The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced that they successfully launched the third satellite in their Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) on Thursday. This satellite has joined two fully operational satellites launched in July 2013 and April 2014.

The most recent satellite is an independent navigation satellite, which will provide GPS-like position information for India and the regions 1,500 km around the country. The IRNSS will consist of a total of seven satellites–three in geostationary orbits and four in inclined geosynchronous orbits. The arrangement is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015. The next satellite for the IRNSS is scheduled to launch in December of this year, leaving three more to be deployed next year. read more

This illustration, released by the ESA, shows the erroneous satellite orbit in red, and the intended orbit in dashed green. The other two lines represent current Galileo satellite orbits

Nearly two months after the two Galileo satellites were deployed into an erroneous orbit nearly 2,000 miles off course, an independent inquiry board investigating the cause has finally determined the reasons for the mistake and outlined solutions to prevent further mishaps.

Last week, it was reported that a frozen pipe was to blame for the mishap, but official comments from the inquiry board had not been released. GPS World reported yesterday that the board had determined that the anomaly was not caused by an operator error or by satellite behavior, but by a design flaw in the rocket. read more

This illustration, released by the ESA, shows the erroneous satellite orbit in red, and the intended orbit in dashed green. The other two lines represent current Galileo satellite orbits

Preliminary reports from the Galileo inquiry seem to be trickling through, and a possible cause for the mislaunch of the two Galileo satellites has been determined. According to Phys.org and the French daily Le Monde, investigators suspect that the source of the glitch is a frozen pipe which contained hydrazine fuel.

According to the phys.org article, the hydrazine pipes are located near another pipe that circulates ultra-cold liquid helium which may have led to their freeze. The hydrazine fuel is used by the Fregat upper stage to drive the satellites into their correct orbital slots. Experts have already confirmed that the upper stage was not completed properly during the launch, stranding the satellites in an unusable elliptical orbit. read more

You might remember the upset a few months ago when the U.S. refused to place any Russian GLONASS stations on American soil, stating formally that they didn’t feel the need to help GLONASS compete with GPS, and informally that it was a national security threat as the bases could be used for other purposes.

Well, last week RIA Novosti reported that Russia has decided not to pursue the matter further at the moment, and negotiations regarding the placement of a station in Alaska will not be renewed. read more