Ariane 5 rocket puts two safely into orbit: Hellas-Sat 4/SaudiGEOSat-1 & GSAT-31
In its first flight of 2019, an Ariane 5 ECA put two satellites into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) on their way to geostationarly Earth orbit (GEO). The launch took place from the Kourou launch site at 2101 GMT on 5 February. The two launch communications...
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Iran suffers second launch failure this year as Safir launch goes wrong
Iran has suffered its second orbital launch failure of the year. Having already suffered a suspected third stage ignition failure of its larger Simorgh three-stage launch vehicle, losing the Amir Kabir 1 (Payam) satellite in January, now its smaller Safir launch...
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Momentus Vigoride delivery spacecraft gets first order from launch arranger Exolaunch…then Spaceflight books Vector launch
Space News reports that German launch arranger Exolaunch (previously known as ECM) has ordered multiple missions of the Vigoride delivery spacecraft/space tug from the Momentus firm under a US$6 million contract. While not specified, the contract implies that five...
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ULA wins NASA launch contract for LUCY mission to visit the Trojans…then SpaceX complains
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) celebrated the win in a competitive bidding situation of a NASA contract to launch the LUCY mission - a "Discovery-class" mission to the Trojan asteroids. The launch is to use an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle. The mission will launch in...
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Telesat signs multi-New Glenn launch deal with Blue Origin to get its 300 satellite constellation into orbit
Canadian geostationary communications satellite operator, Telesat, has signed a multi-launch agreement with Blue Origin, the start up launch firm founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, for the use of its New Glenn rocket. With its 7m long fairing and its 45 metric...
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SSL pulls out of construction of RSGS robot servicing satellite for DARPA but it keeps its hand in via NASA’s Restore-L mission
SSL, the former Space Systems/Loral spacecraft construction company owned by Maxar, has decided to withdraw from its construction contract with Maxar spin-off Space Infrastructure Services LLC (SIS) to build the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS)...
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Progress MS-09 undocks from ISS and re-enters
The Roscosmos unmanned Progress MS-09 cargo freighter which has been attached to the International Space Station (ISS) since July has now left it. It undocked from the ISS Pirs module at 1255 GMT on 25 January. It made a de-orbit burn at 1608 GMT and re-entered over...
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On a lighter (but slightly worrying) note: Small penis? Well it might be due to too many fry-ups on non-stick pans…but you can’t blame NASA
While some men have accused the #MeToo campaign for partly emasculating them, actually there are more serious threats to their virility - chemical ones. There has long been concern that the difficult-to-filter female hormone oestrogen in the water supply (via flushed...
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NASA workforce gets back to work…at least for a time…following temporary agreement between Trump and Democrats
Having not got the US$5 billion he asked for his border wall with Mexico, US President Donald Trump blocked all budget funding for non-military and non-essential government departments causing a government shutdown since 22 December. This resulted in most...
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Arianespace lowers Ariane 5 launch price to combat SpaceX in Asia-Pacific contest
It has been reported by Reuters that Arianespace has lowered the launch price of its mainstay Ariane 5 launch vehicle, in response to fierce competition in the Asia-Pacific region from industry disruptor SpaceX. The two companies are competing for two satellite launch...
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