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Vega Launch – Europe’s Newest Satellite Launcher

February 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Watch live streaming video from eurospaceagency at livestream.com

Tomorrow, 13th February 2012 will see the launch of Europe’s newest satellite launch vehicle, Vega, from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Spaceport at Kourou, weather permitting. This first test flight Vega launch will carry 9 payloads – seven Cubesat satellites plus two Italian Space Agency satellites.

The video feed above provides an extremely interesting overview of the Vega programme, and will switch to live coverage of the launch at 10:40 CET on Monday 13th February.

The Vega project is controlled and managed from ESA’s ESRIN Centre for Earth Observation at Frascati, just south of Rome. An idyllic location, given it is at the heart of some of Italy’s finest vineyards. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Organisations

WGS-4 Military Communications Satellite Launch

January 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
ULA Launch of Boeing WGS-4 Satellite

ULA Launch of Boeing WGS-4 Satellite

ULA Launch of Boeing WGS-4 Satellite

Boeing has received the first on-orbit signals from the fourth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite it is delivering to the U.S. Air Force. The signals indicate that WGS-4, the first in the Block II series, is healthy and ready to begin orbital manoeuvres and operational testing.
Further detailed information can be found on Boeing’s website here.

WGS-4 launched on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle on 19th January 2012 at 7:38 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Controllers confirmed initial contact with the spacecraft 58 minutes later at 8:36 p.m. Eastern time at a ground station in Dongara, Australia. Boeing’s Mission Control Centre in El Segundo, California confirmed that the satellite is functioning normally.

The dramatic launch video, photographs and further information can be found on ULA’s website here.

WGS-4 is an extremely advanced satellite operating at the established X-Band and the high frequency Ka-Band. It uses phased array, shaped beam, steerable spotbeams to provide coverage to support coalition forces [Read more...]

Filed Under: Communication Satellites, Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Launches

Watch the Mars Science Lab (MSL) Launch Here

November 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Solar System

Watch Dramatic NASA NPP Launch

October 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment

NASA’s National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket at 5:48 a.m. EDT today, on a mission to measure both global climate changes and key weather variables. Just watch this superb live NASA video of today’s NPP launch from Vandenberg.

Now here’s a coincidence. It’s only a few hours ago that I published [Read more...]

Filed Under: Earth Observation Satellites, Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Organisations

LA Confidential – X-Band & Artichokes

October 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles

The Westin Bonaventure Hotel

I’m the sort of person who likes to plan, but despite my best intentions life always seems to be event-driven. Such is the case today, which is why I’m writing this. Let me explain:

I’m on Linkedin and am a member of some 30+ Groups relating to satellite communications. Being a helpful sort of guy I try to answer questions posed by Group members if they relate to a topic that I know something about. Such was the case today when I saw that someone had posed the question along the lines “What is the difference between the use of a Klystron and a TWTA in an earth station transmitter”?
Well, that’s right up my street. I remembered writing a paper related to this way back in 1981. Even though that was 30 years ago and technology evolves, the underlying physics remains the same.

The paper was entitled “Design of a High Power Earth Station Transmitter for the Band 7.9 to 8.4 GHz”. As you’ll all know that is one of the main uplink bands (X-Band) used for military satellite communications and the paper arose out of some work I did on a contract for a particular Government [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cities, Launch Sites, Launch Vehicles, Military Earth Stations