Space News for Friday, December 06, 2024

ESA launches Copernicus Sentinel-1C aboard Vega-C from French Guiana – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

The third Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite, Sentinel-1C, has launched aboard a Vega-C rocket, flight VV25, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 5 December 2024 at 22:20 CET (18:20 local time) Sentinel-1C will deliver high-resolution radar imagery to monitor Earth’s changing environment. The launch also marks Vega-C’s ‘return to flight’, a key step in restoring Europe’s independent access to space.

Rocket Lab sets the launch window for Synspective satellite deployment – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

The ‘Owl The Way Up’ mission is scheduled to launch from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during a launch window that opens on December 18th NZDT (December 17 UTC) The mission will deploy a single StriX satellite to orbit for Synspective. This mission will be the sixth in a total of 16 launches booked on Electron for Synspective, a Japanese EO company operating a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.

SpaceX sends off SiriusXM SXM-9 on Thursday from Kennedy – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

SpaceX launched the SiriusXM SXM-9 mission to geosynchronous transfer orbit on Thursday. SXM-9 measures 27 feet (8 meters) tall, and stretches to 100 feet (30 meters) long with its two solar panel arrays unfolded. The satellite was designed and manufactured by Maxar Technologies, and based on Maxar’s SSL-1300 satellite bus. The last SiriusXM satellite mission occurred in 2021, launching SXM-8.

Viasat supports multi-domain resilient network for AUKUS Maritime autonomous systems experiment – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

Viasat worked with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and AUKUS (United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom) during the Autonomous Warrior 24 exercise. Viasat’s NetAgility Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform was used to enable Multidomain Uncrewed Secure Integrated Communications.

Vodafone £16.5 billion merger with Three approved – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has decided Vodafone’s £16.5 billion (€19.9bn) merger with Three should be allowed to proceed. Both companies must sign binding commitments to “invest billions” to roll out a combined 5G network across the UK.

WTA certifies Speedcast’s Bayswater, Australia, Teleport to Tier 3 – SatNews

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-05 00:00

The Bayswater certification marks the 66th issued since the program was launched at IBC 2015. Another five teleports are currently engaged in the quality evaluation process. The program provides transparent, independently verified standards as a means for teleports to differentiate themselves and for customers to choose the price-performance level suitable for their applications.

Fresh Eyes on Ice Project Wins Award

Fresh Eyes on Ice project received an exemplary project award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The award recognizes programs that demonstrate how colleges and universities have redesigned their learning, discovery, and engagement missions to deepen their partnerships and achieve broader impacts in their communities.

NASA Flights Map Critical Minerals From Skies Above Western US

GEMx is a four-year project led by the U.S. Geological Survey. The GEMx project is funded by the USGS Earth Resources Initiative (EarthMRI) GEMx will last four years and capitalize on technology developed by the NASA spectroscopic imaging as well as the expertise in analyzing the datasets.

Jared Isaacman nominated as next NASA administrator

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-04 20:32

Jared Isaacman has been nominated by President-Elect Donald Trump to become the next NASA Administrator. He is expected to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of Trump’s upcoming term. Isaacman has a long history in the aerospace industry. He launched two large companies, the first being Shift4 Payments, which was founded in 1999.

Europe’s Vega-C returns to flight with Sentinel-1C mission

Original Publication Date: 2024-12-04 18:55

Arianespace completed its third and final orbital launch of 2024 on Thursday, Dec. 5. It was the successful return of its Vega-C rocket to flight two years after its previous mission failed to reach orbit. Thursday’s launch deployed Sentinel-1C, a radar-imaging satellite for the Copernicus Earth science program.