September 2015

Jeff Bezos revealing Blue Origin’s new reusable orbital launch vehicle. Photo: NASA Screenshot [Via Satellite 09-15-2015] Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, announced today that the company plans to build and launch reusable orbital rockets from Cape Canaveral, Fla.’s Complex 36 launch site. Bezos said Blue Origin will also build a production facility to manufacture…

A Proton rocket delivers RSCC’s Express AM8 into orbit. Photo: Roscosmos [Via Satellite 09-15-2015] Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC)’s latest satellite Express AM8 launched Sept. 14 aboard a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The company currently has control of the satellite and scheduled operations are under way to deploy onboard equipment. Express АМ8 will…

LauncherOne in space. Photo: Virgin Galactic [Via Satellite 09-15-2015] Virgin Galactic has nearly doubled the amount of payload its LauncherOne can deliver to Low Earth Orbit. The company is offering missions with the air-launched vehicle to lift 200 kg to a standard Sun-synchronous orbit, for less than $10 million, and to lower LEO orbits. The…

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly posted this photo of an aurora taken from the International Space Station (ISS) to Twitter on August 15, 2015 with the caption, “Another pass through #Aurora. The sun is very active today, apparently. #YearInSpace”. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 09-15-2015] The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is launching the world’s…

[Via Satellite 09-15-2015] General Dynamics Satcom Technologies has received a contract from Pascom, a satellite communications integrator in Chile, for an advanced Earth station antenna reflector and communications signal feed design that both transmits and receives Ku- and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS)-band communications simultaneously. The Earth station comprises a 9 meter antenna and a six-port feed.…

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, satellite tracking station. Photo: U.S. Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo [Via Satellite 09-14-2015] The U.S. military is preparing to shift away from having multiple independent ground systems in favor of one unified system for its satellite networks. This effort, known as the Enterprise Ground System (EGS), aims to modernize…

A Proton rocket on its way to set up for launch. Photo: Khrunichev. [Via Satellite 09-14-2015] International Launch Services (ILS) has appointed Kirk Pysher, formerly VP of mission assurance and product development, as president of the company. He takes over leadership from Phil Slack who served as president of ILS since 2012. Pysher was appointed…

Carlos Espinos, CEO of Hispasat. Photo: Hispasat [Via Satellite 09-14-2015] Spanish satellite operator Hispasat has reached launch agreements with International Launch Services (ILS) and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to launch its Hispasat 1F and Amazonas 5 satellites. ILS will conduct a launch with the Proton rocket, and SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 vehicle. Which…

Spot beams covering Africa. Photo: Fibersat. [Via Satellite 09-14-2015] Burgeoning satellite operator Fibersat has signed a framework agreement with Arabsat for the acquisition of a high throughput Ka-band hosted payload on an upcoming satellite. The payload, known has Fibersat 1, will provide High Throughput Satellite (HTS) capacity for markets in Africa starting in 2018. At…

Artist’s rendition of Arabsat 6A and Hellas-Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat 1. Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 09-14-2015] Lockheed Martin is introducing payload technology on Hellas-Sat 4/SaudiGeoSat 1 to enable flexible bandwidth and frequency management for secure communications. That same technology can be used to dynamically reprogram satellites in-orbit and rapidly adjust communications networks. Satellites outfitted with this…