Satellite Launch Business

Thailand’s mu Space has announced that it has secured an orbital slot and spectrum for its proposed communications satellite, planned for launch in 2020 by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. The mu Space satellite is expected to provide satellite broadband throughout Southeast Asia. Mu Space Corp has been granted the use …

In a move that appears to have surprised the Indian government, the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has asked New Delhi for its cooperation in establishing a civilian satellite launch centre. The request is said to be considered with a large measure of seriousness by the Indian government, partly because …

Firefly Aerospace, the New Space launch company that aims to serve the small to medium-sized satellite launch market with its Alpha and Beta rockets and is owned by Ukrainian-American entrepreneur Dr. Max Polyakov, has announced the appointment of Leslie Kovacs as its Vice President for Business Development. Kovacs comes to …

After the failure of Angosat-1 shortly after its launch late last year, Angola is again partnering with Russia to build and launch Angosat-2 by 2020. Angola’s first communications satellite, Angosat-1, failed shortly after reaching orbit. It was launched in December 2017 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on board a …

Rocket Lab, the U.S.-headquartered small satellite launch provider that launches its rockets from New Zealand, has just announced its partnership with satellite rideshare and mission management provider Spaceflight for three satellite launches through 2018 and into 2019. The first mission, scheduled for the end of 2018, will launch a BlackSky Earth observation microsatellite …

Acknowledging competition from companies like SpaceX, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) aim to ensure that its next-generation space launch vehicle, the H-3, will cut launch costs by half compared to its current workhorse, the H-2. The 39th H-IIA vehicle was launched Tuesday afternoon, …

On May 17, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko visited the new R&D center of the private aerospace company Firefly Aerospace in the city of Dnipro (Ukraine). The President was met by Maxim Polyakov, founder of Firefly Aerospace. Maxim Polyakov, an American entrepreneur of Ukrainian origin, bought out the bankrupt company Firefly …

The Yuzhnoye Design Office continues its collaboration with Orbital ATK on the production and launch of the Antares launch vehicle. The area of responsibility of the Ukrainian enterprise is the hardware for the rocket’s first stage. The Orbital ATK Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus automated cargo spacecraft was successfully launched …

On 30 March 2018, a meeting of the Ukrainian State Space Agency Collegium was held in the city of Dnipro. During the meeting, the results of the work of enterprises and institutions of the Ukrainian space industry for 2017 were summed up and priority directions of work for the forthcoming …

On 23 June 2018, Rocket Lab’s launch window for the ‘It’s Business Time’ mission will open. During this 14-day window, the company will launch its groundbreaking Electron rocket and will transform access to space for the small satellite market. The Electron will build up its launch frequency over the coming months …