Full Moon shines
Saudi Arabian operator Arabsat has awarded EADS Astrium a contract for the 3.4t BADR-6 Full Moon communications satellite, to be launched in 2008.
Strap-on tested
The Indian Space Research Organisation has tested a new strap-on solid rocket motor for its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. With 12t of propellant instead of 9t, it will increase payload capability and enable launch of India’s Chandrayaan-1 Moon probe in 2008.
Columbus arrives
The European Space Agency’s Columbus International Space Station (ISS) laboratory module has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, to prepare for launch aboard a Space Shuttle mission in 2007. Columbus will be attached to the starboard side of the ISS’s Node 2.
Source: Flight International
