#WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force for the second time has taken ownership of a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather #satellite to fill gaps in coverage for the U.S. military.

NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-15, originally activated in 2011, was transferred to the Space Force to extend weather coverage of the Indian Ocean region for the next several years, the Space Force announced Sept. 22.

Under a partnership between the Department of the Air Force and #NOAA, the Space Force uses residual #GOES #satellites to collect cloud imagery and other weather data over the Indian Ocean region. The military needs accurate weather data to plan operations in the air, land and sea

#WASHINGTON — A #Rocket Lab Electron failed during a launch of Capella Space radar imaging satellite Sept. 19.

The Electron lifted off at 2:55 a.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 1 in #NewZealand after a delay of about 20 minutes because of space weather conditions. The liftoff and ascent of the first stage appeared to go as expected, with “nominal” calls by controllers up until stage separation.

Live video from the second stage, though, was lost right after separation, when the single Rutherford engine ignited. Telemetry displayed on the webcast for several seconds after stage separation showed the vehicle’s velocity decreasing, suggesting the engine had malfunctioned in some way.

“All stations, we have experienced an anomaly,” the launch director said about 45 seconds after stage separation. Rocket Lab soon concluded the webcast without providing any additional information, but did acknowledge that the mission was a failure

#Spacenews, #WASHINGTON — CACI International’s optical communication terminal passed initial ground tests required to compete for Space Development Agency #satellite contracts, the company announced Sept. 18.

CACI, a defense contractor based in Reston, Virginia, said its optical terminal successfully completed an interoperability test, bringing it closer to meeting technical requirements set by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for its constellation of military satellites in low Earth orbit.

#SDA, an agency under the U.S. Space Force, plans to deploy a layered network of satellites. It includes a Transport Layer of interconnected #communications #satellites that will transmit data collected by a #Tracking Layer of missile-detection #sensor #satellites.

#spacenews, #WASHINGTON — Defense contractor General Atomics announced Sept. 15 it acquired EO Vista, a supplier of space and airborne electro-optical sensors.

The value of the acquisition was not disclosed. EO Vista, based in Acton, Massachusetts, will be integrated into the General Atomics #Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) group.

#BRUSSELS — Germany signed the #Artemis Accords Sept. 14, adding one of Europe’s largest space powers to a document outlining best practices for sustainable space exploration.

Germany became the 29th country to sign the accords during a ceremony at the German ambassador’s residence in Washington attended by U.S. and German officials. The document was signed by Walter Pelzer, director general for the German space agency at the German Aerospace Center, or DLR.

#spacenews, #SANFRANCISCO – Global #satellite fleet operator Intelsat announced an agreement Sept. 12 with Aalyria #Technologies to dramatically speed up #satellite #communications.

“How do you create the capacity and capability of subsea cables but put them in space?” Chris Taylor, Aalyria founder and CEO, asked at the World Satellite Business Week conference here. “Multi-terabit throughput from space is what we’re after. And Intelsat believes in it.”

As a first step, Intelsat and Aalyria plan to establish a bi-directional optical ground and space network in 2024 to transfer data at speeds of hundreds of gigabits per second. The network will rely on Tightbeam, Aalyria’s optical communications technology initially developed at Google parent company, Alphabet, and Spacetime, Aalyria network orchestration technology.

#spacenews, #Arianespace to launch #Intelsat small GEO #satellite, PARIS — Arianespace will launch a small geostationary communication satellite for Intelsat on an Ariane 6 in 2026, a sign of a stable, but diminished, role for such satellites in the commercial launch market.

#Arianespace announced Sept. 12 it signed a contract with Intelsat to launch the IS-45 satellite in the first half of 2026. The satellite will fly with unnamed co-passengers on the more powerful version of the Ariane 6, the Ariane 64.

Intelsat ordered IS-45 last November from Swissto12, a Swiss company that has developed 3D-printing technologies for space systems. The one-ton satellite will carry a payload of 12 Ku-band transponders. The satellite is based on the HummingSat platform that Swissto12 developed with support from the European Space Agency.