The Chinese launch of what many believe to be a military reconnaissance satellite, the Ludikancha Weixing-3 (LKW-3) – or Land Surveying Satellite 3, on January 13, 2018, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) may have also included the SaudiSat-5B Earth observation satellite, according to a report in SpaceFlight Insider. …
Read More »Cambodia and China Great Wall Industry Corp. Sign Agreement for Belt and Road Communications Satellite
Cambodia has signed a framework agreement with China Great Wall Industry Corporation for the acquisition of a communications satellite, along with its associated ground infrastructure and launch. The satellite agreement was one of nineteen agreements made between Cambodian and Chinese officials during a bilateral trade meeting on January 11, 2018, …
Read More »#SpaceWatchGL Op’Ed: Spacepower and Sea Control in the South China Sea and Beyond
The recent announcement by China to orbit ten Earth observation satellites to solidify its sovereign claim for the South China Sea is a harbinger of the competitions to come for the control of other vital strategic waters across the globe. ThorGroup’s Chairman and President, Dr. John B. Sheldon, examines this phenomenon …
Read More »Orbital ATK Receives Order for Second In-Orbit Satellite Servicing Vehicle
Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, announced on January 4, 2018, that it has been awarded a contract for a second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2). The vehicle was ordered by Intelsat S.A. to provide life extension services for an Intelsat satellite. Orbital ATK is now producing …
Read More »Algeria Unveils Its National Space Programme to 2040
Algeria plans to send several state-of-the-art satellites as part of its space programme 2020-2040, which is “under study now,” the director general of the Algerian Space Agency, Azzedine Oussedik, said on December 18, 2017, in Algiers. A national space programme, which includes plans for the launch of many cutting-edge satellites, …
Read More »Algeria’s AlComSat-1 Communications Satellite Launched by Chinese Long March-3B SLV
At 00:40 Beijing time on December 11, 2017, the Alcomsat-1 communications satellite was successfully launched for Algeria from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) aboard a Long March-3B launch vehicle. About 26 minutes after lift-off, according to the data from Xi’an Satellite Tracking and Control Center (XSCC), the Alcomsat-1 satellite was …
Read More »KSA’s SaudiGeoSat-1/Hellas-Sat-4 Satellite Assembly Completed and Shipped for Environmental Testing
Lockheed Martin has completed the major assembly of Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1 and has shipped the communications satellite to its Sunnyvale, California, facility to undergo critical environmental testing. The first of the modernized LM 2100 satellites, Hellas-Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1 is being built for Arabsat/Hellas Sat and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. It will …
Read More »Orbital ATK Delivers Al Yah 3 Commercial Communications Satellite to Launch Site
Orbital ATK, a global leader in aerospace and defence technologies, has announced that the Al Yah 3 satellite has arrived at its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, for its upcoming launch on an Arianespace rocket in January 2018. Al Yah 3, built for Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC …
Read More »Surrey Satellite Ships CARBONITE-2 and Telesat’s LEO-1 for PSLV Launch
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has shipped two small satellites, CARBONITE-2 and LEO-1, to India in preparation for a late December launch on a Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Sriharikota launch site. LEO-1 will be one of two Telesat Phase 1 satellites planned …
Read More »Morocco’s Mohammed VI-A Earth Observation Satellite Successfully Launched by Arianespace
Arianespace has successfully launched the MOHAMMED VI–A satellite dedicated for Earth observation for the Kingdom of Morocco. The satellite was developed by the consortium comprising Thales Alenia Space as system prime contractor and Airbus as co-prime. The launch took place on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, at 10:42:31 p.m. (local time) …
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