News on key developments at SupremeSAT, and general news on the Space and Satellite industry from across the web
The construction of a launch pad for the Angara rocket is underway at the Vostochny spaceport in the Russian Far East, according to Khrunichev Space Center. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018082100
Stratolaunch announced its new family of launch vehicles will enter regular service starting in 2020. The company’s air-launch system will use the world’s largest aircraft as a mobile launch platform, capable of deploying launch vehicles that will carry satellites to multiple orbits and inclinations on a single mission. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018082101
NASA’s InSight spacecraft, en route to a 26 November landing on Mars, passed the halfway mark on 6 August. All of its instruments have been tested and are working well. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018082102
The lift-off of Arianespace’s Flight VV12 with Europe’s Aeolus satellite has been delayed by 24 hours due to winds at altitude over the Spaceport in French Guiana. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018082000
ISS-Reshetnev Company has won a contract to build two new telecommunications satellites, Ekspress-AMU3 and Ekspress-AMU7. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081900
Engineers have successfully tested the propulsion system of China’s planned space station lab capsules, a key step in its space station programme. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081901
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had detained a deputy head of RSC Energia on fraud charges. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081902
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has signed an agreement with Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the launch into a 580-km Sun-synchronous orbit of NovaSAR-1, a small Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite, and SSTL S1-4, a high resolution Earth observation satellite. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081600
Lockheed Martin won a US$3 billion contract to build three space vehicles to operate in geosynchronous Earth orbits (GEO), the U.S. Defense Department said in a press release. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081601
SSL announced that it was selected to help define next generation protected communications for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2018081602