Tag: Space Systems/Loral
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Canada’s MDA buys DigitalGlobe, reveals next-generation WorldView satellite fleet
Artist’s concept of the WorldView 4 satellite launched by DigitalGlobe in November. Credit: DigitalGlobe The acquisition of DigitalGlobe, the owner of several commercial Earth-viewing spacecraft in orbit, by Canada’s MDA Corp. will combine two of the world’s leading radar and optical observation imaging systems into one globe-spanning network and give Space Systems/Loral a firmer foothold…
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NASA selects builder for robotic satellite servicing craft
Artist’s concept of the Restore-L spacecraft (left) with the Landsat 7 satellite (right) for an in-orbit refueling demonstration. Credit: Space Systems/Loral NASA has a builder to construct a five-ton spacecraft to catch up with the aging Landsat 7 Earth observation satellite and refuel it in 2020, employing robotic tools mastered in years of rehearsals on…
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Photos: Ariane 5 hitched to tug for rollout to the launch pad
A day before blastoff with two Intelsat communications satellites, an Ariane 5 rocket rolled into position on its launch pad in French Guiana on Tuesday behind a 540-horsepower Titan truck, and these close-up snapshots show technicians preparing for the journey. The 180-foot-tall (55-meter) launcher emerged from its final assembly building at French-run Guiana Space Center…
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Photos: European rocket treks to launch pad with U.S. satellites
Two U.S.-built commercial communications satellites moved to their last stop on Earth on Tuesday, when an Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to a launch pad at the edge of the Amazon jungle on the eve of liftoff. The 180-foot-tall (55-meter) launcher emerged from its final assembly building at French-run Guiana Space Center around 10:30 a.m.…
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Photos: Falcon 9 climbs away from Cape Canaveral with JCSAT 16
The Falcon 9 rocket’s eighth flight of 2016 took off from Cape Canaveral early Sunday with the Japanese JCSAT 16 communications satellite, setting a new mark for the most launches made by SpaceX in a single year. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket blasted off at 1:26 a.m. EDT (0526 GMT) Sunday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40…
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Investigation into upper stage glitch delays next Proton launch
File photo of a Proton rocket launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Dec. 24, 2015. Credit: Roscosmos The launch of an EchoStar communications satellite to cover Europe has been delayed to October to allow Russian engineers to complete an inquiry into a glitch discovered during a Proton rocket flight in June, industry officials said. The…
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Ariane 5 launch delayed to replace cryogenic fluid connector
File photo of the cryogenic fueling arms attached to an Ariane 5 rocket before a launch earlier this year. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Baudon The next launch of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket has been delayed from Wednesday after engineers encountered a problem with a cryogenic fuel connector, Arianespace said…
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Photos: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on the pad at Cape Canaveral
Crowned with a Japanese telecommunications satellite, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sits atop its Cape Canaveral launch pad hours before its scheduled blastoff Friday. Standing 229 feet (70 meters) tall, the two-stage rocket rolled out of its hangar at the Complex 40 launch pad Thursday and was erected vertical for liftoff with the JCSAT 14 communications…
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Stormy weather in Florida delays Falcon 9 launch
Updated with weather forecast. The Falcon 9 rocket slated to launch Japan’s JCSAT 14 communications satellite inside SpaceX’s hangar at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX has delayed a planned Falcon 9 launch with a Japanese communications satellite to Friday due to inclement weather on Florida’s Space Coast. The launch window is unchanged, opening at 1:21…
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Hold-down test firing complete for next SpaceX launch
File photo of a Falcon 9 rocket’s static fire test at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. Credit: SpaceX SpaceX technicians are attaching a Japanese communications satellite to the top of a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of a planned launch Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral. The JCSAT 14 communications satellite, made in California by Space…