Russian News & Information Agency (RIA Novosti) comes a report that the Foton-M bio-satellite’s re-entry module, launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan on September 14, has landed successfully approximately 105 miles away from Kostanai in northern Kazakhstan. All of the scheduled experiments were successfully carried out, according to Nikolai Sokolov, the flight director of the 12-day mission.

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Galileo SatNav Funding Draws Cold EU Block Shoulders

August 26, 2007 / Funding & Venture Capital

You may recall reading about the funding troubles plaguing the European Union’s (EU) Galileo satellite in previous issues of SatNews… processes for an implementation to pay for this positioning system space vehicle continue to have trouble. A week after the EU proposed to pay for the satellite using the bloc’s joint budget to come with the needed 2.4 billion euros.

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Support Is A Worldwide Enhancement For Spirent + SDS Sims

August 25, 2007 / Navigation & PNT

Spirent Communications has made improvements to customer support capabilities across the world. In Asia, Spirent has added dedicated support facility for its Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) test systems, based out of the existing Spirent offices in Beijing, P. R. China. This new facility enhances Spirent’s existing support offices in USA and Europe.

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GOES To Lockheed Martin

August 25, 2007 / Spacecraft & Payload Technology

In December of 2014, the first launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R Series is expected to occur. One of the critical components aboard will be the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has been awarded a $178 million contract by NASA to design and build this component.

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Load Launch Nears For Arianespace

August 22, 2007 / Mission Deployments & Manifests

The Ariane 5 GS launcher for Arianespace's fourth flight of 2007 completed its build-up last Thursday, the 20th of September, with the installation of Intelsat 11 as its upper payload. During activity inside the Final Assembly Building at Europe's Spaceport, the upper payload "stack" was placed atop its Ariane 5.

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