Commercial Space – Page 86

Israeli moon lander prepared for launch

February 21, 2019 Stephen Clark

The privately-funded Israeli Beresheet lunar lander is ready for its historic mission to the moon, aiming to become the first space probe to land on another planetary body without government funding.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket blasts off with Israeli moon lander, Indonesian comsat

February 21, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:45 p.m. EST Thursday (0145 GMT Friday) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The commercial launcher, featuring a reused first stage booster flying for the third time, hauled into orbit Indonesia’s Nusantara Satu communications satellite, the Beresheet lunar lander for SpaceIL, and the S5 space surveillance payload for the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Falcon 9 launch set for Thursday at Cape Canaveral

February 19, 2019 Stephen Clark

SpaceX is set to end a two-month launch drought at Cape Canaveral with a blastoff Thursday night carrying a privately-funded Israeli moon lander, an Indonesian communications satellite and a U.S. Air Force surveillance payload into orbit.

Experimental British satellite tests harpoon in orbit

February 15, 2019 Stephen Clark

A British satellite released from the International Space Station last year has successfully demonstrated a harpoon that could be used on future missions to clean up space debris, officials announced Friday.

Watch a spectacular slow-motion replay of last week’s Ariane 5 launch

February 11, 2019 Stephen Clark

Arianespace and CNES, the French space agency, have released sensational slow-motion video from shielded engineering cameras at the Ariane 5 rocket’s launch pad in French Guiana, showing the launcher’s fiery evening takeoff Feb. 5 with communications satellites for Saudi Arabia and India.

Arianespace opens busy 2019 manifest with dual-satellite Ariane 5 launch

February 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

Two communications satellites owned by Saudi Arabian and Indian operators rocketed into orbit Tuesday on top of a European Ariane 5 rocket, the first of up to 13 launches planned from French Guiana this year.

Live coverage: Ariane 5 launches satellites for Saudi Arabia and India

February 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

An Ariane 5 rocket launched Tuesday at 2101 GMT (4:01 p.m. EST) from French Guiana with a communications satellite to provide broadband and television services for the government of Saudi Arabia and commercial clients across Europe and the Middle East, and an Indian payload to help bridge the digital divide in South Asia.

Arianespace preps for first of up to 13 launches in French Guiana this year

February 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

A European Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled for blastoff Tuesday from a jungle launch pad in South America with two geostationary telecom payloads — one owned by a Saudi Arabian operator and built in Colorado by Lockheed Martin, and another for India’s space agency.

Telesat taps Blue Origin to launch broadband satellite fleet

February 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

Telesat has selected Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to “play a key role” in delivering potentially hundreds of broadband communications satellites into low Earth orbit under a multi-launch agreement announced last week, as Telesat officials prepare to select between two industrial teams to begin building spacecraft for the Internet network later this year.

Chinese company inks deal to launch 90 commercial smallsats

January 30, 2019 Stephen Clark

Satellogic’s recent agreement with a Chinese company to launch 90 commercial Earth observation satellites on five or six dedicated Long March rocket flights marks one of China’s biggest wins in the global launch market.