LONDON — Aerojet is forming a European subsidiary that will use indigenous manufacturing and engineering talent to produce in-space thrusters and propulsion systems, the Sacramento, Calif.-based company announced July 9. The new entity, European Space Propulsion, will be based in Northern Ireland. Work is to be conducted jointly with Thales Air Defense Ltd. of Belfast, a division of Thales UK, which will provide manufacturing assembly and test capabilities. Aerojet will furnish engineering-support services through its Redmond, Wash., operations.

ON ORBIT: Controllers in Luxembourg are checking out the SES-5 communications satellite after its successful deployment in a geostationary transfer orbit following a 9-hr., 12-min. Proton mission that started with liftoff at Baikonur Cosmodrome at 2:38 p.m. EDT July 9. Built by Space Systems/Loral, the 6-metric-ton spacecraft carries an L-band hosted payload for the European Commission that will aid in the verification, improvement and monitoring of European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (Egnos) positioning signals.

FARNBOROUGH — Armenia is planning to order a commercial communications satellite from Russia under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed July 9 during the Farnborough air show. Vladimir Popovkin, director of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said the satellite — Armenia’s first — is expected to carry 15 transponders, though details of the satellite’s development and launch are still being negotiated. Popovkin expects a contract to be signed by year-end.

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FARNBOROUGH — With politicians in the U.S. clamoring for a “hedge” against future missile threats, and budget cuts anticipated on both sides of the Atlantic, Raytheon is pitching a “smart defense” approach.

To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected]. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) JULY 9 - 10 — Military airlift Asia-Pacific, “The perfect opportunity to discuss current airlifting capabilities and operations that are happening across Asia-Pacific,” Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore. For more information go to www.www.militaryairliftasiapac.com <http://www.militaryairliftasiapac.com

POOLING SATCOM: The European Defense Agency (EDA) achieved an initial operational capability milestone in the area of satellite communication through a new “pooling and sharing” procurement strategy, the organization announced July 4. EDA’s ad hoc project calls for Italy, France, Poland, Romania and the U.K. to share modest amounts of satellite bandwidth as part of a pilot initiative that aims to save money through a common procurement scheme at the European Union level.

The third in a series of advanced European weather satellites and the U.S. EchoStar 17 telecommunications satellite soared into an elliptical transfer orbit July 5