Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation launch delayed
The launch of the Canadian Earth observation satellites (known collectively as the RADARSAT Constellation) has been delayed until February 2019. SpaceX originally planned to send the satellites up for ship location and Arctic observation in November.
Costs for the project have risen to over $1 billion from the original estimate of $600 million announced more than a decade ago, but MDA Corporation president Mike Greenley says the delay will not accumulate additional costs. SpaceX, the private space-launch venture headed by Elon Musk, will now deploy all three satellites at once instead of following the original plan of staggering launches over two years.
The new Constellation will replace the RADARSAT-2 satellite which has been in orbit and operating since 2007. The RADARSAT Constellation will be launched from SpaceX headquarters in a Falcon 9 rocket, but a date has yet to be set.
