The 3.5-ton satellite will launch atop an Ariane 5 rocket

Russia’s Mission Control is looking to a potential second attempt to complete a docking test of the unpiloted Progress 47 cargo craft

PARIS — Harris CapRock Communications on July 23 said it would book more than 1 gigabit per second (gbps) of broadband capacity on Intelsat’s new generation of high-throughput EpicNG satellites, which are scheduled for launch in 2015. The capacity will be used for advanced fixed and mobile satellite services in the energy, maritime and government markets.

HELPING HAND: The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved two transactions totaling more than $1.2 billion to finance the export of U.S.-made telecommunications satellites to Mexico and Australia. A $922 million loan guarantee will support the export of three satellites and related equipment to the Mexican government for the Mexsat regional mobile satellite system. The bank also is providing a $281 million direct loan to Jabiru Satellite Ltd. in Southbank, Australia, for the purchase of satellite and ground equipment from Lockheed Martin.

PARIS —­ Commercial remote-sensing satellite imagery providers DigitalGlobe and GeoEye announced they would merge in a cash-and-stock deal worth $453 million that would leave Longmont, Colo.-based DigitalGlobe operating the world’s largest fleet of commercial imagery satellites. Under the agreement’s terms, DigitalGlobe is offering 34% more than the July 20 closing price of $15.17 per share for GeoEye stock, the companies said in a July 23 conference call with investors.

The third Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment flight test took place from Wallops Island, Va., in the early morning of July 23

Full-scale test article has concluded second drop test at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona

EADS space subsidiary Astrium has made another foray into the U.S. satellite equipment market with a contract from Lockheed Martin to provide Ku-band receivers and Ka-band beacons for the Jabiru-1 satellite, which Lockheed is producing for Australia’s NewSat. Designed to last 15 years, Jabiru-1 will be positioned over the Indian Ocean covering Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Launch is slated for late 2014 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.