SSI News
Virgin Galactic reopens space tourist ticket sales with upped price but delays start of service until next year
Fresh from the success of its first air-launched "passenger" suborbital SpaceShipTwo test flight to the edge of space on 11 July, Virgin Galactic has just announced that it is reopening its ticket facility and with increased ticket prices. While would-be space...
China launches GEO comms sat with suspected military applications
A GEO communications satellite was successfully launched by a Long March 3B/G3 (CZ-3B/G3) vehicle from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China, at 1630 GMT on 5 August. The vehicle was carrying the Chinasat 2E satellite which officially is intended to provide...
Maxar receives contract for SXM-7 replacement satellite SXM-9
Having been mentioned in its recent Q2 2021 earnings call Sirius XM has ordered a new GEO satellite to replace SXM-7, which has been declared a total loss following a payload anomaly detected a month after its launch. The order for the new SXM-9 has gone to US...
Maxar to build two new GEO sats for Sirius XM, SXM-9 a replacement unit and SXM-10 (Updated)
As mentioned in its Q2 2021 earnings call, Sirius XM has ordered a new GEO satellite to replace SXM-7, which has been declared a total loss following a payload anomaly detected a month after its launch. The order for the new SXM-9 has gone to US manufacturer Maxar...
Surprise Chinese launch sends two communications satellites into orbit for Chinese/German venture
China successfully launched a Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China, at 1101 GMT on 4 August. The vehicle was carrying the KL-BETA-A and KL-BETA-B satellites which were built by the Shanghai Institute for Microsatellite Innovation of the...
Analysis: The Great Space Race…USA still leads but China waits in wings should Artemis lunar plan falter
Some years ago this column started its annual analysis called “The Great Space Race”. The idea was that while the original "Moon race" ended in 1969 when the USA beat the Soviet Union onto the lunar surface with its Apollo 11 human landing, a new one has started - and...
Second launch failure for Chinese start-up rocket builder confirmed after speculation
After initial industry speculation later reports from the Chinese state-media and the company confirmed that a launch of a small rocket took place, but resulted in a failure. The rocket in question was a Hyperbola 1/SQX-1 small launch vehicle built by iSpace. This...
First Ariane 5 launch of the year carries two GEO satellites to orbit
Following a gap of almost a year the European heavy-lift launcher Ariane 5 has launched from Kourou, French Guiana. The mission which lifted-off at 2100 GMT on 30 July, placed the Eutelsat Quantum and Star One D2 satellites into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO)....
20 ton Nauka module successfully docks with ISS but later causes scare with misfiring thrusters (Updated)
Following a troubled eight-day voyage the Nauka module has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), the first Russian module to do so in 11 years. Docking occurred at 1329 GMT on 29 July, according to on-board telemetry. The module approached...
China launches new cartography satellite to LEO
China successfully launched a Long March 2D/2 (CZ-2D/2) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, at 0401 GMT on 29 July. The mission carried the Tianhui 1-04 satellite, used for mapping/cartography purposes. Western sources believe this series of satellites...
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