Let’s hope this one turn out better than Sinosat-2 did. Here’s the news report, via IHT:
China launched a new communications satellite into orbit early Friday [1 June 2007] to provide broader radio and television signal coverage across the country, state media reported.
The Long March-3A rocket lifted off from the Xichang launching center in southwestern China eight minutes after midnight (1608 GMT) and separated from the SinoSat-3 satellite 24 minutes later, the Xinhua News Agency said.
The long-scheduled launch follows the failed deployment last October of another communications satellite, SinoSat-2, whose solar panels and communications antennae did not operate properly, Xinhua said.
China has spent decades building an indigenous space program and is trying to attract customers from abroad, after a series of failed launches in the 1990s dampened demand for Chinese launch services.
Both the rocket and the satellite used Friday were mainly developed and manufactured domestically, Xinhua said.
The satellite deployed Friday was not developed as a replacement for the inoperable SinoSat-2, Xinhua said, though Sino Satellite Communications Co., the satellite’s operators, may use SinoSat-3 to replace part of the service the other satellite was to have provided.
Xinhua quoted a company spokesman as saying that a substitute satellite would take at least three years to develop.
According a local news agency, Kazakhstan Today, DirecTV’s new HD-dedicated satellite won’t be launched until next month:
Launch of space vehicle DirecTV-10 planned for June 20 has been postponed at the cosmodrome Baikonur. Federal space center Baikonur press service informed the agency.
According to the press service, the launch date of the American telecommunication satellite DirecTV-10 has been shifted for July. "The date transfer has been done due to the request of foreign manufacturers of the satellite and is connected with the terms of preparation of a space satellite and its delivery to the cosmodrome," the press service informed.
The exact date of the satellite launch by means of a carrier rocket Proton-M will be defined later after delivery of the satellite to the cosmodrome and will depend on the degree of readiness of foreign partners.
This was indeed confirmed by DirecTV’s press guy, via SatelliteGuys.us:
here’s a statement i just received from bob mercer, directv’s director of public relations:
“The launch date of D10 has slipped to july 7. there were some late processing issues in the Boeing factory but they have been resolved and we are moving forward.”
he sent me a follow-up email from his blackberry to clarify the date:
“that’s actually july 6 in the US.”
Back in January, DirecTV promised up to 70 national HD channels via this and another new satellite in 2007. This is a key launch for them.
The launch of South Africa’s first government satellite from a Russian submarine next month has been postponed indefinitely, an official said on Tuesday.
"It has been postponed because official documentation still needs to be arranged to issue a decree for the launch," said Nhlanhla Nyide, spokesman for the Department of Science and Technology.
"They are currently working on the process … We will hear from them when they have set a new date for launch," Nyide said.
He told said no additional costs will be incurred and South Africa’s nascent space programme would not be affected because of the cancellation of the launch, which was to have taken place in the Barents Sea near Norway.
The R26-million satellite, intended to orbit some 500 km (310 miles) above earth and have a life-span of three years and longer, would carry high-resolution imaging cameras.
The images from the South African-built satellite would be used across a wide array of applications, from agriculture to land use and infrastructure mapping.
South Africa has pledged millions of rands to build its astronomy and space sector, with the construction of the South African Large Telescope creating a hub for astronomy research in southern Africa.
In July 2006 cabinet approved the establishment of a South African Space Agency as an institutional vehicle to look at space science and technology.
This would have been a cool launch. Back in December, 2006, the satellite was handed off to Russia:
South Africa’s low-earth-orbiting microsatellite, SumbandilaSat, left for Russia on Thursday, ahead of its launch into space off a submarine in early 2007.
The 81-kg SumbandilaSat will generate satellite imagery through its remote sensing camera at 6,25 m ground sampling distance.
Upon arrival in Russia, SumbandilaSat will be taken to the Russian naval base at Murmansk, where the Russian navy will integrate it with a launch rocket. The satellite will then be transported to a submarine at Severemorsk, just off the Russian coast, where it will be launched into space.
The launch window period is between April and May and is strongly dependent on weather conditions at the time. Once in orbit, SumbandilaSat will pass over South Africa mid-morning and mid-evening, at an average orbit altitude of 500 km.
In addition to its earth observation and communications payloads, SumbandilaSat carries five experimental payloads, which will present the scientific community with exciting results in low frequency radio waves, radiation, software defined radio, forced vibrating string and radio amateur transponders.
Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, in Stellenbosch, Science and Technology Minister Mosibudi Mangena said that the development of SumbandilaSat offered South Africa a number of competitive advantages and would support decision-making in natural resource management and sustainable development. He added that the images yielded by the satellite would be used in various applications, which had direct benefits to societies, such as flood and fire disaster management; enhancing food security through crop yield estimation; ensuring better human and animal health through enabling the prediction of the outbreaks of diseases; better monitoring of land cover and use; as well improved capabilities for water resource management.
The actual construction of the SumbandilaSat had been completed at the end of September and had been followed by a battery of trials, including functional testing, space environmental testing, vibration testing and burn-in testing, designed to establish the satellite’s readiness prior to a flight acceptance review.
“The environmental-testing phase determined SumbandilaSat’s ability to withstand extreme variance in temperatures, while the vibration tests verified its ability to endure the shocks it will undergo as it is launched into space. The burn-in testing phase comprised the actual and continual running of the satellite and its systems in order to confirm that all components are fully functional,” the Department of Science and Technology (DST) said.
Sunspace project manager for SumbandilaSat Harry van der Heyden said that the review presentation included an introduction to the hardware produced, as well as the ground support equipment developed for the satellite. “We also conducted demonstrations to illustrate how the satellite communicates with the ground support equipment.”
The birth of SumbandilaSat was initiated by the DST and was given life by numerous stakeholders, including the University of Stellenbosch, Sunspace, the South African Space Council, the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Industry, and Communications, as well as the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research.
The launch of SumbandilaSat is envisaged to strengthen South Africa’s technological capability and innovation in space science and technology, as well as reinforce the country’s role in national, regional and international space initiatives.
True to prediction, the much awaited launch of the Nigerian communication satellite, the first of its kind in Africa, took place and went on the 20 to 30 – minute trip into orbit where it is expected to provide robust and reliable satellite services to citizens in Africa and Europe.
The excitement at the site, according to Nigerian officials at the launch, was "electrifying."
Head of Corporate Affairs and Media at the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Mr. Felix Ale, told The Guardian on phone that the launch was successful.
He quoted the agency’s Director General Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, as saying that the 30-minute movement of the satellite went on without delay.
According to Ale, "Prof. Boroffice has also called President Olusegun Obasanjo to inform him of the success of the launch. The President was impressed and full of praises for NASRDA.
In addition to be the first communications satellite launched on behalf of an African country, the launch of NigComSat1 also marks a significant first for China, as the first time a foreign buyer has purchased a Chinese satellite and its launching service. The Chinese news service, Xinhua, also points out that the launch represents the culmination and beginning of a relationship between Nigeria and China that will likely continue throughout the life-span of the satellite (about 15 years)…
The satellite will be monitored and tracked by a ground station to be built in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, by Chinese firm Great Wall Industry Corporation, and a ground station in Kashgar, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The satellite’s ground facility in Abuja "had the potential of making Nigeria a major traffic hub in the west and central African region" and will prompt Nigeria and neighboring countries to "expand their switching facilities to be able to handle international traffic", according to a Nigerian communication official.
The Chinese company will offer support services and training for Nigerian technicians.
China was awarded the deal in 2004 after it outbid 21 international rivals to secure the 311 million U.S. dollar deal.
And also, may point to China’s expanding relationship with the developing world.
The satellite represents China’s wish to cooperate with developing countries in the peaceful use of outer space and to promote a closer relationship between China and African countries, observers say.
China has signed several cooperative contracts offering commercial launching services for foreign satellites, said an official on space development, citing a similar satellite contract with Venezuela in November 2005 and adding that China has been commissioned to send about 30 foreign satellites into space.
We have a potentially record-setting launch coming up on Thursday, 3 May 2007, from the jungles of French Guiana. We’re talking some heavy payload here. The news via L’Express:
La fusée européenne Ariane 5 doit décoller jeudi soir de Kourou pour mettre en orbite une masse sans précédent constituée de deux satellites de communication.
La masse totale – celle des deux satellites Astra 1L et Galaxy 17 et des interfaces – s’élève à 9,4 tonnes, un record mondial pour un lancement sur orbite géostationnaire, rapporte Arianespace, l’exploitant du lanceur.
Le décollage est prévu à 19h29 (22h29 GMT) du Centre spatial guyanais, la base de l’Agence Spatiale Européenne.
Il s’agit du 176e lancement d’Ariane, du 32e vol d’une Ariane 5 et du 10e d’une Ariane 5 ECA, modèle le plus puissant de la gamme, qui peut mettre jusqu’à dix tonnes sur orbite.
Le satellite Astra 1L doit être placé sur orbite 27 minutes après le décollage et Galaxy 17 cinq minutes plus tard.
Construit par l’industriel américain Lockeed Martin Commercial Space Systems en Californie, Astra 1L a une masse au décollage de 4,1 tonnes, selon Arianespace.
Il sera positionné au-dessus de l’Europe continentale, d’où il assurera la diffusion de chaînes de télévision de haute définition (HD) pour le compte de SES Astra, société du groupe Société Européenne des Satellites (SES), basée au Luxembourg.
I’m making plans to watch it myself. The launch window opens at 22:29 GMT and closes at 23:13 GMT on 3 May 2007. Local time in French Guiana is right after dinner (between 19:29 and 08:13 on 3 May 2007), but I doubt anyone will be able to eat beforehand. Here are some local times:
New York: 18:29 to 19:13 on 3 May 2007
Luxembourg: 00:29 to 01:13 on 4 May 2007
Singapore: 06:29 to 07:13 on 4 May 2007
Live television broadcast begins at 21:50 GMT (17:50 EDT; 23:50 CET):
In Europe, the launch will also be broadcast live via ASTRA satellite from the orbital position 19.2° East (downlink frequency: 12.5515 GHz, vertical polarization, service ID 12122, service name ASTRA Vision 2).
In North America, lock your antenna on Galaxy 3 at 95 West (transponder 22, C-band; Format: digital 9 MHZ, 4126.5 Vertical, FEC: 3/4, Symbol Rate: 6.1113).
According to our friends at ASTRA, the satellite will be performing a critical mission:
ASTRA 1L will be located at 19.2° East, ASTRA’s prime orbital position for delivering broadcast services to continental Europe, where it will also transmit the increasing number of HDTV channels. The new satellite will allow SES ASTRA to move its satellite ASTRA 2C from 19.2° East to 28.2° East, in order to meet the high demand for capacity from the U.K. and Irish markets. It will also extend the ASTRA coverage from the Canary Islands in the West to the Russian border in the East and further strengthen SES ASTRA`s unique in-orbit back-up scheme.
During the next two years, AIM scientists will methodically address each of six fundamental objectives that will provide critical information needed to understand cloud formation and behavior.
"This mission has many firsts, including that Hampton University is the first historically black college and university to have the principle investigator and total mission responsibility for a NASA satellite mission," said Program Executive Victoria Elsbernd, NASA Headquarters, Washington.
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is responsible for launch vehicle/spacecraft integration and launch countdown management. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for the overall AIM mission management in collaboration with Hampton University, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. Orbital Sciences Corporation, Dulles, Va., is responsible for providing the Pegasus XL launch service to NASA.
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C8 (PSLV-C8) has been launched successfully today from Sriharikota.
PSLV is carrying the Italian Satellite Agile along with it. The countdown progressed smoothly for the first commercial launch of PSLV-C8 with a 352 kg Italian astronomical satellite onboard from Sriharikota spaceport, about 150 kms from Chennai.
“The atmosphere is calm and quiet. Countdown is progressing as per schedule," said an ISRO spokesman.
The launch vehicle lifted off at 1530 hrs.
The 42-hour countdown for the launch of the 11th flight of PSLV-C8 began on Friday evening. It was launched from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR.
Apart from the Italian satellite, Agile, PSLV-C8 would also carry an Advanced Avionics Module (AAM), weighing 185 kg, to test advanced launch vehicle avionics systems like mission computers, navigation and telemetry systems.
A workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO, PSLV has launched nine successful consecutive flights till now since its first launch in 1994. It would also launch India’s first mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.
If you were up with the sun (or the clouds, if you’re in the eastern portion of the US) this morning, you might have caught the report on NPR on Space Tethers and Tethers Unlimited efforts to change the way satellites are transported.
While science fiction, Victoria’s Secret, and long-woven ropes are rarely mentioned in the same breath (unless of course you’re in some bizarre John Waters movie), the work of Dr. Robert P. Hoyt and Dr. Robert L. Forward have brought the two strangely together to solve a real problems posed by simply moving obejcts around space.
"For 50 years, people have relied on rockets to move things around in space. But rocket fuel is expensive and heavy. [Hoyt with the help of Forward realized how] much easier it would be to just fling things around using orbiting tethers.
‘It’s sort of like using the techniques of Tarzan to move around in space,’ explains Hoyt. ‘You’re basically grabbing onto a long, high-strength rope and using it to swing you from one place to another.’"
The problem, of course, was how you got those ropes to last in an environment where they were being constantly pounded by the debris that litters our orbit. And that’s where the underwear comes into Tethers Unlimited business plan…
"The company makes tethers by starting with light but strong fibers, like Kevlar. Then the strands are woven together using a computerized machine.
‘[That machine is] normally used for fabricating things like lacy edgings on Victoria’s Secret undergarments," says Hoyt. "We’ve developed ways to use that to braid the multi-line tether structure that we’re testing in space.’"
That testing begins imminently, a Dnepr rocket blasting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome today contains, within its payload, three mini-satellites that will deploy a half-mile tether, two of the satellites anchoring either end. The third, dubbed, according to a recent Engadget report, Inspector Gadget (Ted and Ralph make up the other two members of the trio), will move up and down the tether taking pictures that will allow those on the ground to learn how many cuts or tears the rope takes on over the next few months.
While it might be awhile until we see tether’s in action, propelling satellites in space, this initial experiment is an important first step in a lot of new space technology, possibly including space elevators.
As you probably know those of us here at Really Rocket Science love a good launch, especially that of a big GEO satellite.
The Anik F3 will be launching tonight (04:54 April 10 Baikonur, 22:54 April 9 GMT, 18:54 April 9 EDT) this from launch pad 39 of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. You can, of course, catch the launch live via streaming, although hopefully we’ll be able to find on YouTube sometime tomorrow for those looking to beat a wicked case of the Mondays by heading to Happy Hour early.
Those nerdier than us might want to catch a live feed of the launch via satellite or over the phone at the following locations.
Live Broadcast North America: Telstar 6 @ 93° West, transponder C11, downlink 3920 MHz (vertical), analog NTSC. Test signals start at 18:00 EDT.
Live Broadcast Europe: NSS-7 @ 338° East, transponder WHL4/EUH3 CH1, Ku-band, 338 degrees West downlink 11098.9 MHz (horizontal), digital PAL symbol rate 6.1113, fec: 3/4. Test signals start at 22:00 GMT.
U.S. domestic Launch Hotline at 1-800-852-4980.
What does Anik F3 do? Basically its a comm sat for Telsat Canada, but since you asked:
"Multipurpose communications satellite with payloadsin Ku-, C- and Ka-band. The Ku- and C-bands will carry a wide range of broadcasting, telecommunications, business and Internet-based services throughout North America"
China’s Sichuan Province just after midnight this morning. The Nigerian paper The Guardian had some of 
