Arianespace
Arianespace targets 2023 for lunar Ariane 6 rideshare mission
Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël said the Ariane 6 rideshare mission will be able to deliver 8,500 kilograms into a lunar transfer orbit.
SpaceX says rideshare missions will launch on time, even if partly empty
SpaceX plans to launch regular Falcon 9 rideshare missions starting in March and won’t delay launches for tardy customers, a company executive said Oct. 8.
Smallsat launch services feel pricing pressure
Companies that provide both dedicated and rideshare launch services for small satellites say that price remains a major factor for their customers, with pressure from growing competition to lower them.
Launch companies look to government customers for stability
With the size and growth of commercial markets uncertain, launch companies are looking to government agencies to varying degrees for stability and funding for the development of new vehicles.
Arianespace reveals manifest, notes launch market variety
Orders for geostationary satellites are beginning to rebound in a market is far more varied than in the past.
Second stage blamed as Vega targets early 2020 return to flight
Investigators think Vega’s failure originated in the forward dome area of the Zefiro-23, the second of three solid-fueled stages the rocket expends to deliver satellites to orbit.
SpaceX loses Falcon Heavy customer Ovzon to Arianespace
Satellite broadband company Ovzon said Aug. 24 that a better offer from Arianespace for a 2021 launch aboard an Ariane 5 prompted it exit an agreement to launch its first fully owned satellite on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy.
Big rockets cutting in as little launchers vie for smallsat business
As SpaceX turned its attention to the larger Falcon 9 and programs like commercial cargo and crew, its presence at the annual Conference on Small Satellites, and the overall smallsat industry, faded. At this year’s conference, SpaceX retained its low profile but also announced its return to the smallsat market.
OneWeb disputes Virgin Orbit lawsuit, says LauncherOne is too expensive
Megaconstellation startup OneWeb asked a court to dismiss a June lawsuit by Virgin Orbit, claiming that it doesn’t accurately portray a 2015 launch contract.
Satellites for Intelsat, European lasercomm launch on Arianespace rocket
The Ariane 5 took off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern from Europe’s Guiana Space Center in South America, carrying the Intelsat-39 communications satellite and the EDRS-C laser relay satellite to geostationary transfer orbits.
Arianespace and SpaceX offering new dedicated rideshare services
Two of the largest commercial launch providers separately announced plans Aug. 5 to provide dedicated launches of small satellites to sun synchronous and geostationary orbits.
Arianespace Vega launch fails, Emirati satellite lost
The fifteenth launch of a European Vega rocket ended in failure July 10, resulting in the loss of an imaging satellite for the United Arab Emirates.
Ariane 5 lofts satellites for AT&T, Eutelsat
The heavy lift launcher took off from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana at 5:44 p.m. Eastern, carrying the T-16 satellite for AT&T’s DirecTV business, and the Eutelsat-7C satellite for French operator Eutelsat Communications.
Arianespace completes manifest for Vega dedicated rideshare mission
Arianespace has finalized the payload for a Vega launch later this year that will carry more than 40 small satellites, the first in what the company hopes to be a series of dedicated rideshare missions.
Commercial, not government, demand will drive size of small launch vehicle market
Startups in the burgeoning small launch vehicle market acknowledge that only a handful of vehicles will survive a likely shakeout, driven more by commercial rather than government demand.
Soyuz launch completes first-generation O3b constellation
European launch provider Arianespace completed SES’s first-generation O3b constellation April 4 with the Soyuz launch of four satellites.
