Virgin Galactic's Sir Richard Branson announced a new approach to getting satellites into low-earth orbit at the Farnborough Air Show with its LauncherOne project.
LONDON — Aerojet is forming a European subsidiary that will use indigenous manufacturing and engineering talent to produce in-space thrusters and propulsion systems, the Sacramento, Calif.-based company announced July 9. The new entity, European Space Propulsion, will be based in Northern Ireland. Work is to be conducted jointly with Thales Air Defense Ltd. of Belfast, a division of Thales UK, which will provide manufacturing assembly and test capabilities. Aerojet will furnish engineering-support services through its Redmond, Wash., operations.
ON ORBIT: Controllers in Luxembourg are checking out the SES-5 communications satellite after its successful deployment in a geostationary transfer orbit following a 9-hr., 12-min. Proton mission that started with liftoff at Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2:38 p.m. EDT July 9. Built by Space Systems/Loral, the 6-metric-ton spacecraft carries an L-band hosted payload for the European Commission that will aid in the verification, improvement and monitoring of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (Egnos) positioning signals.
FARNBOROUGH — Armenia is planning to order a commercial communications satellite from Russia under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed July 9 during the Farnborough air show. Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said the satellite — Armenia’s first — is expected to carry 15 transponders, though details of the satellite’s development and launch are still being negotiated. Popovkin expects a contract to be signed by year-end.
FARNBOROUGH — With politicians in the U.S. clamoring for a “hedge” against future missile threats, and budget cuts anticipated on both sides of the Atlantic, Raytheon is pitching a “smart defense” approach.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JULY 9 - 10 — Military airlift Asia-Pacific, “The perfect opportunity to discuss current airlifting capabilities and operations that are happening across Asia-Pacific,” Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore. For more information go to www.www.militaryairliftasiapac.com <http://www.militaryairliftasiapac.com
POOLING SATCOM: The European Defense Agency (EDA) achieved an initial operational capability milestone in the area of satellite communication through a new “pooling and sharing” procurement strategy, the organization announced July 4. EDA’s ad hoc project calls for Italy, France, Poland, Romania and the U.K. to share modest amounts of satellite bandwidth as part of a pilot initiative that aims to save money through a common procurement scheme at the European Union level.
The third in a series of advanced European weather satellites and the U.S. EchoStar 17 telecommunications satellite soared into an elliptical transfer orbit July 5
NEW DELHI — India is preparing to install a shield to protect against intermediate-range ballistic missiles and ICBMs in some of the country’s major cities. “The final locations, which have adequate stealth features and protection against enemy sabotage, will soon be determined by the government to install the ballistic missile defense [BMD] system,” a defense ministry official says. A detailed proposal is currently being prepared for approval by the Indian government.
Pedro L. “Pete” Rustan, who made a daring escape from Fidel Castro's Cuba as a young man and went on to design U.S. reconnaissance satellites, send a spacecraft to the Moon and develop technology used in the mission to kill Osama bin Laden, died of cancer on June 28 at home in Woodbridge, Va., near Washington. He was 65.
As aerospace and defense suppliers head to this year's Farnborough air show, two of their biggest customers present a stark picture of an industry going in two directions. Boeing Commercial Airplanes is hoping to roll out big orders for its reengined 737 MAX narrowbody jet at the show, further proof of airlines' seemingly insatiable appetite for more efficient aircraft.
With several members facing debt crises at home, the European Space Agency (ESA) is paring Earth-observation spending plans ahead of a key budget meeting in November. The initial five-year, €1.9 billion ($2.4 billion) proposal for ESA's fourth Earth Observation Envelope Program (EOEP) will instead involve €1.6 billion over four years, says Volker Liebig, ESA director of Earth-observation programs.
As U.S. weather satellite programs struggle with delays and spending problems, a House Science subcommittee has been looking for help — in the form of contingency plans — in filling potential gaps in weather and climate data.
VINASAT-2: The Vinasat-2 communications satellite has been checked out in orbit and is ready for service, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Based on Lockheed’s A2100 bus, the satellite sports 24 Ku-band channels and will provide fixed satellite services to Vietnam and neighboring countries from 131.8 deg. E. Long. Built to last 15 years, Vinasat-2 will be operated by the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT).
ORION ARRIVAL: The first Orion spacecraft destined to fly in space is being checked out at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., following its delivery to KSC’s Operations and Checkout Building last week. The capsule was shipped after undergoing final friction stir welding at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Orion is now being prepared for Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) in 2014, in which the uncrewed capsule will be launched on a Delta IV rocket.
Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce sees ISR data from unmanned aircraft as a significant driver of demand for the company’s upcoming Global Xpress Ka-band satellite service.
PARIS — European Space Agency (ESA) officials can rest assured that France has no intention of nixing its contribution to the Earth Observation Envelope Program (EOEP) when representatives of member-governments meet in November to determine budgets for the agency’s biggest projects.
