SpaceX launches final two satellites in SES C-band clearing plan
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-18 01:32
SES-18 and SES-19 are in geosynchronous transfer orbit. SES needs to claim C-band spectrum clearing proceeds worth nearly $4 billion in total. SES-18 is set to replace the operator’s aging SES-3 satellite. SES-19 is heading to 135 degrees west to join the SES-22 satellite.
NASA weighing continuing VERITAS versus future Discovery mission
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 23:33
NASA’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal included only $1.5 million for VERITAS. VERITAS is a Venus orbiter selected by NASA in 2021 as one of two Discovery missions. NASA announced in November 2022 that it was delaying VERITAS by at least three years.
Intelsat buys capacity on Hispasat’s Amazonas Nexus satellite
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 22:15
Intelsat has acquired capacity from the recently launched Amazonas Nexus satellite. The capacity will be used for providing Wi-Fi to commercial airlines flying over the Americas. Intelsat has been looking to expand its use of leased satellites since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
FCC unveils proposed satellite direct-to-device regulatory framework
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 20:56
FCC unveils proposed framework for regulating use of terrestrial wireless spectrum from space. The framework would establish ground rules for SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile, Lynk Global. SpaceX has partnered with T-Mobile in the United States and Salt in Switzerland. AT&T, which has partnered with satellite direct-to-device startup AST SpaceMobile.
Arianespace wins Vega contract for Italian imaging satellite constellation
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 12:12
Arianespace signed a contract with the European Space Agency, acting on behalf of the Italian government. The contract includes two firm Vega C launches, starting in late 2025, with an option for a third. The IRIDE constellation will include 36 satellites built by a consortium of Italian companies.
China launches second classified Gaofen-13 remote sensing satellite
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 11:57
China added its initially civilian Gaofen Earth observation series Friday with the launch of the classified optical geostationary Gaofen-13 (02) satellite. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from the hill-surrounded Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The payload was only revealed after launch, with speculation that the Long March 3B would carry a ChinaSat communications or Beidou navigation satellite.
SpaceX completes launch doubleheader with sunset liftoff from Cape Canaveral
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 00:00
SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets in a span of a little more than four hours Friday. The back-to-back missions, just 4 hours and 12 minutes apart, set a record for the shortest span between two SpaceX Falcon 9 launches in the company’s history. The first launch of the day took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California northwest of Los Angeles at 12:26:40 p.m. PDT. Four hours later, a different SpaceX team in Florida readied another Falcon 9 rocket for liftoff with two SES television broadcasting satellites.
UPDATE 1: SES-18 + SES-19 satellites’ orbital endeavors via SpaceX accomplished – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 00:00
The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of the SES-18 and SES-19 satellites from Cape Canaveral SFS. This was the sixth launch and landing of this booster, which previously supported the launch of the CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, and two Starlink missions. After stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Rocket Lab’s Complex 1 in New Zealand is the stage for a BlackSky smallsat launch on March 22nd – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 00:00
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) will launch a pair of satellites on a dedicated Electron mission for BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY) during a launch window that opens on March 22nd., 2023 UTC. The mission, named “The Beat Goes On,” will launch two of BlackSky’s Gen-2, Earth-imaging satellites from Pad B at Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand. Rocket Lab plans to recover Electron’s first stage after it parachutes back to Earth and splashes down in the ocean.
NASA Uses 30-Year Satellite Record to Track and Project Rising Seas
The measurements of sea surface height that began 30 years ago with TOPEX/Poseidon have continued through four subsequent missions. The most recent mission in the series, Sentinel-6/Jason-CS, consists of two satellites that will extend these measurements through 2030. The first of these two satellites, Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, launched in 2020, with the second slated to head to orbit in 2025.
Commercial rockets spotted amidst Chinese launch tripleheader
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-17 16:23
China is starting to increase its launch cadence again after a slow start to 2023. This week saw three launches in the Chang Zheng family while several more non-Chang Zheng vehicles were spotted on launch pads at Jiuquan. At the pad used by LandSpace, a ZQ-2-like body has been spotted vertically. It was later removed again.
Rocket Lab launches pair of Capella satellites from Wallops
Original Publication Date: 2023-03-16 22:01
Rocket Lab launched its second mission from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The “Stronger Together” mission was the 34th total Electron flight, and the rocket’s second flight so far in 2023. The payload for the mission consisted of two spacecraft from Capella Space, a company that specializes in building satellites used for Earth observation and imaging.