The Seradata SpaceTrak database, which uses two-line element orbital datasets supplied by US Strategic Command’s SpaceTrack orbital data system (note the spelling difference), shows that the stranded Al Yah 3 communications satellite has, since early May, been...
China has launched a new lunar satellite called Queqiao. This is no scientific probe or lunar rover, however. Instead it is a lunar communications relay satellite that will be used to relay data from future lunar exploration missions, including those to the far side...
At 0844 GMT, on 21 May, an Orbital ATK Antares rocket lifted-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Virginia, carrying the CYGNUS OA-9 cargo craft to the ISS (International Space Station). This Cygnus craft received the name SS J.R. THOMPSON, after a former...
A contract was signed on 22 March 2018 between Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC) for the joint-development and launch of the PakSat Multi-Mission-1 (PakSat-MM1) satellite. Both...
The withdrawal of GSAT-11 from its planned Ariane 5 ECA launch (with Azerspace 2/Intelsat 38) caused a major interruption in Arianespace’s launch schedule. The heaviest satellite produced by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at 5,725kg, GSAT-11 arrived at...
At 1828 GMT, 8 May, a Chinese Long March 4B (CZ-4B) rocket lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Northern China, carrying the GAOFEN 5 remote-sensing satellite to a LEO sun-synchronous orbit. The GAOFEN series are part of a civilian, high-resolution,...
