Here’s a launch that went almost unnoticed. An Israeli military spy satellite blasted off on Monday morning from the Palmachim Air Force Base. This is a locally-designed and built rocket and satellite, launched completely unannounced. There isn’t much known about the satellite, Ofeq-7, except that it’s in low-Earth orbit, and will replace the aging Ofeq-5 spy satellite. Coy military officials implied that the satellite could be used to keep an eye on Iran’s military ambitions.
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Ariane 5 Lofts Two Satellites
An Ariane 5 rocket roared from the European Spaceport in French Guiana on Friday, carrying two satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. The liftoff occurred at 2229 UTC (6:29 pm EDT), after a one day delay because of high-altitude winds. The satellites were released into their transfer orbits 30 minutes after launch.
The first satellite is the ASTRA 1L, which will join a dozen spacecraft in the SES ASTRA constellation. They provide television broadcast and data communications services to 109 million households in Europe.
The second satellite is the Galaxy 17 broadcast satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, and launched for Intelsat. It became Intelsat’s 45th satellite launched aboard an Ariane rocket. Galaxy 17 will park above 74 degrees West above the equator, and provide broadcast services to North America.
This is the second Ariane 5 launch of the year; 4 more are planned.
Original Source: ESA News Release
Construction for the New Soyuz Launch Facility Begins
Workers broke ground this week on a new construction site at the European Space Agency’s new Soyuz launch base in French Guiana. Currently, Soyuz rockets only blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. But at the end of 2008, the rockets will roar from this facility as well.
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Blackened Sea Launch Heads for Home
After last week’s rocket explosion, the Sea Launch facility is making its way back to the home port in Long Beach, California. The latest photographs show how the Odyssey Launch Platform is blackened by the explosion from the Zenit-3SL rocket that was supposed to carry the NSS-8 satellite into orbit.
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Rocket Detonates on the Sea Launch Platform
A Zenit-3SL rocket carrying a Dutch communications satellite detonated on the Sea Launch platform on Tuesday, completely destroying the rocket, its satellite payload, and causing damage to the launch platform.
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Proton Launches MEASAT-3 Satellite
A Proton Breeze M rocket blasted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Monday, carrying a MEASAT-3 communications satellite into orbit. The launched at 23:28 UTC, and the satellite was released into a geosynchronous orbit 9 hours later. When it reaches its final orbit, MEASAT-3 will provide satellite broadcast and data services to customers in Southeast Asia.
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Delta Carries GPS Satellite into Orbit
A Boeing Delta II rocket blasted today off from Space Launch Complex 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was carrying a replacement Block IIR Global Positioning System satellite for the U.S. Air Force. The rocket lifted off at 1912 UTC (2:12 pm EST), and delivered the satellite into its transfer orbit 68 minutes later. The GPS IIR-16 is the third of a new generation of GPS satellites that give greater accuracy for navigation here on Earth.
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Proton Launches ARABSAT Broadcast Satellite
A Russian Proton rocket lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome Wednesday, carrying a ARABSAT BADR-4 broadcast satellite. The Proton lifted off at 20:01 UTC (3:01 pm EST), and placed the BADR-4 satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit a few minutes later. The satellite is a Eurostar E2000+ model, and will provide voice, broadband and television services the Middle East and North Africa region.
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Defense Department Satellite Launched
A Boeing Delta IV rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Saturday, carrying a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F17 satellite into orbit. The rocket lifted off at 1353 UTC (8:53 am EST), and the satellite was placed into polar orbit shortly after. The new military satellite will be able to view clouds, measure winds, soil moisture, ice and snow coverage, and pollution. It’s equipped with visible and infrared sensors, so that it can view the Earth day and night.
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Sea Launch Lofts Newest XM Broadcast Satellite
A Zenit-3SL rocket blasted off from the floating Sea Launch platform on Tuesday, placing the newest broadcast satellite for XM Satellite Radio into orbit. The rocket lifted off at 2349 UTC (6:49pm EST), and reached a geosynchronous transfer orbit a few minutes later. The Boeing-built XM-4 satellite will join a fleet of three other spacecraft for XM Satellite Radio, and provide digital radio programming to receivers in North America.
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