PARIS — The successful Feb. 12 launch of the enhanced version of Europe’s Ariane 5 rocket has put the Arianespace launch consortium back in the running as a major commercial-launch competitor, saved the life of a Loral-led satellite operator and removed a shadow cast over Europe’s near-term government space budget.
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Posted inNews
Spain Studies Options For Military Observation Craft
PRIVATE tabstops: PARIS — The Spanish government has signed contracts with domestic industry teams to produce competing assessments of high-resolution radar and optical satellites for the Spanish Ministry of Defense, Spanish industry officials said. The work is expected to end in April, in time to be evaluated as part of Spain’s multiyear budget proposal to be set by June.
Posted inOpinion
Editorial: Is Anyone Paying Attention
It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the U.S. satellite export drama over the past several years that European governments have begun investing in industrial capacities that will reduce Europe’s traditional reliance on American companies for certain satellite components.
Posted inNews
Profile: John T. Fuller, VP, Air Force Space Systems, Boeing Co.
A s Boeing Co.’s point man for most U.S. Air Force satellite systems, John Fuller already oversees a large and productive portfolio, but even bigger plums lay on the horizon.
Posted inCommercial
60 Nations Sign Earth Observation System Agreement
Brussels — Nearly 60 nations signed a 10-year program to tighten international coordination on earth observation to include common standards and improved maintenance for ground-based sensors and reduced duplication of satellite capacity.
Posted inLaunch
Japan Readies Modified H-2A For Return to Flight
TOKYO — Japan’s workhorse H-2A rocket, having undergone a top-to-bottom review and significant modifications following a November 2003 failure, is set to return to flight Feb. 24 carrying a government weather and air traffic control satellite.
Posted inNews
Boehlert Questions Size of NASA Budget Request
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Science Committee said he is opposed to giving NASA a bigger budget increase than most other federal government agencies this year, even though he is supportive of the space agency’s long-term exploration plans.
Posted inCommercial
Making Space Commercially Relevant
In his 1986 book, “The Reckoning,” David Halberstam summarized the defeat of American automakers at the hands of Japanese manufacturers with the wonderful phrase, “Familiarity breeds complacency.” Similarly, Zen master Suziki Roshi tells us, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
Posted inNews
Methane Becomes Flash Point In Search for Life on Mars
WASHINGTON — Researchers on both sides of the Atlantic are eagerly searching for clues to determine whether primitive life could exist in the harsh environment of Mars, just as it does in some very harsh environments on Earth. One focus of that search is the presence of methane on Mars.
Posted inLaunch
China To Build and Launch Nigerian Telecom Satellite
PRIVATE tabstops: BRUSSELS — In its first satellite export sale, China’s state-owned space hardware manufacturer has won a contract to build and launch a large telecommunications spacecraft for the Nigerian government in a $311 million deal that Nigeria’s chief negotiator said elicited little serious interest from U.S. and European companies .
