News on key developments at SupremeSAT, and general news on the Space and Satellite industry from across the web
ATLAS Space Operations has been selected by NASA for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II award to further the development of an algorithmic solution to develop satellite ground station contact schedules designed to optimise ground station antenna usage around a customer’s mission requirements. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080405
Virgin Orbit announced that its LauncherOne rocket will carry 11 small satellites onboard the company’s upcoming Launch Demo 2 mission, as part of NASA’s CubeSat Initiative (CSLI). The mission is currently planned to occur before the end of the year, with Virgin Orbit’s carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl taking off from Mojave Air and Space Port…
L3Harris Technologies is on track to begin building the U.S. Air Force’s first Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) after completing the programme’s critical design review. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080301
Field calibration test of two ocean observation satellites has been completed in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, sources with the Ministry of Natural Resources said. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080302
The final countdown for Flight Ariane #253 (VA253) was halted at 2’14" before lift-off during a first launch attempt on 31 July due to the unexpected behaviour of a sensor inside the liquid hydrogen tank in the launcher’s main cryogenic stage. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080200
Rocket Lab announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resume launches this month after identifying an anomalous electrical connection as the cause of an in-flight failure on 4 July 2020. With corrective measures underway, the next Electron launch has been scheduled for August from Launch Complex 1. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080201
Two NASA astronauts splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday for the first time in a commercially built and operated U.S. crew spacecraft, returning from the International Space Station to complete a test flight. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080202
China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 successfully carried out its first orbital correction Sunday morning, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080203
HawkEye 360 announced that their second cluster of satellites, HawkEye Cluster 2, has recently completed environmental testing, keeping our satellites on schedule for launch later this year with the Spaceflight rideshare mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080204
Eutelsat Communications reported financial results for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2020. http://www.sat-nd.com/archive/?id=2020080205