Soyuz launches four Globalstar satellites
Posted: Wed, May 30, 2007, 7:58 AM ET (1158 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket placed four Globalstar replacement satellites into low Earth orbit early Wednesday. The Soyuz-Fregat lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:31 pm EDT Tuesday (2031 GMT Tuesday, 2:31 am local time Wednesday), deploying the four identical satellites into orbit at an altitude of 920 kilometers. The satellites are spares that were manufactured at the same time as the original constellation, launched between 1998 and 2000, but were placed in ground storage until now. The satellites will augment the existing constellation, some of whose satellites have suffered from degrading performance in the S-band amplifiers, reducing their effectiveness. A second launch of four spare satellites is planned for this summer. A second generation of Globalstar satellites is under development by Thales Alenia Space, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.
A Soyuz rocket placed four Globalstar replacement satellites into low Earth orbit early Wednesday. The Soyuz-Fregat lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:31 pm EDT Tuesday (2031 GMT Tuesday, 2:31 am local time Wednesday), deploying the four identical satellites into orbit at an altitude of 920 kilometers. The satellites are spares that were manufactured at the same time as the original constellation, launched between 1998 and 2000, but were placed in ground storage until now. The satellites will augment the existing constellation, some of whose satellites have suffered from degrading performance in the S-band amplifiers, reducing their effectiveness. A second launch of four spare satellites is planned for this summer. A second generation of Globalstar satellites is under development by Thales Alenia Space, with deliveries scheduled to begin in the second half of 2009.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, September 20
Pikachu, back from space station, kicks off ESA x Pokémon collab
collectSPACE — 7:18 am ET (1118 GMT) How the military imagined combat around the Moon
Task & Purpose — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base Saturday
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 7:15 am ET (1115 GMT) Rocket Lab launches an Earth-observing radar satellite from New Zealand
SPACE.com — 7:13 am ET (1113 GMT) NASA taps SpaceX for more astronaut missions as Boeing Starliner remains grounded
Teslarati — 7:13 am ET (1113 GMT) |
