INTERNATIONAL AVIATION NEWS » Space http://www.aviationnews.eu International Aviation news for professionals and enthusiasts. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:19:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= ESA’s Mars Express radar gives strong evidence for former Mars ocean http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/06/esas-mars-express-radar-gives-strong-evidence-for-former-mars-ocean/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/06/esas-mars-express-radar-gives-strong-evidence-for-former-mars-ocean/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:02:06 +0000 Marcel van Leeuwen http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29201 ESA’s Mars Express radar gives strong evidence for former Mars ocean

ESA’s Mars Express has returned strong evidence for an ocean once covering part of Mars. Using radar, it has detected sediments reminiscent of an ocean floor within the boundaries of previously identified, ancient shorelines on Mars.

The MARSIS radar was deployed in 2005 and has been collecting data ever since. Jérémie Mouginot, Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) and the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues have analysed more than two years of data and found that the northern plains are covered in low-density material.

“We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich,” says Dr Mouginot. “It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here.”

The existence of oceans on ancient Mars has been suspected before and features reminiscent of shorelines have been tentatively identified in images from various spacecraft. But it remains a controversial issue.

Two oceans have been proposed: 4 billion years ago, when warmer conditions prevailed, and also 3 billion years ago when subsurface ice melted following a large impact, creating outflow channels that drained the water into areas of low elevation.

“MARSIS penetrates deep into the ground, revealing the first 60–80 metres of the planet’s subsurface,” says Wlodek Kofman, leader of the radar team at IPAG.

“Throughout all of this depth, we see the evidence for sedimentary material and ice.”

The sediments revealed by MARSIS are areas of low radar reflectivity. Such sediments are typically low-density granular materials that have been eroded away by water and carried to their final destination.

This later ocean would however have been temporary. Within a million years or less, Dr Mouginot estimates, the water would have either frozen back in place and been preserved underground again, or turned into vapour and lifted gradually into the atmosphere.

“I don’t think it could have stayed as an ocean long enough for life to form.”

In order to find evidence of life, astrobiologists will have to look even further back in Mars’ history when liquid water existed for much longer periods.

Nevertheless, this work provides some of the best evidence yet that there were once large bodies of liquid water on Mars and is further proof of the role of liquid water in the martian geological history.

“Previous Mars Express results about water on Mars came from the study of images and mineralogical data, as well as atmospheric measurements. Now we have the view from the subsurface radar,” says Olivier Witasse, ESA’s Mars Express Project Scientist.

“This adds new pieces of information to the puzzle but the question remains: where did all the water go?”

Mars Express continues its investigation.

ESA press release

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/06/esas-mars-express-radar-gives-strong-evidence-for-former-mars-ocean/feed/ 0 Heavy Ions Killed Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/heavy-ions-killed-russian-mars-probe-phobos-grunt/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/heavy-ions-killed-russian-mars-probe-phobos-grunt/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:50:22 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29149 Russian Mars probe Phobos-Grunt was lost because space radiation disrupted its computer system, a commission investigating the incident said on Friday.

The investigation found no faults with the spacecraft’s hardware, the commission said in a summary of its report, released on the website of the Federal Space Agency.

Phobos-Grunt, Russia’s first interplanetary probe in years, was to travel to Phobos, a moon of Mars, and bring back samples of its soil by 2014. The $165 million spacecraft was launched in November, but got stuck in low Earth orbit.

Attempts to restore contact with Phobos-Grunt failed, and in January, the 13-ton probe crashed into the Pacific Ocean west of Chile.

The commission to investigate the incident, created by the Federal Space Agency, studied more than 700 documents related to Phobos-Grunt’s construction, as well as data from its short-lived flight.

All units of the spacecraft withstood rigorous testing on Earth and functioned properly during the launch, the commission said in its report.

But heavy ion bombardment corrupted program code in two components of the probe’s computer, which resulted in the loss of the probe, the commission said. The version of the incident was reported earlier this week by Kommersant daily, but not confirmed officially at the time.

The commission did not elaborate on why the developers took no measures to protect Phobos-Grunt against such incidents.

Yury Koptev, who heads the investigation into the incident, speculated last month that Phobos-Grunt’s computer could have been disrupted by a U.S. radar on Marshall Islands, but that version was eventually discarded.

Russia has lost five satellites and a space truck in failed launches since December 2010. The first failures cost Federal Space Agency head Anatoly Perminov his job last April, but his replacement, Vladimir Popovkin, failed to break the spell.

Developers should have installed several backup systems to counter malfunctions such as one that brought Phobos-Grunt down, Nikolai Vedenkin, a researcher at the Moscow State University who supervised the university’s own space program, said by telephone on Friday.

“Either the whole system was configured wrong, or it’s simply not true,” Vedenkin said about the commission’s version of the reasons for Phobos-Grunt’s crash.

He said the probe was likely lost because of confusion during its development and testing, which was rushed and saw the head constructor changed mid-project.

“The mistakes snowballed, and the probe was launched when still not ready,” Vedenkin said.

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/heavy-ions-killed-russian-mars-probe-phobos-grunt/feed/ 0 Iran sends new satellite into orbit http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/iran-sends-new-satellite-into-orbit/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/iran-sends-new-satellite-into-orbit/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:11:43 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29129

TEHRAN – Iran on Friday successfully launched an observation satellite into orbit under a presidential decree, said the country’s Press TV.

The spacecraft, named Navid (Herald), weighs 50 kilograms and can take pictures in low attitudes of about 250 to 375 km from the Earth, it said.

The satellite was completely designed and built by Iranian experts at the Science and Technology University in Tehran, Mohammadsaeid Jabalameli, head of the university, was quoted as saying.

Iran, a founding member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, launched its first domestically-made data-processing satellite, the Omid (Hope) into space in 2009.

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/03/iran-sends-new-satellite-into-orbit/feed/ 0 SPACEX TEST FIRES ADVANCED NEW ENGINE http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/02/spacex-test-fires-advanced-new-engine/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/02/spacex-test-fires-advanced-new-engine/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:58:21 +0000 Marcel van Leeuwen http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29119 New Video Shows SuperDraco Engine in Action

Hawthorne, CA – Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has successfully test fired SuperDraco, a powerful new engine that will play a critical role in the company’s efforts to change the future of human spaceflight.

“SuperDraco engines represent the best of cutting edge technology,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer. “These engines will power a revolutionary launch escape system that will make Dragon the safest spacecraft in history and enable it to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.”

The SuperDraco is an advanced version of the Draco engines currently used by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to maneuver on orbit and during reentry. As part of SpaceX’s state-of-the-art launch escape system, eight SuperDraco engines built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft will produce up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to carry astronauts to safety should an emergency occur during launch.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program awarded SpaceX $75 million in April of last year to begin work developing the escape system in order to prepare the Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts. Less than nine months later, SpaceX engineers have designed, built and tested the engine.

In a series of recent tests conducted at the company’s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas, the SuperDraco sustained full duration, full thrust firing as well as a series of deep throttling demonstrations.

SpaceX’s launch escape system has many advantages over past systems. It is inherently safer because it is not jettisoned like all other
escape systems. This distinction provides astronauts with the unprecedented ability to escape from danger at any point during the launch,
not just in the first few minutes. The eight SuperDracos provide redundancy, so that even if one engine fails an escape can still be carried
out successfully.

SuperDracos can also be restarted multiple times if necessary and the engines will have the ability to deep throttle, providing astronauts with precise control and enormous power. In addition, as a part of a recoverable Dragon spacecraft, the engines can be used repeatedly, helping to advance SpaceX’s long-term goal of making spacecraft more like airplanes, which can be flown again and again with minimal maintenance between flights.

SpaceX press release

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/02/02/spacex-test-fires-advanced-new-engine/feed/ 0 Launch of Space Station Crew Faces Delay, by air leak in the capsule. http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/launch-of-space-station-crew-faces-delay-by-air-leak-in-the-capsule/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/launch-of-space-station-crew-faces-delay-by-air-leak-in-the-capsule/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:29:44 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29017

The launch of a Soyuz capsule carrying the new International Space Station (ISS) crew may be postponed over faults in the capsule’s assembly. The three new crew members – Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin and Joseph Acaba – are currently scheduled to launch on March 30 and dock two days later, bringing the station’s crew back up to six.

“The liftoff will be postponed. Most likely until the end of April from March 30, but more exact information will be available only when the special commission finishes its work,” he said.

The current crew will have to remain aboard ISS a little longer, he said. “Their stay is so short, it can easily be prolonged.”

Testing on Sunday discovered an air leak in the capsule.

 

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/launch-of-space-station-crew-faces-delay-by-air-leak-in-the-capsule/feed/ 0 Astronaut Jerry Ross, First Seven-Time Flier, Retires http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/astronaut-jerry-ross-first-seven-time-flier-retires/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/astronaut-jerry-ross-first-seven-time-flier-retires/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:12:35 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=29008 HOUSTON — Jerry Ross, the first person to launch into space seven times, has retired from NASA. In a career that spanned more than three decades, Ross spent almost 1,400 hours in space and conducted nine spacewalks to rank third on the list of most extravehicular activity time in space.

“Jerry has been instrumental in the success of many of NASA’s human spaceflight missions and numerous spacewalks,” said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office. “Not only were his skills and operational excellence key in major spaceflight activities but his expertise and vigilance also helped all those who followed in his footsteps. We are the better for his years of dedication to the corps and NASA.”

Ross joined NASA in 1979 as a payload officer and flight controller. In 1980, he was selected as an astronaut. He and Franklin Chang-Diaz are the only two astronauts to have flown into space seven times. In addition to Ross’ spaceflight mission accomplishments, he went on to serve NASA in the critical role of managing the Vehicle Integration Test Office.

“Jerry was equally invaluable leading this critical team, especially through space station assembly, the transition to the space shuttle retirement, and during the initial phases of our future programs,” said Janet Kavandi, director of Flight Crew Operations. “He was considered a mentor to many he worked with there. We wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Of his seven flights into orbit, Ross flew on space shuttles Endeavour and Columbia once each and a record-setting five times on shuttle Atlantis, including his first and last missions. His first flight was on the STS-61B mission in 1985. His final flight into space was on the STS-110 mission in 2002.

During his seven missions, he assisted in deploying a number of satellites and other payloads. He performed experiments in life, material and Earth sciences, and physics, robotics and astronomy. Ross was a member of the STS-74 mission’s crew, the second mission to dock to the Russian space station Mir. He also traveled to the then-fledgling International Space Station, where he helped connect the U.S.-built Unity node to the Russian Zarya module. On the STS-110 mission, Ross’ final trip to space, he was instrumental in delivering and installing the S0 (S-Zero) truss. Ross accumulated more than 1,393 hours in space, including 58 hours and 18 minutes on nine spacewalks.

Source and photo: NASA

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/27/astronaut-jerry-ross-first-seven-time-flier-retires/feed/ 0 Boeing GPS IIF Satellites Assembled Using ‘Pulse’ Manufacturing Line http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/24/boeing-gps-iif-satellites-assembled-using-pulse-manufacturing-line/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/24/boeing-gps-iif-satellites-assembled-using-pulse-manufacturing-line/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:02:15 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28903 Pulse line fosters more efficient manufacturing and reduced costs
GPS IIF system being built on a faster schedule
 

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 24, 2012 — The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has accelerated the assembly of its Global Positioning System (GPS IIF) satellites through the use of a pulse-line manufacturing approach adapted from the Boeing 737 airplane production line.

“Using this pulse-line approach, we are able to build up to six satellites per year,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “This is the highest satellite production rate in Boeing history, and it ensures we will deliver the remaining GPS IIF satellites on schedule.”

Boeing is currently under contract for 12 GPS IIF satellites for the U.S. Air Force. Two are in orbit and meeting mission requirements; two have been completed and are being stored until launch; and eight are in various stages of pulse-line production.

The next GPS IIF launch is scheduled during the third quarter of 2012. Boeing is prepared to deliver several GPS IIF satellites within the next year.

“Similar to an aircraft assembly line, the GPS IIF pulse line efficiently moves a satellite from one designated work area to the next at a fixed rate,” said Jan Heide, GPS IIF program director. “Within the four pulse line work centers, we’ve incorporated Lean manufacturing processes, new tooling, and additional work-planning packages to improve efficiency and reduce cost.”

The GPS pulse line can accommodate four satellites at any given time. Wait time between tasks is reduced or eliminated by staging necessary parts and tools at the point of use at each workstation, creating a smooth process flow. Along the pulse line, satellites flow to work centers dedicated to four manufacturing stages: vehicle assembly, initial test, thermal-vacuum testing, and final test. The line delivers one space vehicle to storage every two to three months.

GPS IIF is the product of Boeing’s long legacy with GPS capabilities, dating back to the first GPS satellite program in 1974. As the prime contractor on the GPS Block I, Block II, Block IIA and Block IIF programs, Boeing has built 40 of the 62 GPS satellites launched since 1978. For nearly 40 years Boeing has worked with the U.S. Air Force to help ensure excellent service to nearly 1 billion military and civilian users around the world. Boeing also is the prime contractor for the Operational Control Segment, which has supported an expanding set of GPS services and capabilities since 2007.

Source and photo: Boeing

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/24/boeing-gps-iif-satellites-assembled-using-pulse-manufacturing-line/feed/ 0 WGS-4 healthy and ready for orbital maneuvers http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/20/wgs-4-healthy-and-ready-for-orbital-maneuvers/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/20/wgs-4-healthy-and-ready-for-orbital-maneuvers/#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:31:46 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28824 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Jan. 19, 2012 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] has received the first on-orbit signals from the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite it is delivering to the U.S. Air Force. The signals indicate that WGS-4, the first in the Block II series, is healthy and ready to begin orbital maneuvers and operational testing.

WGS-4 launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle today at 7:38 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Controllers confirmed initial contact with the spacecraft 58 minutes later at 8:36 p.m. Eastern time at a ground station in Dongara, Australia. Boeing’s Mission Control Center in El Segundo, Calif., confirmed that the satellite is functioning normally.

“WGS-4 continues Boeing’s commitment of supporting the Air Force’s mission of delivering critical communications to warfighters,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “The company will remain focused, committed and dedicated to this mission as we continue to build the WGS series of satellites.”

Following a sequence of orbital maneuvers and on-orbit tests, WGS-4 will be placed into geosynchronous Earth orbit. The satellite joins WGS-1, which entered service over the Pacific Ocean in April 2008; WGS-2, which began operations over the Middle East in August 2009; and WGS-3, which entered service over the Atlantic Ocean in June 2010. Together, the four WGS satellites will provide assured access to high-data-rate, jam-resistant communications for U.S. forces and allies around the world.

The Block II series includes additional capabilities, such as a new radio frequency bypass that supports the transmission of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery at data rates approximately three times greater than those currently available on Block I satellites. All WGS satellites are built on the proven Boeing 702HP platform, which features highly efficient xenon-ion propulsion, deployable thermal radiators and advanced triple-junction gallium-arsenide solar arrays that enable high-capacity, flexible payloads. The WGS communications payload has unique flexibility that is important to the military, as well as the ability to interconnect terminals that operate in different frequency bands and to reposition coverage beams based on evolving mission needs. WGS supports missions including tactical communications to and between ground forces, and relaying data and imagery from airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.

Source and photo: Boeing

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/20/wgs-4-healthy-and-ready-for-orbital-maneuvers/feed/ 0 Vega rocket ready for first flight http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/vega-rocket-ready-for-first-flight/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/vega-rocket-ready-for-first-flight/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:55:00 +0000 Marcel van Leeuwen http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28788 Final checkout of Europe’s new Vega launcher was completed last Friday, marking another milestone towards its maiden flight from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The first Vega launch campaign began in November with the installation of the P80 first stage on the launch pad. The two solid-propellant second and third stages were added to the vehicle, followed by the AVUM – Attitude & Vernier Upper Module – liquid-propellant fourth stage.

All four stages have undergone final acceptance, including the testing of the avionics, guidance, telemetry, propulsion, separation pyrotechnics and safety systems.

These steps culminated on 13 January with Vega’s ‘synthesis control checks’, where all systems were put into launch mode for the vehicle’s final acceptance. This included pressurising the AVUM propulsion systems that actuate the thruster valves.


The rocket’s elements were switched on from the control bench to simulate the launch countdown. The onboard software then took over and simulated the different stages of a flight. The interfaces between the vehicle and the control bench were also tested.

The test review confirmed that everything ran as expected and that the launcher is ready for flight.

What’s next?

The ‘upper composite’ – the fairing and payload – will be integrated, followed by final checkout of the fully assembled launcher and the countdown rehearsal.

The first launch, VV01, is targeted for 9 February. It will carry nine satellites into orbit: the Italian space agency’s LARES and ALMASat-1, together with seven CubeSats from European universities.

This mission aims to qualify the Vega launch system, including the vehicle, its launch infrastructure and operations, from the launch campaign to payload separation and disposal of the upper module.

A flexible system

Vega is designed to cope with a wide range of missions and payload configurations in order to respond to different market opportunities and provide great flexibility.

In particular, it offers configurations able to handle payloads ranging from a single satellite up to one main satellite plus six microsatellites.

Vega is compatible with payload masses ranging from 300 kg to 2500 kg, depending on the type and altitude of the orbit required by the customers. The benchmark is for 1500 kg into a 700 km-altitude polar orbit.

More information on Vega and updates are now available on the new launch website here.

ESA press release

]]> http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/vega-rocket-ready-for-first-flight/feed/ 0 Astrium 2011: A good year http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/astrium-2011-a-good-year/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/astrium-2011-a-good-year/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:47:33 +0000 Marcel van Leeuwen http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28786
  • Provisional revenues of €5 billion and an order intake of €3.6 billion despite an increasingly competitive economic climate
  • Major contracts in 2011 included 4 for telecommunication satellites and 2 for Earth observation, the launch of the European Data Relay System (EDRS), the future data highway in space, and a contract from ESA to continue to manage the operation and exploitation of the International Space Station
  • The first benefits of the AGILE transformation programme, including contracts in the United States and Asia (DIRECTV 15 and MEASAT- 3b)
  • The acquisition of Vizada, which, when integrated in Astrium Services, will create one of the world’s leading providers of satellite telecommunication services, and a strategic investment in Italy: Space Engineering

    • In his traditional New Year’s message to the press, Astrium CEO François Auque announced the provisional results for 2011 achieved by Europe’s leading space company.

    Revenues are estimated at €5 billion and order intake at €3.6 billion in 2011, despite an increasingly competitive market environment.

    Astrium has once again demonstrated its outstanding reliability as the prime industrial contractor for the Ariane 5 European launch vehicle. The five perfectly executed launch campaigns in 2011, including that of the ATV-2 Johannes Kepler, have brought the number of consecutive successful launches to 46.

    13 satellites built by Astrium were also launched in 2011, including the first two Galileo IOV (In-Orbit Validation) satellites and the first satellite of the Pléiades constellation, for which Astrium Services is the civil operator and exclusive distributor of the very high-resolution images.

    In 2011, Astrium also won six satellite manufacturing contracts: two for Earth observation (Sentinel 4 instrument and Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite) and four for telecommunication satellites (Eutelsat 3B and 9B, MEASAT-3b and DIRECTV 15).

    François Auque is delighted with these results: “By winning these four contracts for telecommunication satellites, including one in Malaysia (MEASAT-3b) and one in the United States (DIRECTV 15), Astrium demonstrates its competitiveness on the global market for commercial satellite services. I see this as tangible evidence that our AGILE transformation programme, launched towards the end of 2010, is having the desired effect. It has enabled the men and women who work for Astrium to respond even more efficiently to the demands of their customers, both in Europe and in the rest of the world, by releasing their full creative potential and energy. A further example of the programme’s success is the sale of a fibre-optic gyroscope unit (FOG) for an American governmental space mission by our recently restructured satellite equipment business unit.”

    External growth played a significant role in 2011.

    The acquisition of Vizada by Astrium Services has created a new global leader in the market for satellite telecommunication services.

    Astrium also entered into an agreement pursuant to which it will acquire 66.78% of the Italian company Space Engineering, a Rome headquartered specialist in digital telecommunications, RF and antenna equipment engineering for both space and ground based applications.

    And lastly, Astrium finalised its majority shareholding of 75.1% in ND SatCom, the satellite equipment provider and ground systems integrator based in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

    François Auque comments: “These acquisitions illustrate Astrium’s ability to grasp every opportunity that presents itself in these difficult economic times, so as to continue developing its business, both in its domestic markets and internationally. The aim we are pursuing through this strategy, which is aligned with EADS’ Vision 2020, is to seize every opportunity for growth, especially in the field of satellite services, and to establish a better balance between our revenues in the institutional markets and in the commercial markets.”

    One of the major highlights of 2012 will be the integration of Vizada in Astrium Services, which will increase the total number of Astrium employees to close to 18,000.

    The many launches planned for 2012 include the ATV-3 “Edoardo Amaldi”, the Metop-B weather satellite, Spot 6, and the three SWARM satellites designed to study the Earth’s magnetic field as part of ESA’s Earth Explorer programme.

    Astrium also plans to deliver six Ariane 5 launch vehicles and five telecommunication satellites, namely Yahsat Y1B, Astra 2F, Skynet 5D, Eutelsat W5A and Alphasat I-XL.

    EADS press release

    ]]>     http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/19/astrium-2011-a-good-year/feed/ 0     China to launch 21 rockets, 30 satellites in 2012 http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/china-to-launch-21-rockets-30-satellites-in-2012/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/china-to-launch-21-rockets-30-satellites-in-2012/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:13:45 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28760 China will launch more rockets and satellites into space in 2012, chinanews.com reported Tuesday citing the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

    The main contractor for the Chinese space program said during its annual meeting that they will blast off 21 rockets and 30 satellites in the coming year.

    Shenzhou 9 is also expected to rendezvous and dock with Tiangong 1, and China will export its first remote sensing satellite to Venezuela among many other aerospace tasks in 2012.

     

    ]]>     http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/china-to-launch-21-rockets-30-satellites-in-2012/feed/ 0     4th Boeing Wideband Global SATCOM Satellite Ready for Liftoff http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/4th-boeing-wideband-global-satcom-satellite-ready-for-liftoff/ http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/4th-boeing-wideband-global-satcom-satellite-ready-for-liftoff/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:08:06 +0000 Rob Vogelaar http://www.aviationnews.eu/?p=28755 WGS-4 scheduled for Jan. 19 launch from Cape Canaveral
    Satellite 1st in Block II series that includes new radio frequency bypass
     

    EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 18, 2012 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced that the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite the company is delivering to the U.S. Air Force has successfully completed prelaunch testing and is ready for launch. WGS-4, the first spacecraft in the program’s upgraded Block II series, is scheduled to launch at 7:38 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 19 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

    The Block II satellites (WGS 4-6) add a switchable radio frequency bypass that supports the transmission of airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance imagery at data rates approximately three times greater than those currently available on Block I satellites.

    “This launch will be another important step in advancing communications capabilities for U.S. warfighters and allies around the world,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “When it enters service, WGS-4 will join three other WGS satellites that deliver critical communications to help warfighters execute missions with greater safety and efficiency.”

    Boeing built and tested the WGS-4 spacecraft at its manufacturing facility in El Segundo. Upon arrival at Cape Canaveral on Nov. 15, the satellite was moved into a processing facility to complete a series of prelaunch tests that validated the satellite’s operational readiness, including its ability to communicate with the ground control segment and launch site.

    Boeing has delivered three WGS satellites and is under contract for six more, including WGS-4. They are built on the proven Boeing 702HP platform, which features highly efficient xenon-ion propulsion, deployable thermal radiators, and advanced triple-junction gallium-arsenide solar arrays that enable high-capacity, flexible payloads. The WGS communications payload has unique flexibility that is important to the military, as well as the ability to interconnect terminals that operate in different frequency bands and to reposition coverage beams based on evolving mission needs. WGS supports missions ranging from tactical communications to and between ground forces, to relaying data and imagery from airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms.

    ]]>     http://www.aviationnews.eu/2012/01/18/4th-boeing-wideband-global-satcom-satellite-ready-for-liftoff/feed/ 0