Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat plans to launch a spacecraft for video broadcasting and broadband connectivity over Latin America aboard a dedicated Ariane 5 rocket in early 2016, several months earlier than planned, on a rare commercial single-payload flight of the workhorse launcher, Eutelsat’s chief executive said Wednesday.
A year after a launch mishap left Orbital ATK’s Cygnus supply ship without a ride to the International Space Station, company officials say the cargo delivery system is on the verge of a comeback, thanks to deals with United Launch Alliance and a decision to redesign its Antares booster with new rocket engines.
Space station commander Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren carried out a tedious seven-hour 16-minute spacewalk Wednesday, installing cables needed for a new docking mechanism, mounting insulation panels on a physics experiment to improve cooling and lubricating the latching mechanism of the station’s robot arm.
Entering the last chapter of an eight-year mission, NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is spiraling closer to the dwarf planet Ceres to its final planned orbit less than 235 miles from the icy world, a perch that will furnish fresh data to geologists eager to explain mysterious bright markings that have captivated scientists since the beginning of the year.
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