Featured Stories

ESA To Launch Mars Probe

Mars Express, the European Space Agency’s first spacecraft developed for a mission to the planet Mars, has completed its tests at Toulouse, France. After six months of extensive thermal environmental,...

Lockheed Martin Gets Patent

The U. S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] a patent for a ceramic rocket nozzle throat for solid rocket motors. The new ceramic material promises...

EMS, Stratos Partner

EMS Technologies [ELMG] has signed an agreement that makes Stratos a principal reseller to the trucking industry of EMS’ suite of satellite communications terminals. With the partnership, Stratos can offer...

SpaceX Fires Rocket Engine

El Segundo, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), founded by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, has successfully test fired the company’s Falcon rocket main engine. “Satellites and spacecraft urgently need a more...

NASA Buys Integral System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has purchased Integral’s [ISYS] SKYLIGHT ground terminal system for receiving and processing satellite Earth science data. The system includes a receiver and data processing,...

DirecTV LA Targets Programmers

Programmers that were unable to re-negotiate contract terms with money-losing DirecTV Latin America may have lost leverage last week after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The question...

EchoStar Gambles On Insurance

The soaring cost of space insurance has convinced EchoStar Communications [SPOT] that buying coverage for its eight in-orbit satellites is not worth the price. According to documents filed with the...

Launch Demand Forecasts Skew Upward

By Roger Rusch Although there is great concern about weak demand within the launch services industry, there are brighter prospects ahead. In a few years, a new cycle of satellite...