Tag: Telecom
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Investigators conclude external forces killed an Intelsat satellite in April
Artist’s concept of the Intelsat 29e satellite with antennas and solar panels unfurled. Credit: Intelsat Investigators probing the sudden failure of the Boeing-built Intelsat 29e geostationary relay station in April have concluded an electrostatic discharge, aggravated by a harness flaw on the spacecraft, or a micrometeoroid strike prematurely ended the satellite’s mission, resulting in a…
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Newly-launched Russian telecom satellite relying on backup thrusters
The Yamal 601 communications satellite during final assembly and testing at Thales Alenia Space’s facility in Cannes, France. Credit: Thales Alenia Space A French-built communications satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems launched May 30 is maneuvering toward its final operating location in geostationary orbit using a set of backup thrusters after the spacecraft encountered a…
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China launches tracking and data relay satellite
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket delivered a new-generation tracking and data relay satellite to orbit Sunday to provide communications support for the country’s future human spaceflight missions and space station. Boosted by four strap-on engines, the three-stage Long March 3B launcher lifted off at 1551 GMT (11:51 a.m. EDT) Sunday from the Xichang…
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Telesat taps Blue Origin to launch broadband satellite fleet
Artist’s illustration of the New Glenn rocket in flight. Credit: Blue Origin Telesat has selected Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to “play a key role” in delivering potentially hundreds of broadband communications satellites into low Earth orbit under a multi-launch agreement announced last week, as Telesat officials prepare to select between two industrial teams to…
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Telesat taps Blue Origin to launch broadband satellite fleet
Artist’s illustration of the New Glenn rocket in flight. Credit: Blue Origin Telesat has selected Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to “play a key role” in delivering potentially hundreds of broadband communications satellites into low Earth orbit under a multi-launch agreement announced last week, as Telesat officials prepare to select between two industrial teams to…
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China begins 2019 launch campaign with a success
A Long March 3B rocket lifted off Thursday from the Xichang space center carrying the Zhongxing 2D, or Chinasat 2D, communications satellite. Credit: Xinhua A Chinese communications satellite heading for geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator lifted off Thursday from the Xichang space base in southwestern China aboard a Long March 3B…
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China debuts new upper stage in final launch of the year
A Long March 2D rocket lifts off Saturday from the Jiuquan space base in northwestern China’s Inner Mongolia region. Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. A Chinese Long March 2D booster climbed into orbit from the Jiuquan space base in the northwest of the country Saturday, delivering seven small satellites to space on communications…
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Viasat confirms SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy will launch next-gen broadband satellite
SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off Feb. 6 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now Viasat announced Thursday that a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will launch a next-generation broadband satellite from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center some time between 2020 and 2022, joining Arianespace and…
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Photos: Atlas 5 rocket transferred to launch pad in Florida
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with rollout photos. The Atlas 5 rocket set for launch with the U.S. Air Force’s fourth AEHF communications satellite. Credit: United Launch Alliance A day-and-a-half before its liftoff with a U.S. Air Force communications satellite, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket rolled out to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral on…
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Viasat selects Atlas 5 rocket for broadband satellite launch
File photo of an Atlas 5 rocket launch in 2012, using five strap-on solid rocket boosters. Credit: United Launch Alliance A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket will send one of Viasat’s next-generation broadband satellites toward geostationary orbit from Cape Canaveral some time between 2020 and 2022, the companies announced Monday. The commercial satellite is…