SES SELECTS TWO US FIRMS TO BUILD FOUR NEW SATELLITES - SES has selected two US satellite manufacturers, Northrop Grumman and the Boeing Company, to deliver four new satellites as part of the company’s accelerated C-band clearing plan to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s objectives to roll-out 5G services. Northrop Grumman will deliver two flight-proven GeoStar-3 satellites, each equipped with a high-quality C-band payload to deliver the superior customer experience that end users are accustomed to. The two satellites – SES-18 and SES-19 – will be designed, assembled and tested in Dulles, Virginia. More (Source: SatelliteProME.com - Jun 18)
CHINA LAUNCHES THIRD GAOFEN-9 SATELLITE, POSTPONES BEIDOU MISSION - China launched a Gaofen-9 series Earth observation satellite and two smaller spacecraft Wednesday, a day after postponing a Beidou navigation satellite mission due to unspecified issues. Liftoff of a Long March 2D carrying the Gaofen-9 (03) took place at 3:19 a.m. Eastern at Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert. Launch success was confirmed (Chinese) by main contractor CASC within 30 minutes of liftoff. More (Source: Space News - Jun 18)
SPACEX'S SATELLITE INTERNET TEASES EMAIL INVITES FOR PUBLIC BETA TESTS - Want to try out SpaceX’s satellite internet service? The company is gearing up to send email updates to interested customers, recruiting them to test it out. The company’s website for Starlink has been updated with a new email newsletter, which promises to send out news and promotions regarding the satellite broadband network. After you sign up with an email address and ZIP code, SpaceX says it may send you future messages about the upcoming beta tests. More (Source: PCMag.com - Jun 17)
FIRST COMMERCIAL EARTH-TO-MOON COMMUNICATION RELAY SATELLITE PLANNED FOR 2023 - Communications between Earth and the moon actually requires a huge amount of equipment under current circumstances. The transmission distance for any data sent from our large natural satellite and us here on Earth is 225,000 miles — which means a transmission signal requires significant power, and that translates to heavy, bulky transmission equipment to get the job done. In space, weight and bulk immediately translates to costs that ramp up fast. More (Source: TechCrunch - Jun 17)
CHINA POSTPONES LAUNCH OF BEIDOU GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE - China will have to wait to finish a long-awaited upgrade of its global navigation satellite system. The final Beidou Navigation Satellite-3 (BDS-3) launch, planned for Tuesday, June 16 Beijing time and GMT (late Monday, June 15 in EDT) was delayed due to technical issues with the rocket, Chinese state media service Xinhua reported. More details were not made immediately available. More (Source: Space.com - Jun 17)
INTERNATIONAL SATELLITE TO TRACK SEA LEVEL RISE COMPLETES TESTING - An international satellite that will collect the most accurate data yet on sea levels around the world, a key indicator of how Earth's warming climate is affecting the oceans, weather and coastlines, has completed all the tests ahead of its scheduled launch in November. The tests for the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft -- which is being built in Germany --began in November 2019 and they finished at the end of May this year, NASA said. More (Source: Times Now - Jun 16)
SPACEX'S PREDAWN STARLINK SATELLITE LAUNCH LOOKS SIMPLY STUNNING IN THESE TWITTER PHOTOS - When SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space Saturday (June 13), it delivered 58 Starlink satellites and three Planet SkySats into orbit. The mission was a success. It also looked amazing. That's because SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket at 5:21 a.m. EDT (0921 GMT), just over an hour before sunrise, from Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. As the rocket climbed into the predawn sky, its exhaust plume was illuminated by sunlight, creating a dazzling view. More (Source: Livescience.com - Jun 16)
THE LAST BEIDOU NAVIGATION SATELLITE TO LAUNCH IN FEW DAYS - China's GPS replacement is taking shape as the last satellite in the 30-satellite navigation system will be launched in a few days. China Satellite Navigation Office made the announcement on Sunday. The satellite will be launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province, by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It has been in the center for preparations since about two months ago. More (Source: CGTN - Jun 15)
ESAIL MARITIME SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH - The ESAIL microsatellite for tracking ships worldwide - developed under an ESA Partnership Project - has completed its accommodation on Vega's new dispenser for small satellites and is ready for launch. The Vega launch campaign at Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, resumed three weeks ago, following an interruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More (Source: Space Daily - Jun 15)
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