by David Todd | Mar 9, 2016 | Satellites, Technology
Participating in the Satellite 2016 conference CEOs’ session in March, satellite operator Telesat’s CEO Daniel Goldberg declared that he used to be a LEO sceptic, given its poor historic experience within the commercial space industry. However now he thinks that...
by David Todd | Mar 9, 2016 | Satellites, Technology
Speaking at the Satellite 2016 conference in Washington D.C. in early March, the Chairman and CEO of Viasat Inc, Mark Dankberg, gave an upbeat assessment of the ability of the satellite communications industry to compete in the consumer broadband market. Dankberg...
by David Todd | Mar 1, 2016 | Launches, Military space, Seradata News, Technology
The US Air Force continues its efforts to look for a replacement rocket for the Russian-built RD-180 Atlas rocket design. On 29 February, the Space and Missile Systems Center awarded two public-private rocket development contracts. One award is to Aerojet Rocketdyne...
by David Todd | Feb 22, 2016 | History, On a Sadder Note, Technology
During February the death of Eric “Winkle” Brown, age 97, was announced. Having briefly served in the Royal Air Force, Brown had transferred to the Senior Service to become the leading test pilot in the Royal Navy. “Winkle” Brown, whose nickname referred to his short...
by David Todd | Jan 26, 2016 | ESA, Satellites, Science, Seradata News, Technology
Having been launched by a Vega rocket on 3 December 2015 to an initial 1540km apogee orbit, the science spacecraft LISA Pathfinder was raised via a series of six burns using a propulsion module/transfer stage to boost the orbit in steps in order to finally approach...
by David Todd | Jan 22, 2016 | Russia, Satellites, Technology
While Russia’s President has been accused of “probably” being involved in the 2006 fatal poisoning of the London-based dissident, Alexander Litvinenko, (with the Polonium 210 nuclear isotope normally used to heat the Lunokhod lunar rovers), Vladimir Putin had more...
