Tag: Solar Panels
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Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft for Varda Successfully Deployed to Orbit
Rocket Lab USA, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced its third Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries is successfully operating on orbit. The W-3 mission launched March 14, from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:43 p.m. PDT (06:43 a.m. UTC). The new mission is underway on orbit just 15 days after…
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Airbus Awards Rocket Lab Contract to Power OneWeb Constellation for Eutelsat
Rocket Lab, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced its selection by Airbus Constellation Satellites to provide high-efficiency, space-grade solar panels for 100 OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites for Eutelsat Group. OneWeb satellites are designed to provide high-speed, low-latency global Internet access to remote and underserved areas. Rocket Lab will provide…
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NanoAvionics Achieves Successful Signal Acquisition for Two Satellites Launches on SpaceX Transporter-12
Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics), a global company in small satellite manufacturing and mission services, has announced the successful signal acquisition of two groundbreaking satellites launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission. Developed for Constellr and Absolut Sensing, the satellites took flight on January 14th, 2025, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carried by the SpaceX Falcon 9…
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Redwire Delivers Fourth Set of Roll-Out Solar Arrays to Power the International Space Station
Redwire Corporation, a company in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, announced the successful delivery of the fourth pair of Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) wings for the International Space Station (ISS), also known as the IROSA program. The wings were developed and delivered through a follow-on contract with Boeing, NASA’s prime contractor for…
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Trending Satellite Batteries in 2024
Satellite Batteries are critical components in satellite systems, designed to store and supply reliable energy for operations during eclipse periods and peak power demands. These advanced energy storage systems ensure uninterrupted functionality of onboard instruments, communication systems, and propulsion units by complementing the satellite’s primary power source, typically solar panels. Engineered to withstand the harsh…
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ONERA, ThrustMe, and Airbus Launch IPISC Project to Explore Iodine Propulsion for Large Satellites
ONERA, ThrustMe, and Airbus Defence and Space have initiated the IPISC project (Iodine Propulsion Interaction with Satellites and Components), supported by ESA and CNES. This project aims to evaluate iodine’s potential as a new propellant for satellites weighing over 500 kg, focusing on the interaction between iodine propulsion systems and a range of satellite materials…
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ESA Launches RISE Mission to Pioneer In-Orbit Servicing and Sustainability in Space
ESA has taken another important step on the road towards sustainability in space with its first in-orbit servicing mission RISE. A €119 million contract was signed with D-Orbit as the co-funding prime contractor. RISE is a commercial in-orbit servicing mission that will demonstrate that it can safely rendezvous and dock to a geostationary client satellite.…
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Frontgrade’s HiRel Solar Array Drive Assembly Offers LEO to GEO Mission Requirements
Frontgrade Technologies, a provider company of mission critical electronics and electro-mechanical devices for aerospace and defense, is providing the SADA-150, a solar array drive assembly whose reliability and durability are ideally suited for the most stringent mission requirements, from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Equatorial Orbit (GEO) applications. Frontgrade’s SADA-150 technology is designed to…
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NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Equips Its Solar Arrays After Testing
NASA‘s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft sits in a clean room in August 2024 after undergoing environmental testing at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. Now that those tests are done, the orbiter and its science instruments will go through flight system software tests that simulate key aspects of launch, maneuvers, and the science mission while in…
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NASA’s Europa Clipper Receives Record-Breaking Solar Arrays for Mission to Jupiter’s Moon
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft recently got outfitted with a set of enormous solar arrays at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for planetary exploration receives massive solar arrays to power it on the journey to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Each measuring about 46½ feet (14.2 meters) long…