HXMT - China First Telescope Launch

HXMT - HARD X-RAY MODULATION TELESCOPE (CHINA ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY)

Today China launches HXMT Mission for its X-Ray based astronomical Observation. It will observe black holes, neutron stars and other gas nebulae based on its X-Ray and Gamma-Ray emissions. It is the China's First Astronomical Satellite. And it is based on the series of reconnaissance satellite JianBing-3 

The Project is a joint mission of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University. It took 17 years to construct completely. 

#For more space launch schedule visit our page  Space-Flight Schedule

Image From Spaceflight Schedule of Fornax Space Missions

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Sentinel 2B Launch

The Copernicus snentinel 2B satellite will ride into space on a vega rocket from European Spaceport on 7th March 2017 at 01:49 GMT .

Sentinel 2B is already in its stand for seven week campaign for its test. And later it well be prepared to lift up from the spaceport into the orbit by a Vega Rocket said by the European Launch Campaign Manager, Paolo Laberinti.

All the satellite equipments are ready to be tested by connecting it to the electrical equipment. After reaching the orbit it will join to its twin Sentinel 2A which has been in orbit since June 2015, with each paiding 290 Km wide average. The time takes to image the globe.

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PSLV C37 launch on Feb 15, 2017

India is going to make a  world record history by launching 104 satellites in a single Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C37.. It will be launched on February 15 at 9.28 AM.

INDIAN SATELLITES:-

1. Cartosat 2D
2. INS 1A
3. INS 1B

      Other 101 satellites on board from counties like USA, Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates. Remaining satellites are agreement with ISRO and other foreign countries...  JAI HINDH!! Proud to Share this message... INDIAN....

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Feb-14 Ariane 5 Launch

   Intelsat 32e/sky Brasil and Telkom 3s

Name : Intelsat 32e/sky Brasil and Telkom3s
Launch : 14 February 2017
Rocket   : Ariane 5ECA
Site        : Kourou French, Guiana
Purpose: Television Broadcast and Mobile networks

OVERVIEW:-

          Ariane Space will use Ariane 5ECA Rocket, designated VA235 to launch these communication satellites. Intelsat 32e/sky for television broadcast. Telkom 3s for television as well as for mobile networking.
Telkom is joint programme of Malaysia and other part of Asia.

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Falcon 9 Launch on Feb 14

A Space x falcon 9 rocket will launch the 12 th Dragon Spacecraft on the 10 th operational international cargo delivery to the International Space Station. The flight is being taken under Commercial Resupply Services contact with NASA. 

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Jan 28 Soyuz Hipasat 36W-1

 


Satellite Name  : Hipasat 36W-1
Operator           : ESA
Launch time    : 0103:34  GMT on 28th Jan
Launch Site    : ELS Sinnamary, French           Guiana

                                            

                                 An Ariane Space Agency's Soyuz Rocket designated VS16, will launch a mission from guiana Space Center in South America. The Soyuz will carry the Hipasat 36W-1 communication satellite. Also known as Hipasat Ag1, the satellite is based on the small GEO platform developed by OHB and the European Space Agency and is owned by madrid-based Hipasat to provide communications services over Spain, Portugal and the Americans. The Soyuz 2-1b Soyuz ST-B rocket will use Fregat-MT upper stage.

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JAN 19 - SBIRS - GEO 3

Location : Cape Canaveral AFS SLC-41
Time         :  7:46 PM EST (UTS-5)
Window   : 1 Hour and 20 minutes
Owner      :  United Launch Alliance

The Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) is a consolidated system intended to meet the United States’ infrared space surveillance needs. SBIRS is an integrated “system of systems” that will include satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), sensors hosted on satellites in highly elliptical orbit (HEO), and ground-based data processing and control.

NEWS

The third SBIRS satellite, the next satellite scheduled to join the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), pictured above in final assembly and test at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California. Credit: Lockheed MartinWASHINGTON  

The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center has cleared the third missile-warning Space Based Infrared System satellite for launch following an investigation into the satellite’s engine.

The launch of the Lockheed Martin-built satellite was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but was pushed back when a supplier told the company they had an issue on an unrelated satellite with one of their engine components, a part that was also used aboard SBIRS.

“On Sept. 6, Lockheed Martin was notified by their supplier that the same type of [Liquid Apogee Engine] that was installed on SBIRS GEO Flight-3 had experienced an anomaly on a different, non-SBIRS satellite,” the Air Force said in a statement.

Neither Lockheed Martin nor the Air Force have identified the supplier, or specified what exactly was the issue with the component.Lockheed Martin indicated they did not build the space vehicle that suffered the engine anomaly, which would rule out the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System-5 satellite that experienced propulsion problems in June following launch and took almost four months to reach its assigned orbit.

Investigators said they conducted a variety of tests, including firing a liquid apogee engine (LAE) similar to what is on the SBIRS launch, and concluded that the engine “exhibits normal performance.”

“The safety of our national security space assets is a top priority and the entire investigation team was thoroughly committed to getting this right,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, commander of SMC, in a statement. “The investigation team used modern diagnostics to assess the health of the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 LAE, and we determined it does not exhibit any of the anomalous behavior experienced on the failed component from the non-SBIRS satellite.”

The investigation concluded Nov. 30 and the satellite has been approved for fueling operations Dec. 6–11 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Launch is currently scheduled for Jan. 19.

SBIRS GEO Flight-3 will be the next element of the Air Force’s missile-warning constellation designed to replace the aging Defense Support Program satellites. The first two satellites in the $19 billion constellation launched in 2011 and 2013.

The constellation is currently controlled from the SBIRS Mission Control Station at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.

Lockheed Martin also celebrated the Air Force signing-off on an upgrade to the SBIRS ground control system that collects data from SBIRS and DSP satellites as well as missile-warning satellites in elliptical orbits.

“The Block 10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared information to see dimmer events faster,” the company said in a press release.

In August, Col. John Wagner, the 460^th Space Wing commander at Buckley, said his unit was “already seeing improvements across the board with improved surveillance and warning” during the testing and evaluation phase of the Block 10 upgrades.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center has cleared the third missile-warning Space Based Infrared System satellite for launch following an investigation into the satellite’s engine.
The launch of the Lockheed Martin-built satellite was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but was pushed back when a supplier told the company they had an issue on an unrelated satellite with one of their engine components, a part that was also used aboard SBIRS.
“On Sept. 6, Lockheed Martin was notified by their supplier that the same type of [Liquid Apogee Engine] that was installed on SBIRS GEO Flight-3 had experienced an anomaly on a different, non-SBIRS satellite,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Neither Lockheed Martin nor the Air Force have identified the supplier, or specified what exactly was the issue with the component.
Lockheed Martin indicated they did not build the space vehicle that suffered the engine anomaly, which would rule out the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System-5 satellite that experienced propulsion problems in June following launch and took almost four months to reach its assigned orbit.
Investigators said they conducted a variety of tests, including firing a liquid apogee engine (LAE) similar to what is on the SBIRS launch, and concluded that the engine “exhibits normal performance.”
“The safety of our national security space assets is a top priority and the entire investigation team was thoroughly committed to getting this right,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, commander of SMC, in a statement. “The investigation team used modern diagnostics to assess the health of the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 LAE, and we determined it does not exhibit any of the anomalous behavior experienced on the failed component from the non-SBIRS satellite.”
The investigation concluded Nov. 30 and the satellite has been approved for fueling operations Dec. 6–11 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Launch is currently scheduled for Jan. 19.
SBIRS GEO Flight-3 will be the next element of the Air Force’s missile-warning constellation designed to replace the aging Defense Support Program satellites. The first two satellites in the $19 billion constellation launched in 2011 and 2013.
The constellation is currently controlled from the SBIRS Mission Control Station at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.
Lockheed Martin also celebrated the Air Force signing-off on an upgrade to the SBIRS ground control system that collects data from SBIRS and DSP satellites as well as missile-warning satellites in elliptical orbits.
“The Block 10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared information to see dimmer events faster,” the company said in a press release.
In August, Col. John Wagner, the 460^th Space Wing commander at Buckley, said his unit was “already seeing improvements across the board with improved surveillance and warning” during the testing and evaluation phase of the Block 10 upgrades.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/sbirs-geo-3-cleared-for-launch-following-engine-investigation/#sthash.Uo1lYt1P.dpuf

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center has cleared the third missile-warning Space Based Infrared System satellite for launch following an investigation into the satellite’s engine.
The launch of the Lockheed Martin-built satellite was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but was pushed back when a supplier told the company they had an issue on an unrelated satellite with one of their engine components, a part that was also used aboard SBIRS.
“On Sept. 6, Lockheed Martin was notified by their supplier that the same type of [Liquid Apogee Engine] that was installed on SBIRS GEO Flight-3 had experienced an anomaly on a different, non-SBIRS satellite,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Neither Lockheed Martin nor the Air Force have identified the supplier, or specified what exactly was the issue with the component.
Lockheed Martin indicated they did not build the space vehicle that suffered the engine anomaly, which would rule out the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System-5 satellite that experienced propulsion problems in June following launch and took almost four months to reach its assigned orbit.
Investigators said they conducted a variety of tests, including firing a liquid apogee engine (LAE) similar to what is on the SBIRS launch, and concluded that the engine “exhibits normal performance.”
“The safety of our national security space assets is a top priority and the entire investigation team was thoroughly committed to getting this right,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, commander of SMC, in a statement. “The investigation team used modern diagnostics to assess the health of the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 LAE, and we determined it does not exhibit any of the anomalous behavior experienced on the failed component from the non-SBIRS satellite.”
The investigation concluded Nov. 30 and the satellite has been approved for fueling operations Dec. 6–11 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Launch is currently scheduled for Jan. 19.
SBIRS GEO Flight-3 will be the next element of the Air Force’s missile-warning constellation designed to replace the aging Defense Support Program satellites. The first two satellites in the $19 billion constellation launched in 2011 and 2013.
The constellation is currently controlled from the SBIRS Mission Control Station at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.
Lockheed Martin also celebrated the Air Force signing-off on an upgrade to the SBIRS ground control system that collects data from SBIRS and DSP satellites as well as missile-warning satellites in elliptical orbits.
“The Block 10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared information to see dimmer events faster,” the company said in a press release.
In August, Col. John Wagner, the 460^th Space Wing commander at Buckley, said his unit was “already seeing improvements across the board with improved surveillance and warning” during the testing and evaluation phase of the Block 10 upgrades.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/sbirs-geo-3-cleared-for-launch-following-engine-investigation/#sthash.Uo1lYt1P.dpuf

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center has cleared the third missile-warning Space Based Infrared System satellite for launch following an investigation into the satellite’s engine.
The launch of the Lockheed Martin-built satellite was originally scheduled for Oct. 3, but was pushed back when a supplier told the company they had an issue on an unrelated satellite with one of their engine components, a part that was also used aboard SBIRS.
“On Sept. 6, Lockheed Martin was notified by their supplier that the same type of [Liquid Apogee Engine] that was installed on SBIRS GEO Flight-3 had experienced an anomaly on a different, non-SBIRS satellite,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Neither Lockheed Martin nor the Air Force have identified the supplier, or specified what exactly was the issue with the component.
Lockheed Martin indicated they did not build the space vehicle that suffered the engine anomaly, which would rule out the Navy’s Mobile User Objective System-5 satellite that experienced propulsion problems in June following launch and took almost four months to reach its assigned orbit.
Investigators said they conducted a variety of tests, including firing a liquid apogee engine (LAE) similar to what is on the SBIRS launch, and concluded that the engine “exhibits normal performance.”
“The safety of our national security space assets is a top priority and the entire investigation team was thoroughly committed to getting this right,” said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, commander of SMC, in a statement. “The investigation team used modern diagnostics to assess the health of the SBIRS GEO Flight-3 LAE, and we determined it does not exhibit any of the anomalous behavior experienced on the failed component from the non-SBIRS satellite.”
The investigation concluded Nov. 30 and the satellite has been approved for fueling operations Dec. 6–11 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Launch is currently scheduled for Jan. 19.
SBIRS GEO Flight-3 will be the next element of the Air Force’s missile-warning constellation designed to replace the aging Defense Support Program satellites. The first two satellites in the $19 billion constellation launched in 2011 and 2013.
The constellation is currently controlled from the SBIRS Mission Control Station at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado.
Lockheed Martin also celebrated the Air Force signing-off on an upgrade to the SBIRS ground control system that collects data from SBIRS and DSP satellites as well as missile-warning satellites in elliptical orbits.
“The Block 10 system includes upgrades like faster collection times, improved threat detections and improved target tracking and infrared information to see dimmer events faster,” the company said in a press release.
In August, Col. John Wagner, the 460^th Space Wing commander at Buckley, said his unit was “already seeing improvements across the board with improved surveillance and warning” during the testing and evaluation phase of the Block 10 upgrades.
- See more at: http://spacenews.com/sbirs-geo-3-cleared-for-launch-following-engine-investigation/#sthash.Uo1lYt1P.dpuf

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Space X Iridium Falcon 9

FALCON 9 IRIDIUM LAUNCH BY SPACE X

 

• Launch vehicle:Falcon-9
• Date:14/01/2017
• Payload:Iridium NEXT 1-10
• Launch site:Vandenberg AFB SLC-4E, USA
  
  
  Planned launch of first two Iridium NEXT satellites was cancelled due the problems with availability of Ukrainian Dnepr rockets and lack of agree from Russian authorities for launching Dnepr from Russian Dombarovsky Cosmodrome. ISC Kosmotras Company responsible for launching Iridium NEXT-1 and Iridium NEXT-2 satellites mission was forced to break contract - Iridium decided to combine these two satellites with mission contracted to SpaceX. Falcon-9 1.2V will lift ten Iridium NEXT earlier (mission is moved from August) then it was planned to help Iridium with replacing previous generation of Iridium satellites. First generation remains in space since 2002 when last Iridium satellite was launched (picture on the left). New generation satellites will help Iridium to offer best global mobile telecommunications services.
  Iridium Next satellites are manufactured and designed by Thales Alenia Space and based on Elite bus. They are equipped in transponders operating in L band and Ka band (crosslink and downlink).Each satellite weighs 800 kg and is powered with two solar arrays. Iridium NEXT will remain operational for at least ten years after being placed on LEO with 780 km × 780 km with inclination at 86.4°.

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JAXA TRICOM-1 Launch Jan 10

  Japan To Launch TRICOM-1 Cube Sat on Jan 10.2017

SS-520-4 •TRICOM-1

• Launch vehicle:SS-520-4
• Date:2017/01/10 22:20
• Payload:TRICOM-1
• Launch site:Uchinoura Space Center

Modified sounding rocket with 3 kg Cubesat on atop - well it should not be surprising in era of nanotechnologies ! JAXA decided to use sounding rocket with added third stage to deliver to 180 km  x 1500 km and inclined at 31° orbit 3U CubeSat created by  University of Tokyo. It is spin stabilized Cubesat equipped with five cameras and data transmitter.

SS-520-4 is fin stabilized rocket, version of SS-520 with third stage. It is utilizing spinning as method of stabilization; with length of 9.65 m (SS-520) and diameter of 520 mm it weighs over 2600 kg. Payload capacity is 140 kg. Rocket was launched for the first time in 1998 from Uchinoura and for the second time in 2000 from Norwegian Svalbard Satellite Station.

 Satellite Description:

TRICOM 1 is an experimental 3U Cubesat built at the University of Tokyo.

TRICOM 1 is a 3 kg spin stabilized satellite featuring a store and forward communication equipment and an earth imaging camera. The CubeSat is launched without the usual deployer and is base mounted on the launch vehicle without the usual guiding rails or tabs.

The Store and forward mission is to collect the data that is transmitted from the ground terminal while orbiting the Earth, transfer the data at the direction of the ground station.

The earth imaging mission is to use four main cameras and a sub-camera during the initial operation to allow imaging the ground even in an unstable state.

The satellite will be the payload of the experimental SS-520-4 nano-satellite launcher. It is to be put into a 180 km × 1500 km orbit with 31° inclination in 2017.

 

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