SSI News
Long March 2C launches small GEO comsat APSTAR 6E HTS using a “Kick Stage”
China's Long March 2C/3 (CZ-2C/3) rocket has been modified with a additional kick stage attached to the satellite to launch the small - at least small for a communications satellite - 1,800 kg APSTAR-6E HTS (High Throughput Satellite) on its way to a geostationary...
Capella Space raises $60 million for its SAR satellite constellation
Capella Space has raised US$60 million which it plans to spend on growing its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging services and its constellation. The new funding in growth equity comes from the United States Innovative Technology Fund and comes less than 12 months...
Soyuz MS-23 to replace leak-damaged Soyuz MS-22 for crew return
Following a radiator leak on 15 December, Roscosmos, in agreement with NASA and other International Space Station (ISS) partners, has decided that the Soyuz MS-22 will not return to Earth with humans on it, unless there is an extreme emergency. A radiator leak on...
ABL suffers from curse of maiden flights after RS-1 rocket falls to its destruction and damages pad (Updated)
After a series of launch aborts and technical delays, ABL Space Systems perhaps had its own portents of doom when it decided not to live-webcast the maiden launch of its two-stage LOX (liquid oxygen)/kerosene powered RS-1 rocket. Instead, the US rocket maker and...
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches batch of 40 OneWeb comsats for competitor
In yet another act of altruism, albeit a revenue earning example, SpaceX used its Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket to launch 40 OneWeb satellites for its Starlink communicaitons constellation competitor OneWeb on the same day that its own Starlink launch was delayed (a...
LauncherOne second stage failure condemns first orbital launch from UK to a watery grave (Corrected)
With much fanfare, the first ever orbital launch attempt from UK soil began with the lift-off from Newquay Airport’s horizontal spaceport facility of Boeing 747-400 “Cosmic Girl”. Beneath the wing of the carrier aircraft was the Virgin Orbit LauncherOne. Cosmic Girl...
First Chinese launches of the Year: Long March 7A rocket from Wenchang & a Ceres from Jiuquan CORRECTED
China opened its launch account for 2023 with a pair of orbital launches. At 2200 GMT on 8 January 2022, China launched a Long March 7A (CZ-7A) rocket from its Southern launch site, Wenchang, Hainan Island. It carried the Shi Jian 23 communications test satellite. The...
2022 Launch Year: China vies with SpaceX for supremacy with yet another orbital launch record for both rockets and satellites
During 2022 there were 186 orbital launch attempts. This beat 2021’s record-breaking total of 146 launches (the previous record was in 1967 with 139 launches). Thanks to the 61 launches made by SpaceX’s Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy family, the US retook the lead with 78,...
Northstar ends Thales contract and raises US$35 million for its SSA business as 2023 launches near (updated)
Canadian startup NorthStar Earth & Space has ended its three-year contract with Thales Alenia Space in favour of a space-as-a-service model contract with Spire Global, according to Space Intel Report which first reported the news. In an email on 5 January the...
SpaceX Falcon 9 kicks off the new year with launch of Transporter 6 mission
The sixth Transporter rideshare mission (Transporter-6) carrying 114 satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket took place at 1456 GMT from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 3 January 2023. A SpaceX Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 for the launch which marked the first orbital attempt of the...
Stay Informed with Seradata
Stay informed on the latest news, insights, and more from Seradata by signing up for our newsletter.