Satellite Launch News

North Korean missile tests are endangering the safety of commercial shipping in busy sea lanes in northeastern Asia without enough time given for notification, several countries told a UN agency on Wednesday.Nuclear-armed North Korea's sixth satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure, with the booster and payload plunging into the sea, but it still prompted emergency alerts and evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan.A resolution adopted by a majority of over 100 countries attending the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) security committee…

Inmarsat has launched its latest I-6 F2 spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.According to the mobile satellite communications specialist, which offers communications services in the air, at sea, and on land, the satellite launch saw I-6 F2 lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, reaching a top speed of almost 40,000km/h as it left Earth above central Africa. The satellite will now spend several months traveling to its geostationary orbit, 36,000km above the Equator, using its onboard electric propulsion system.

China successfully launched a new marine satellite into orbit yesterday (Friday) to help improve understanding of maritime waters and study the impact of climate change, Xinhua reported.A Long March-2C rocket carrying the HY-1C satellite took off at 11:15 a.m. from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China's Shanxi Province.The satellite will assist in monitoring ocean colour and water temperatures, providing basic data for research on the global oceanic environment, reports Xinhua, citing the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), which oversees China's space activities.Its data will also be used in the survey of the resources and environment of China's offshore waters…

China’s Academy of Space Technology in Beijing has launched a new high-tech satellite, called the Gaofen 3 high-resolution Earth observation satellite, which has been designed to protect its maritime interests, as well as warn of natural disasters, according to China Daily. The satellite was delivered by a Long March 4C rocket that blasted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi province. "The satellite will play an important role in monitoring the marine environment, islands and reefs, and ships and oil rigs," the official China Daily newspaper said, citing project leader Xu Fuxiang. "Satellites like the Gaofen-3 will be very useful in safeguarding the country's maritime rights and interests," he added, according to the newspaper.

Chinese maritime authorities must "blacklist" 31 boats operated by a North Korean firm that came under U.N. Security Council sanctions this week, according to a Ministry of Transport document reviewed by Reuters - a signal that China is enforcing tough new curbs aimed at Pyongyang's banned nuclear program. The notice, dated March 3, says maritime safety agencies must "urgently" determine whether 31 vessels belonging to Ocean Maritime Management Co (OMM) are in Chinese harbors or waters, and notify the ministry. The latest U.N. sanctions, drafted by the United States and China, blacklist the vessels. The ministry's notice says authorities must not allow the vessels to enter Chinese harbors, adding the measures were part of the "exceedingly sensitive" work of enforcing the U.N. sanctions.

Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today confirmed that the third satellite in the transformational Global Xpress (GX) programme – Inmarsat-5 F3 (I-5 F3) – has been scheduled for launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12.44pm (BST) on Friday 28th August. The third Global Xpress satellite to be launched, I-5 F3, will cover the Pacific Ocean Region and will, together with Inmarsat-5 F1 and Inmarsat-5 F2, create the world’s first globally available, high-speed mobile broadband service, delivered through a single provider. Inmarsat’s 5th generation satellites have all been built by Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc. in California.

Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has confirmed that the third satellite in the transformational Global Xpress (GX) program – Inmarsat-5 F3 (I-5 F3) – has been scheduled for launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12.44pm (BST) on Friday, August 28. The third Global Xpress satellite to be launched, I-5 F3, will cover the Pacific Ocean Region and will, together with Inmarsat-5 F1 and Inmarsat-5 F2, create the world’s first globally available, high-speed mobile broadband service, delivered through a single provider.

Inmarsat has provided an initial update on the launch schedule for Inmarsat-5 F3 (I-5 F3) following the failure of the preceding Proton Breeze M launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday 16 May. According to an announcement by Inmarsat’s launch partner, ILS, the Proton Breeze M rocket carrying the Centenario satellite suffered a disabling anomaly during the operation of the third stage, approximately eight minutes after lift-off, resulting in the loss of the satellite and rocket. A Russian State Commission has begun the process of determining the reasons for the failure. In parallel with the State Commission, ILS will form its own Failure Review Oversight Board, which will review the State Commission’s final report and corrective action plan, in accord with U.S.

U.S. Navy military and civilian engineers are preparing the latest military communications satellite for a planned Jan. 20 launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite is part of MUOS, or Mobile User Objective System, which operates like a smartphone network from space, vastly improving secure satellite communications for mobile U.S. forces. Unlike its predecessor system, MUOS provides users a global, on-demand, beyond-line-of-sight capability to transmit and receive high-quality voice and mission data from a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

Two cargo terminals at the Port of Long Beach announced Wednesday, Aug. 27, that they were suspending vessel operations for the day because 10- to 15-foot high wave surges powered by Pacific Hurricane Marie endangered longshore workers. Total Terminals International on Pier T, with two Mediterranean Shipping Co. container ships at berth, and Crescent Terminals on Pier F, with two break-bulk ships including a MOL roll-on, roll-off vessel at berth, stopped working the ships late Tuesday. There was flooding reported at Crescent.

Galileo, the EU satellite navigation program (the European GPS) and Copernicus, the EU Earth monitoring program, are in decisive phases this year. With the launch of six additional Galileo satellites, Europeans will soon be able to enjoy their own satellite navigation system. The first Copernicus satellite launch in March will also enable considerable progress in improving maritime security, climate change monitoring and providing support in emergency and crisis situations. The progress in both European space programs - Galileo and Copernicus - was announced by Vice President Antonio Tajani following a meeting with Jean Jacques Dordain…

Inmarsat provider of global mobile satellite communications services, confirms the successful launch of Alphasat, the largest satellite, designated I-4A F4. Alphasat was launched on an Ariane 5 ECA, the latest version of the Ariane 5 launcher, from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana at 20.54hrs BST on 25th July (16.54hrs Kourou local time). Arianespace confirmed a successful spacecraft separation at 27 minutes 45 seconds after launch and the Alphasat Mission Operations Team confirmed telemetry reception and that they have command of the satellite at 21.47 BST.

The highest detection performance Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellite ever built, will be launched by a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on on 22nd July 2012. AIS is currently deployed on more than 80,000 vessels globally, however AIS base station receivers are mostly based on land and can only track ships moving up to 50 nautical miles off the coast. exactEarth is pioneering space-based AIS services that increases the range, enabling the monitoring of vessels throughout the World’s oceans. exactView-1 (previously known as ADS-1b) was built under contract for exactEarth and will become the fifth deployed satellite in exactEarth’s advanced vessel monitoring satellite constellation.

Thuraya Telecommunications Company, an international mobile satellite services operator, announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen O’Neill, President of Boeing Satellite Systems International, Inc (BSSI), as a member of the Corporate Board of Directors. BSSI is one of Thuraya’s strategic shareholders and manufacturer of Thuraya’s leading-edge commercial satellites. The appointment of Mr. Stephen O’Neill will further enhance the partnership between BSSI and Thuraya that traces back to the company’s inception. Mr. O’ Neill has over 30 years of experience in the aerospace industry.

exactEarth Ltd., a satellite AIS data services provider, announced that it has recently booked multiple orders for exactAIStm, its global vessel tracking and monitoring system. The orders, which have been placed by government agencies in several countries including South Africa and Japan, are in excess of $2 million over the next 12 months. exactEarth also announced that the commissioning process related to its recent satellite launch is proceeding well and this advanced AIS payload will be placed into service this month as planned. In a series of tests the satellite payload, newly named exactView2, has demonstrated very good vessel detection rates in even the highest-density shipping areas of the world.