When I visited Ukraine a few years ago, I was amazed at how the satellite reception infrastructure operated.
I knew it was different in Europe than in the U.S., where you could walk in to an electronics shop, buy a box and antenna, then install it yourself. You’d have 70+ advertising-supported channels to choose from with no monthly fee. In the U.S., the satellite TV market is based on the cable TV model: you pay a monthly fee regardless. If you try unscrambling the signal, your cable box may get a “silver bullet” sent to it and fry it. Better encryption technology (e.g. NDS) helps keep content secure.
So how is that people in Eastern Europe can buy a “special box” for $200-$300 and be able to receive everything — standard, pay-tv, premium, porn, sports, etc. — without paying a montly fee? It’s not system-specific, so with a motorized antenna mount you can go from Eutelsat to Astra birds and watch whatever you want. And the “special box” could also record movies, sportsinmodica. That’s a pretty good deal.
One of the world’s most beneficial technological marvels, satellite TV signals get upload only once — using a specific amount of RF bandwidth — and downloaded an infinite number of times within the satellite’s coverage footprint. Infinite.
With this technology, how can oppressive governments pretend to ban or limit satellite TV reception? Iran’s learning this now, as reported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran:
The Iranian regime has failed in its bid to ban people from watching satellite TV channels, a regime official has admitted.
Despite a 1994 law making satellite dishes illegal, up to 70 per cent of families have them and their use is increasing, state-run TV network official Fardin Ali-Khah said.
He told the state-run Rasanews on July 4: “At first only upper-class people used satellite dishes. However this has now become common across all sectors of society.
With 120 or so channels of Persian/Farsi TV coming in from the diaspora, they don’t stand a chance.
Russia will launch space freighter on schedule in spite of recent accident with Proton-M carrier rocket. [Space News – 07/08/2013]
Medvedev demands list of those responsible for rocket crash; Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin instructed to set up government commission to probe crash; environmental impact to be assessed also. [Space Daily – 07/08/2013]
Lockheed Martin delivers the third of four highly Elliptical Earth Orbit (HEO) satellites for the U.S. Air Forces Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS). [SatNews – 07/08/2013]
Northrop Grumman test proves new active electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna it developed for the B-2 can establish and maintain communications services with an on-orbit Air Force Advanced EHF (AEHF) communications satellite. [Yahoo Finance – 07/08/2013]
NSA whistleblower Snowden claims Australian Defence Satellite Communications Facility and other Australian facilities were involved in alleged U.S. ‘snoop-op.’ [SmasHits – 07/08/2013]
Azercosmos announces 50 radio and TV channels already broadcast via first Azerbaijani satellite. [ABC.AZ – 07/08/2013]
RRSat Inks Deal With Fox International Channels to Enable Broadcasts Expansion to Africa. [4-traders – 07/08/2013]
PolarSat receives more than $1 million in orders from General Administration of Civil Aviation of China for equipment and technical services to expand existing network to mmore than 400 sites. [SatNews – 07/08/2013]
EUMETSAT increases bandwidth of communications link between Svalbard, Norway and its Darmstadt, Germany headquarters to speed up transfer of data downlinked at Svalbard from Metop and NOAA-19 satellites. [SatNews – 07/08/2013]
Two Univ. of Michigan engineering professors are turning to the Kickstarter online community to help fund an interplanetary satellite mission. [R&D Magazine – 07/08/2013]
Indian Space Agency successfully inserts its first navigation satellite, IRNSS-1A, into orbit at 27 degrees. [Daily News – 07/07/2013]
Satellite communications are the glue that holds long range military operations together. [Strategy Page – 07/05/2013]
NewSat, the U.S. Ex-Im Bank and COFACE, along with all other parties involved in the financing documentation of the Jabiru-1 satellite, have executed the documents for the US$611 million of funding for the satellite project. [4 traders – 07/05/2013]
NASA Deep Space Atomic Clock will fly as hosted payload on Surrey Satellite Technology U.S.’ Orbital Testbed Mission. [Satellite Today – 07/03/2013]
Jason-1 ocean altimetry satellite was decommissioned this week following the loss of its last remaining transmitter. [Yahoo News – 07/03/2013]
Cobham plans to develop new family of satellite communications systems for data-connected air transport aircraft. [Satellite Spotlight- 07/03/2013]
Iranian Al-Alam TV channel quotes Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technologies as stating that Iran plans to broadcast its satellite TV channels via domestic satellites. [Satellite Spotlight – 07/02/2013]
Hughes technology seminar in Mexico attended by more than 100 senior-level satellite industry executives discussed future of satellite broadband in the country. [Satellite Today – 07/03/2013]
Russian Proton-M rocket carrying three of the Russian satellite navigation system’s satellites crashes almost immediately upon launch. [NextGov – 07/02/2013]
Eutelsat expands partnership with RSCC to serve broadcasting markets across Russia via three key orbital positions. [The Columbus Dispatch – 07/02/20103]
Rockwell Collins ARC-210 is first airborne radio to demonstrate MUOS satellite signal reception. [4-traders – 07/01/2013]
U.S. Navy adds $9 million + modification to firm-fixed price contract for AN/WSC-6 E(V)9 satellite communication systems. [Signal online – 07/01/2013]
‘Global Satellite Market: Trends and Opportunities 2013-2018′ analyzes the potential opportunities and significant trends in the global satellite manufacturing, satellite services and satellite ground equipment markets. [Research and Markets – July 2013]
New NSR Report Projects Major DTH Shift to the Southern Hemisphere. [NSR – July 2013]
NASA’s newest satellite to get close-up look at little-explored region of the sun thought to drive space weather that can affect Earth. [R&D Magazine – 06/28/2013]
Indian Cabinet approves proposal for construction of GSAT-15 and GSAT-16 satellites. [ANI News – 06/28/2013]
United Launch Alliance (ULA) expects to demonstrate its commercial human spaceflight service in 2016. [Space News – 06/28/2013]
China’s space program tries to catch up, as its 5th manned space mission returns to Earth. [Forbes – 06/27/2013]
Thales Alenia Space will be prime contractor for Europe’s Euclid satellite to study dark-energy sources. [Space News – 06/27/2013]
U.S. Air Force orders seven rockets from United Launch Alliance to launch Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office satellites. [Space News – 06/27/2013]
NASA experiments performed to validate supercomputer simulations of hypervelocity impacts in space, in effort to design better shielding against collisions with space junk. [R&D Magazine – 06/27/2013]
Globecomm Systems announces launch of Cytelics, an end-to-end cyber security solutions service available through its Comsource subsidiary. SatNews – 06/27/2013]
Satellite antennas in Kenya repurposed for space exploration as arrival of fiber communication links reduce reliance on satellite links. [VOA News – 06/27/2013]
SANDRA system, successfully tested in Germany, brings the most advanced multilink communications to aircraft, integrating L-band and Ku-band satellite links as well as ground links and VHF data links. [Aviation Pros – 06/27/2013]
Inmarsat’s first fully assembled Global Xpress satellite successfully passes milestone testing. [4 traders – 06/27/2013]
ViaSat selects InnoMedia products for its Exede Voice home telephone service. [paidContent – 06/27/2013]
Telespazio CEO sees acquisition of Italy’s Avio rocket builder as enhancing product portfolio, and says Telespazio’s parent company Finmeccanica will bid against Astrium and Safran/Snecma for Avio. [Space News – 06/27/2013]
Satellite operators fight back against signal interference – part II of Satellite Today report. [Satellite Today – 06/27/2013]
Russian Soyuz rocket launches 4 O3b communications satellites into orbit from the jungle of South America (French Guiana). [Space.com – 06/26/2013]
Gilat provides satellite communication infrastructure for Peru’s “PIASS: program, a ship traveling the Amazon bringing medical, educational, and banking services to isolated villages. [SatNews – 06/26/2013]
Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Ministry of Communications and Media of the Russian Federation facilitate training of Russian specialists at Astrium’s facilities. [Satellite Today – 06/25/2013]
O3b medium earth orbit satellites expected to bring cheaper and faster broadband, with latency of less than 130 milliseconds, to customers everywhere around the world within 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south latitude. [Next Big Future – 06/25/2013]
Globalstar and Jarvinian successfully test experimental Terrestrial Low Power Service using satellite spectrum, with goal to reduce Wi-Fi congestion by deploying 802.11 compliant technology over Globalstar’s frequencies. [GCN – 06/27/2013]
Sprint shareholders approve company’s sale to Japan’s SoftBank; Dish also unlikely to win against Sprint in takeover fight for Clearwire – what’s next for Dish? [Quartz – 06/25/2013]
Federal Signal Alerting & Notification Systems completes first phase of statewide emergency warning system upgrade in Hawaii, replacing existing networks with redundant satellite and cellular communications. [Yahoo Finance – 06/25/2013]
Communications & Power Industries (CPI) acquires MCL Inc., a manufacturer of power amplifier products and systems for the satellite communications market, and a wholly owned subsidiary of MITEQ Inc. [Yahoo Finance – 06/25/2013]
New NSR report to analyze key trends, drivers, and restraints facing the Direct-to-Home satellite TV market. [NSR – July 2013]
NSR report analyzes the upcoming programs and game changing elements in the wireless backhaul via satellite market and offers new perspective for market players looking for the inside edge. [NSR – June 2013]
Armenian government official says the former Soviet republic will launch its own satellite into orbit, with the newly created company called Armcosmos now busy registering an orbital position for the satellite. [Ria Novosti – 06/23/2013]
SES, Inverto, Abilis and MaxLinear partner to develop IP-LNB for satellite TV home distribution. [Satellite Today – 06/22/2013]
Republican-backed NASA authorization bill backs development of crew transportation systems to end reliance on Russia. [Space Mart – 06/21/2013]
ESA’s SatFinAfrica pilot project begun in 2011 was so successful that a company called SatADSL was established in Belgium to provide SATCOM for financial services to Africa and now serves more than 100 offices. [SatNews – 06/21/2013]
Turkmenistan’s first satellite to be launched by SpaceX, under contract with Thales Alenia Space. [Venture Beat – 06/21/2013]
Astrium Services plans to sign a bulk-purchase agreement with Inmarsat for Ka-band capacity aboard Inmarsat’s three Global Xpress mobile communications satellites. [Space News – 06/20/2013]
World Teleport Association will explore development of quality certification program for teleports based on clearly defined technical and operational standards. [Satellite Evolution Group – 06/20/2013]
Cobham announces Aviator S series at Paris Air Show, which will allow secure data communication for aircraft operation, maintenance and management services. [SatNews – 06/20/2013]
OmniAccess becomes first iDirect customer to go live with iDX 3.2 and X7, successfully launching a live satellite communications network that reached data throughput of 50 Mbps. [Satellite Evolution Group – 06/20/2013]
European Defense Agency says consolidating European countries’ military telecommunications satellite networks would result in huge savings, but obstacles are faced if European defence ministries fear their budgets would be cut. [Space News – 06/19/2013]
European rocket designers crafting a defense against U.S. startup rocket builder SpaceX. [Space News – 06/19/2013]
Scientists and engineers from around the world meet in South Dakota to discuss collecting images from Landsat 8. [R&D Magazine – 06/19/2013]
Mexico’s state-owned Mexsat system to be augmented by second nearly six-ton Centenario satellite in 2014. [Fox News – 06/19/2013]
ORBIT Technologies receives order for $3 million worth of ORION-based Communications Management Systems to major European aircraft manufacturer. [SatNews – 06/19/2013]
Gilat Satellite Networks and Thaicom sign Cooperation Framework Agreement to provide customers across the Asia -Pacific regions with integrated solution using Gilat’s ground equipment and the Thaicom 4 satellite. [Satellite Today – 06/19/2013]
O3b signs deal with Maju Nusa to provide ultra-high speed 3G backhaul services across rural Malaysia. [National Post – 06/19/2013]
SpeedCast sees substantial gains with Newtec MDM6000 modem on multicarrier applications during intensive trial of Newtec’s latest S2 Extensions and Clean Channel Technology. [MENAFN – 06/19/2013]
PolarSat’s hubless VSATPlus3 network control algorithms allow for geographic redundancy and ensure no single point of network failure is ever present at any one time. [SatNews – 06/19/2013]
The worlds most sophisticated commercial communications satellite, Alphasat, built by Astrium for Inmarsat, and carrying four technological demonstration payloads for ESA, is shipped to its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana. [Astrowatch – 06/18/2013]
Google Internet balloons – what do they mean for VSAT, and satellite communications in general? [Newtec blog – 06/17/2013]
Lockheed Martin promises to support South Korea’s effort to develop and launch military communications satellites if it wins Seoul’s multi-billion dollar fighter jet deal. [Global Post. – 06/17/2013]
Naturally, Arianespace participates in the Paris Air Show and the swirling questions are related to a competitor who isn’t there: SpaceX. Their response is predictable and defensive, and with a billion euros at stake, can you blame them?
There’s a real need for commercial launch services and well-run commercial satellite operators want to make sure there’s viable set of competitors out there. Spreading business around to Sea-Launch, Arianespace and ILS (Proton) helps keep them in business and assures the operators a way into space when needed. Commercial launches from Cape Canaveral were always preferred — both for location and reliability. The cost, however, made the bean-counters squirm.
Reading the Reuters report by Irene Klotz about how there were no commercial launches struck me as naive. The U.S. Air Force reserved all the available launch vehicle manifests for Atlas and Delta in the U.S. for their payloads — not because of competition from foreign-based companies. Yes, there’s the cost factor. If you could save $20 million on a single launch by going to Kazakhstan or French Guiana, why not?
And that’s why SpaceX is set to grab a bunch of business by launching from the Cape at a lower cost. If you factor in the prospect of all-electric spacecraft, then you could see a seismic shift in the market dynamics of launch services. So you shouldn’t wonder why Arianespace is being defensive, as cited by Space News…
One of the Falcon 9’s most potent arguments is that it is capable of carrying two all-electric-propulsion satellites at a time into geostationary transfer orbit. But according to the first customer of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems’ all-electric 702SP platform, Satmex of Mexico, it will take the Satmex satellite about eight months to reach its final orbital position and begin generating revenue.
Factoring in a longer orbit-raising into the overall spacecraft replacement cycle is certainly possible. Now, if only satellite operators start passing along these savings from simplified spacecraft design, lower-cost launch and cost-effective propulsion systems to lowering the cost of leasing bandwidth to customers remains to be seen.
Proposed ITAR reform removes may of glaringly perverse effects on space commerce but does nothing to make it easier for industry to work with U.S. Defense Department on hosted payloads. [Space News – 06/14/2013]
Draft NASA authorization bill bars funding for asteroid rendezvous mission. [Space News – 06/14/2013]
FCC probes satellite fleet management practices for abuse including holding on to orbital slots without making maximum use of them. [Space News – 06/14/2013]
Iridium NEXT is promoted as the world’s largest ongoing commercial space venture, designed to drive innovation, create opportunities, and change the way people and organizations communicate – everywhere on the planet. [MarineLink.com – 06/14/2013]
Boatracs completes fleet-wide implementation for Fleet Operators, Inc. of Boatracs Narrowband satellite solution for communications beyond cellular range for vessel tracking and electronic logs. [SatNews – 06/14/2013]
SES’s ASTRA 2E satellite begins trip to Baikonur where it will be integrated for a Proton launch. [SatNews – 06/14/2013]
Europe’s Proba-V satellite successfully demonstrates that it can capture data on aircraft speed, position, and altitude. [Space News – 06/13/2013]
Satellite Interference Reduction Group to host series of interference-related breakfast sessions at CommunicAsia2013. [SatNews – 06/13/2013]
Space Systems Loral executive expects additional orders this year for High Throughput Satellites (HTS). [Satellite Today – 06/13/2013]
FTC opens antitrust probe of Lockheed-Boeing joint venture that launches U.S. government satellites. [Space News – 06/13/2013]
U.S. Army begins fielding smaller, lighter SNAP satellite terminals following network integration evaluations. [Satellite Spotlight – 06/13/2013]
Astrium renews partnership contract with Telecoms Sans Frontieres, pledging to continue satellite communications support for their many disaster and emergency relief missions across the world. [SatNews – 06/13/2013]
Northrop Grumman keeps nonrecurring engineering costs and other first time expenses down for U.S. Air Force’s Enhance Polar System satellites, using hardware and software designs developed for the AEHF satellites. [SatNews – 06/13/2013]
Internal audit puts heat on NASA for giving Orbital Sciences Corp. more than $600 million to build hardware for six space station resupply missions before the company has fully demonstrated that its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo tug are up to the task. [Space News – 06/13/2013]
Applied Satellite Engineering debuts Osprey TMC Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) modem terminal that can provide GPS tracking, analog and digital monitoring and control, and over-the-air configuration and programming of assets anywhere in the world. [SatNews – 06/13/2013]
Clearwire urges shareholders to accept takeover offer from satellite communications giant Dish Network instead of the Sprint offer backed by Japan’s SoftBank. [Yahoo News – 06/13/2013]
NSSL Global and Telemar Scandinavia announce free-of-charge upgrade doubling return speed on their Standard and Premium packages. [Satellite Evolution Group – 06/13/2013]
Content delivery’s astronomical costs avoided by partnership between Latele Novela Network (LNN) and Spanish channel 8Madrid using Newcom International’s services and LNN’s innovative cloud-based video transport solution. [SatNews – 06/13/2013]
Foreign commercial satellite services bill advances through House committee; would prohibit Secretary of Defense from procuring satellite services from foreign entity under certain circumstances. [Satellite Today – 06/12/2013]
Another space storm like 1859 Carrington event could wreak havoc on global economy. [NextGov – 06/12/2013]
Emiratis advised by UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to enter India carrying any satellite communication devices, such as Thuraya or Iridium, citing Indian Government banning use of such devices on its soil. [Emirates 24/7 – 06/12/2013]
SES supports satellite communication links with a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System using SES Ku-band capacity to establish command and control, Air Traffic Control and Mission data transfer. [Satellite Spotlight – 06/12/2013]
Singtel offers to help Myanmar design and build its own telecommunications satellite. [Space News – 06/12/2013]
Chinese plan to launch “Chinese Quantum Science Satellite” in 2016, making China the first space-faring nation with quantum communication capability. [Mashable – 06/11/2013]
Space Systems/Loral selected to provide communications satellite to SKY Perfect JSAT of Japan. [Yahoo Finance – 06/11/2013]
Astrium is awarded the payload module contract for the European Space Agency’s future astronomy mission Euclid. [Satellite Today – 06/11/2013]
Satellite manufacturing and launch services industries face increased competition in the near future due to increasing supply, new entrants, and lower demand – diversification is difficult but necessary. [NSR – 06/11/2013]
Gilat is awarded $6.75 million contract extension to continues providing Internet connectivity services to Colombian schools. [boston.com – 06/11/2013]
Australian satellite company TC Communications signs another contract to provide service and support to the Australian Defence Force in their project to deploy integrated Wideband Global Satellite communication capability. [ARN – 06/11/2013]
Australian satellite communications company NewSat expresses interest in Singapore Telecommunications Ltd’s $2 billion sale of its Australian unit, Optus Satellite. [Yahoo News – 06/11/2013]
Indian oil marketing companies moving to satellite internet connections for around 10,000 petrol pumps facilities like credit card machines seen as trouble for Tata Tele and Reliance Communications. [The Economic Times – 06/11/2013]
Cartrack selects ORBCOMM for satellite data communication services to extend its current range of GSM logistics and telematics solutions. [Satellite Spotlight – 06/11/2013]
SES utilizes Newtec MDM6000 satellite modems with S2 extensions capable of 37% efficiency gains over existing DVB-S2 to boost satellite performance on its African SES-5 payload. [Yahoo Finance – 06/10/2013]
Satellite communications will lead the way for broadcast, broadband and cellular backhaul within Asia, according to ETL regional sales executive. [SatNews – 06/10/2013]
Eutelsat and OneAccess Networks win Global Telecoms Business Innovation Award for transforming the landscape for satellite-based enterprise communications across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. [Satellite Spotlight – 06/10/2013]
Arianespace signs more comprehensive MOU with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as both companies look to increase their work together in the launch services market. [Satellite Today – 06/10/2013]
Satellite Executive Briefing magazine June issue includes: “Pay TV Boom Fueling Demand in Asia-Pacific,” Peter Galace; “The Renaissance of Small Satellite,” Dr. Joseph Pelton; “Update on Papua New Guinea,” Chris Frith; “The Satellite-Eye View of the Broadcast Booth,” Robert Bell; and “Networking Towards a High Throughput Maritime Space,” Martin Jarrold.
[Satellite Executive Briefing Magazine – June 2012]
NSR report addresses fundamental questions about wireless backhaul satcom services. [NSR – June 2013]
The hawks in Washington were screeching when they heard the DoD was leasing bandwidth on APT Satellite’s Apstar 7 spacecraft, through Harris CapRock — a value-added reseller. “That’s a Chinese bird! How dare you put our military at risk by using a Chinese satellite?!” Blah, blah, blah. Did they fail to mention the spacecraft itself was built in France and launched by a Chang Zheng rocket from China in March of 2012?
The coverage area of one of the spacecraft’s Ku-band beams is just right and there are no alternatives in this part of Asia. With data encryption at either end of the circuit, there really isn’t much to worry about. And if it’s broadcast video, who cares? Forget that: the contract was renewed for another year.
Now the House Armed Services Committee is proposing to exclude foreign commercial satellite companies from contracting with the DoD in the bill for National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (H.R.1960). Will this bill also prevent other foreign-controlled or non-U.S.-based operators from contracting with the DoD? Or just the Chinese ones?
In reality, Intelsat and SES are both based in Luxembourg — but only SES is proud of it. Intelsat just likes the tax advantages, just as they liked Bermuda’s not too long ago. Both companies have substantial headcount in the U.S., but don’t expect that to last much longer. Headcount at SES in the U.S. has been steadily and regularly declining since they bought Americom from G.E. in 2001. And who could forget the bloodbath when Intelsat acquired PanAmSat? Another big operator with Central Asian coverage, Eutelsat, is based in France, and they do quite a bit of DoD business, too.
“We have to remain vigilant in protecting our communications data and in understanding any vulnerability in relying on any outside party. I am concerned about this, and I am equally concerned about the long-term national security implications of failing to cultivate the domestic capacity to respond to our defense needs,” said Congressman John Garamendi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee in a statement to SatelliteTODAY.com. “In addition, I believe our Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) assets need to be better integrated to meet our national security goals.”
Does this mean foreign-controlled operators are about to lose U.S. government business? Probably not. However, allowing foreign investors to own critical defense communications infrastructure is something that could have been prevented — and preserved America’s continued leadership in space. Support your U.S.-based rocket scientists!
Three NASA “phonesats” spend 6 days in orbit sending back complex data and photos of earth before burning up upon re-entry. [Orlando Sentinel – 06/08/2013]
Indian home ministry dismisses telecom department proposal to provide satellite-based communications to beef up surveillance in India’s Maoist hotbeds. [The Economic Times – 06/08/2013]
Despite criticism from former ESA and European industry launch-vehicle experts, ESA intends to stay on the course on Ariane 6. [Space News – 06/07/2013]
FCC to probe Intelsat practices following CapRock complaint that satellite operators inhibit competition by failing to upgrade their equipment or replace aging satellites on a timely basis. [Bloomberg – 06/07/2013]
Two years after launch, the first Space Based Infrared System Geo-1 missile warning satellite is quietly declared operational. [Space News – 06/07/2013]
Russian satellite launched last year to map the Arctic stops functioning. [SatNews – 06/07/2013]
Sierra Nevada Corporation successfully begins latest phase of hybrid rocket motor qualification testing for the Dream Chase flight vehicle. [SatNews – 06/07/2013]
Inmarsat makes compelling argument for sending M2M over a satellite network instead of a terrestrial variation at CTIA. [Wireless Week – 06/07/2013]
Telespazio Brazil CEO expects growth to come from three market segments – oil and gas, backhaul, and corporate networks, but most especially oil and gas. [Satellite Today – 06/06/2013]
Coastal states brace for another hurricane season with satellite networks. [CivSource – 06/06/2013]
KVH details four-part plan to bring variety of economical and convenient content services to mariners for the first time via its mini-VSAT product. [SatNews – 06/06/2013]
Northrop Grumman develops new GaN packaged power amplifier for military and commercial Ka-band applications. [Satellite Today – 06/06/2013]
GIT Satellite Communications X-Track(TM) asset management system meets requirements to become an Iridium LBS Premium Portal Provider in connection with the Iridium Extreme(R) satellite phone. [Yahoo Finance – 06/06/2013]
Stratolaunch, the company created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to develop a low-cost satellite launching system, gives Orbital Sciences contract to build world’s largest air-launched space rocket. [Space News – 06/05/2013]
CommunicAsia2013 Summit features eight dedicated tracks and two interactive workshops to cater to the growing demands of the satellite industry – to be held in Singapore, June 18 – 21. [SatNews – 06/05/2013]
Yahsat wins “Most Innovative Product and Service for Africa” for second consecutive year. [StarAfrica – 06/05/2013]
Eutelsat and OneAccess win “Business Service Innovation” award for provision of advanced enterprise services on KA-SAT satellite. [Yahoo Finance – 06/05/2013]
Skyware Global launches spin off company focused on electronics engineering and tactical ground systems. [Satellite Today – 06/05/2013]
Comtech Xicom gets four U.S. Navy contracts totaling $2.5 million for high-power dual-band traveling wave tube amplifiers.
[financial news – 06/05/2013]
Eutelsat Germany expands KabelKiosk service with TV product for local and regional IP and cable network operators in Germany. [Satellite Today – 06/05/2013]
SES-6 satellite is successfully launched on board an ILS Proton Breeze M booster from Baikonur, Kazakhstan; SES announces a significant long-term capacity anchor customer for SES-6 is Brazilian group Oi. [Yahoo Finance – 06/04/2013]
CASBAA satellite industry forum to be held in Singapore June 17, will examine An Industry in Transition. [Yahoo Finance – 06/04/2013]
Don’t forget the kbps in the energy markets – amidst the bandwidth revolution there remains an entire class of in-service low-bandwidth units serving the Oil and Gas and Utilities industries. [Northern Sky Research – 06/04/2013]
As Intelsat continues to struggle with only “modest near-term growth prospects” and “elevated government demand risk,” the company’s fiscal future remains bright. [Satellite Today – 06/04/2013]
Gilat’s SkyEdge II hub and VSATs to deliver education to around 2500 schools in Southeast Asia. [Financial Content – 06/04/2013]
My-HD and Arabsat celebrate success of partnership by launching full bouquet of 39 channels of which 31 are High Definition. [Satellite Evolution Group – 06/04/2013]
SkyVision launches new corporate voice, data and video services over satellite in Africa. [Satellite Today – 06/04/2013]
NASA develops interplanetary GPS, building test bed at Goddard and planning to send an instrument equipped with X-ray navigation technology to the International Space Station to test the system. [Satellite Today – 06/04/2013]
Arianespace’s CEO calls for fast-track modification of Ariane 5 rocket that will enable it to launch larger electric-propelled satellites into orbit. [Satellite Today – 06/04/2013]
India is forced to delay launch of its first navigation satellite due to malfunction in control actuator in second stage of the rocket. [Satellite Today – 06/03/2013]
Export-Import Bank of the United States adds to record-level support for the American satellite industry, authorizing $343.3 million loan financing AsiaSat’s purchase of communications satellites and launch services. [PR Newswire – 06/03/2013]
Global growth private equity firm TA Associates partners with its portfolio company SpeedCast Ltd to complete acquisition of Australian satellite communications service provider Pactel International. [Yahoo Finance – 06/03/2013]
Hughes Network Systems announces new emergency service package as the 2013 hurricane season gets underway. [Satellite Today – 06/03/2013]
Agilent Technologies announces system design tools for Satellite Communications and Navigation. [The Motley Fool – 06/03/2013]
Azerbaijan’s second telecommunications satellite to be launched in 2018. [TMC.net – 06/03/2013]
Nice daytime launch of a Proton-M (Протон-М) with SES-6 as the the payload. It’s a big boy: weighing in at 6,100 kg, with lots of transponders: 43 C-band and 48 Ku-band. It’s replacing the 806 spacecraft, one of the few remaining “brick” birds (LM/AS-7000). That’s a good thing to do because you never know when these might go on ya.
Besides filling it partially with what’s on 806, what are you going to do with all that capacity? You could probably wait until the 2014 World Cup to help fill it with 6 weeks of occasional business. Then what? Hey, how about a DTH business? And the players are:
Net/Embratel with 8,638,984 subscribers
Sky (DirecTV) = 5,144,946
Oi = 792,107
Telefónica/Vivo = 586,152
GVT = 451,605
Oi waits for launch, then signs the contract. Anchor customer, probably. Large? Good enough.
