Really Rocket Science

SpaceX Chairman optimistic that partially reusable rocket will accelerate reduction in launch costs that have already followed the Falcon 9 entrance into the market.
[Space News – 05/31/2013]

SES subsidiary SES Techcom supports satellite communication links with a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System using SES Ku-band capacity.
[Sat PR – 05/31/2013]

Cartrack uses ORBCOMM to provide satellite data communication services to extend its range of GSM logistics and telematics solution in Africa.
[financial news – 05/31/2013]

Today’s attempts at multi-nation initiative for human exploration beyond low earth orbit face same barriers that doomed the Euro-Russian collaboration on manned space vehicles.
[Space News – 05/31/2013]

Eutelsat launches contract free satellite TV service Freesat in Romania.
[Romania Insider – 05/31/2013]

SES 6 to be launched June 3, 2013 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan by International Launch Services (ILS).
[Satellite Today – 05/30/2013]

Sri Lanka paying China Great Wall $215 million to build and launch SupremeSAT-2.
[Space News – 05/30/2013]

NASA hands over operational control of the Landsat 8 to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science Center.
[SatNews – 05/30/2013]

Norwegian Space Centre and SINTEF company MARINTEK look at how to get broadband services into the Artic regions.
[Phys Org – 05/30/2013]

North America expected to lose its status as top region for in-flight entertainment to the Asia-Pacific region within 5 years.
[Satellite Today – 05/30/2013]

Gilat to present free Webinar June 1th entitled ‘News and Entertainment Anywhere with Satellite Communications on the Move.’
[SatNews – 05/30/2013]

Galaxy Broadband Communications of Canada selects Hughes HX gateway and HX90 and HX200 satellite terminals to provide IP networks for Resource, Government, and Enterprise markets in North America.
[SatNews – 05/30/2013]

Spidersat wins contract to provide VSAT network design and provisioning to ArcelorMittal in Liberia.
[Sat PR – 05/30/2013]

NASA reactivates GOES-13 in effort to pinpoint malfunction.
[Space News – 05/29/2013]

China to provide Sri Lanka’s first communication satellite.
[UPI – 05/29/2013]

Task of monitoring global air traffic to be greatly aided since successful launch of ESA’s Proba-V satellite May 6 with the first space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) system.
[Satellite Today – 05/29/2013]

Advantech Wireless selected by SAVIS Tegnologia to provide geographically redundant military satellite communication network for SISFRON, the largest border security program in Latin America.
[Satellite Today – 05/29/2013]

MDA signs contract with Canada’s Department of National Defense to support a space-based surveillance solution being developed by MDA.
[Satellite Today – 05/29/2013]

SingTel looks at selling the satellite communications arm of its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Optus to a private equity firm.
[smart company – 05/29/2013]

UAE and Belarus discuss ways to resolve interference between the satellite networks of the two countries in their Frequency Coordination Meeting.
[WAM -05/29/2013]

Gilat plans increased performance in the SkyEdge II-c product, with 66 Msps forward channel bandwidth.
[financial news – 05/29/2013]

Fifth WGS satellite receives first in-orbit signals.
[Satellite Today – 05/28/2013]

Pay-TV households across the globe expected to reach more than one billion before the end of 2013 according to senior analyst with Multimedia Research Group.
[Satelllite Today – 05/28/2013]

British company SATcase offers emergency satellite communication on smartphones via a smartphone case with a satellite receiver.
[Out and About Live – 05/28/2013]

Singapore-based Swire Pacific Offshore upgrades to Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband Unlimited on 65 of its vessels.
[Sacramento Bee – 05/28/2013]

SPOT Global Phone introduces satellite phones for outdoor recreation market.
[Canadian Reviewer – 05/28/2013]

Fifth WGS satellite rockets into space aboard Delta 4 rocket from Cape Canaveral.
[iol scitech – 05/27/2013]

Cost of modernized GPS ground control system soars $3.4 billion above original $1.4 billion price; development delays launch of satellites.
[Nextgov – 05/26/2013]

Astronauts should fly back to earth, according to this company.
[Nextgov – 05/24/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

French space agency, CNES, to freeze final design of new-generation Ariane 6 launcher by July, triggering work on new launch pad in French Guiana whose location has already been decided.
[Space News – 05/24/2013]

Russian biological research satellite mission termed a “success” in spite of the deaths of most of the animals on board.
[Space Daily – 05/24/2013]

Hopes are high for a successful launch of the WGS-5 satellite today, which was scrubbed yesterday for an issue with a ground support helium pressurization line. [SatNews – 05/24/2013]

Weather satellite glitch prompts NOAA to activate on-orbit spare.
[Space News – 05/23/2013]

Ecuador’s new and only satellite collides with debris from old Russian rocket, but it’s not clear whether damage resulted.
[Space Mart – 05/23/2013]

Leading global satellite players look to capitalize on expected $17 billion military communications sector.
[AMEinfo – 05/23/2013]

Intelligence community and military face challenges from High Throughput Satellites, including jamming, increased demand and routing issues.
[Satellite Today – 05/23/2013]

Draft bill in House of Representative would put greater emphasis on the NOAA operation weather forecasting activities at the expense of climate research, and create inroads for increased government use of commercial satellites and weather data.
[Space News – 05/23/2013]

NASA’s plans to downsize Kennedy Space Center and shift shuttle-era facilities into private sector hands get $20 million boost from Florida.
[Space News – 05/23/2013]

ScheduALL releasing new ScheduALL 5 (S5) software for automating previously labor-intensive functions such as slack capacity optimization, media system integration and third-party connectivity.
[Satellite Today – 05/23/2013]

ViaSat executes contract for Boeing to build next generation broadband satellite, expected to be by far the world’s highest capacity satellite at the time of its launch in 2013.
[Satellite Spotlight – 05/23/2013]

Astrium to expand its space propulsion production facilities in Germany.
[Space News – 05/23/2013]

Newtec to host a Government and Defense Seminar in Washington DC on the topic of satellite communications efficiency and best practices in the market.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013]

Advantech Wireless announces release of new Sapphire Series 2,500W Ku-band UltraLinearTM GaN SSPA/BUC modular design with built-in redundancy.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013

Sprint Emergency Response Team in Moore, OK shortly after tornado, providing local responders and officials with mobile devices, and wireless voice and secure IP data communications using its Satellite Cell on Light Trucks.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013]

Atrexx adds new service platform to its portfolio targets at meeting broadband demand in Libya and Afghanistan.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013]

ORBCOMM’s self-powered M2M asset tracking and monitoring device wins 2013 CTIA E-Tech award.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013]

Hermes Datacomms Malaysia provides VSAT services across Malaysia’s offshore fields via the MEASAT-3 satellite.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/23/2013]

House defense legislation would enable long-term commercial satellite leases and fair evaluation of companies seeking to win U.S. Air force satellite launch contracts.
[Space News – 05/22/2013]

EUsatcom 2013 is a new type of fast-paced satcom event which for the second year provides opportunity for those in the European satellite industry to come together and learn about major developments in the industry.
[infoTECH News – 05/22/2013]

ITT Exelis gets $435 million deep space network contract from NASA.
[Space News – 05/22/2013]

Australian satellite company NewSat buys land next to its existing premises at Mawson Lakes to double its presence and hopefully create up to 50 high-tech jobs over the next few years.
[news.com.au – 05/22/2013

Hughes will showcase next generation broadband satellite technology at SatCom Africa 2013.
[Yahoo Finance – 05/22/2013]

Hermes Datacomms wins contract to support Tullow Oil with their African operations using Hermes’ pan-African satellite platform.
[Satellite Today – 05/22/2013]

Congress debates best location for deep-space dry run for future Mars mission – an asteroid, or the moon?
[Space News – 05/22/2013]

DISA cancels $45 million sole source contract to store terabytes of satellite and drone imagery files, planning to pursue contract through competitive means.
[Nextgov – 05/21/2013]

5th WGS satellite is prepared for launch on May 23.
[Los Angeles Air Force Base – 05/21/2013]

House panel inserts language in next year’s defense budget bill that would prevent Defense Department from entering into contracts for satellite services with countries like China and North Korea.
[Wired – 05/21/2013]

Dish remains hopeful it can show Sprint the superiority of its offer to acquire the U.S. wireless giant.
[Satellite Today – 05/21/2013]

Hughes Communications India is named best VSAT operator in India for sixth year in a row at Telcom Operator Awards.
[Yahoo Finance – 05/20/2013]

Telit Communications to expand its line of multi-constellation satellite global positioning receivers for the M2M market.
[4-traders – 05/20/2013]

Inmarsat Plc announces Satcom Direct as a distributor of GX Aviation to the business aviation market.
[4-trader – 05/202013]

Ottawa, Ontario – SkyWave Mobile Communications announces SCADAconnect, and end-to-end connectivity solution targeting the oil & gas, utilities, heavy equipment and industrial automation markets.
[eon – 05/20/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Ah, integrating an iPhone with satellite services. We’ve been after that for years and I’m sure we’ll see both talk, text, broadband data and TV — some by satcom, but mostly by terrestrial (GSM, CDMA, LTE, whatever). Dish Network will be the first.

When you’re out in the wilderness, you wish you could connect by satellite. The first was TerreStar with their Genus a few years ago. That sold for $1,100+ back then — which was nuts.

Thuraya had their system — using GSM and satellite when signal was unavailable — up and running in deserts of Asia and Africa since 2001. How many handsets have they sold? Would you believe 600,000? That’s right: it took 12 years to sell that many — and I don’t think you’re counting net handsets in use today (churn, upgrades, etc., over the years). The new boss from Michigan is really getting this moving.

A couple of months ago, they introduced SatSleeve — an enclosure, battery supplement and satellite transceiver. It costs around $650 and probably many dollars per minute to use.

Sorry I wasn’t paying attention, but I had a lot going on. I think this is a brilliant product and I hope they sell a ton of them. It takes a big thinker from Detroit to make it happen.

Just in time for the magician’s birthday.

Khathmandu government forms committee to study feasibility of launching Nepal’s first satellite to a slot assigned the the ITU in 1984.
[The Himalayan – 05/05/2013]

Second launch of Vega rocket is scrubbed by Arianespace due to high altitude winds.
[NASA Spaceflight – 05/03/2013]

U.S. Air Force has been quietly developing and has finally fielded measures to counter interference and electronic attacks directed against satellite communications.
[Defence Update – 05/03/2013]

China launches state-owned communications satellite to transmit TV and data to commercial customers across Asia, Africa and Australia for the next 5 years.
[RapidTV news- 05/03/2013]

Pentagon indirectly leases capacity on a Chinese satellite, leading to criticism from Capitol Hill – situation could become commonplace without reform in the way the military procures commercial satellite capacity.
[SpaceNews – 05/03/2013]

Steve Birnbaum of the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) is honored by the White House for expertise and innovative HTS satellite solutions that enabled locally-driven community response during Hurricane Sandy relief operations.
[SatNews – 05/03/2013]

Inmarsat and Honeywell partner with Ka-band; as Inmarsat prepares to launch first Global Xpress Ka-band satellite, Honeywell completes preliminary design review of satcom hardware for aircraft.
[AIN online – 05/03/2013]

A top line-up of global satellite communications experts to meet in Abu Dhabi and discuss next steps forward in global military telecom market expected to reach $7.4 billion in 2013.
[TradeArabia – 05/02/2013]

Iridium joint venture Aireon, developer of world’s first satellite-based global air traffic surveillance system, signs long-term commercial. data services contract with NAV CANADA.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/02/2013]

Harris Caprock completes installation of advanced communications solutions onboard 33 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. vessels that will improve crew morale, guest experiences, and company operational efficiencies.
[Harris Caprock – 05/02/2013]

Comtech Xicom gets $1.2 million contract from a leading European integrator for antenna-mount Ku-band ampliviers to be used in transportable uplink systems for a TV broadcast network.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/02/2013]

NASA pays Russia $70 million per astronaut to ISS; blames Congress for expense.
[R&D Magazine – 05/01/2013]

Chinese launch Chinasat-ll (Zhongxing-1) aboard a Long March 3B/E (Chang Zheng-3B/E) rocket form the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
[NASA Spaceflight – 05/01/2013]

Militaries worldwide forced to face same questions as businesses and demand for satellite capacity increases – is Ka-band the way forward, and can they modernize while cutting costs?
[Satellite Today – 05/01/2013]

Sea Launch failure identified as hydraulic oil pump not built to specifications, company aims to return to flight by year’s end.
[Space News – 05/01/2013]

TeleCommunicaton Systems receives $4 million funded order for satellite modems from U.S. Army.
[Sacramento Bee – 05/01/2013]

Hiltron products to be showcased at Broadcast Asia 2013 include advanced motorized antenna mount. control system, and SNG satellite link monitor and controller that allow SNG uplinks to be operated on inclined orbit satellites.
[4rfv.co.uk – 05/01/2013]

Advantech Wireless releases new Sapphire Series 600W Ku-band UltraLinearTM GaiN SSPA/BUC, the ultimate solution for Direct to Home TV.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 05/01/2013]

May Satellite Executive Briefing magazine includes: ‘Update on the African Satellite Market’ by Virgil Labrador, ‘The Lack of Consensus on Spectrum Demand’ by Armand Musey, and ‘Back and Forth with O3b Networks CEO Steve Collar’ by Lou Zacharilla. [Satellite Markets – May 2013]

Russia wins, SpaceX loses, as NASA budget cuts force choice for manned space missions.
[Quartz – 04/30/2013]

SES hopes for strong impact in the UK satellite broadband market, signing a deal with BeyonDSL for the distribution of SES Broadband in the U.K. and Ireland.
[Satellite Today – 04/30/2013]

NordNet deploys Gilat’s SkyEdge II-c VSATs for high-end broadband-over-satellite service in France.
[Yahoo Finance – 04/30/2013]

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo makes its first powered flight, breaking the sound barrier in a test over the Mojave Desert.
[R&D Magazine – 04/29/2013]

As O3b’s first satellites arrive in French Guiana, the Exploration & Production, and Mining operations segment represents a small but high-end market awaiting the availability of fiber speeds by satellite.
[NSR – 04/29/2013]

Orbital sciences will design and build a new satellite for NASA that will investigate the connection between space weather and Earth’s terrestrial weather.
[R&D Magazine – 04/29/2013]

ViaSat Exede Internet receives 2013 Edison Award for Innovation.
[Yahoo Finance – 04/29/2013]

Is space junk a market waiting to be exploited?
[Quartz – 04/25/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Are all electric satellites a revolution in the manufacture of satellites, or a natural evolution? [Satellite Today – 05/01/2013]

Spanish/Norwegian cooperation programme HISNORSAT is put on hold. [The Norway Post – 04/28/2013]

NSR believes new technological choices will accelerate the split of satellite design into two categories: one driven by payload maximization and the other driven by savings. [SatNews – 04/25/2013]

Walton announces new fabric for its Snow Shield covers that outperforms that of its competitors, while half the price of the Gore-Tex now used. [SatNews – 04/26/2013

Turkey launches new satellite from China’s Zhiuguan base. [Satellite Spotlight – 04/26/2013]

Russian cargo spacecraft which failed to deploy one of its antennas after Wednesday launch docks with International Space Station. [Space News – 04/26/2013]

Eumetsat’s Metop-B replaces Metop-A as its prime operational polar-orbiting satellite following its commissioning period. [SatNews – 04/25/2013]

Iridium’s hosted payload with Harris represents a landmark for the company. [Satellite Today – 04/26/2013]

SES announces increased satellite penetration in Ukraine, to 22 percent of all TV households, or 3.7 million households. [Satellite Today – 04/25/2013]

Eutelsat Broadband helps workers from Ross-Shire Engineering stay in touch whilst constructing water treatment plants in some of the remotest parts of Scotland. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/25/2013]

Orbital Sciences Corporation selected by NASA to design, manufacture, integrate and test a new astrophysics satellite that will perform full-sky search for exoplanets around nearby stars. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/25/2013]

Hughes launches new HughesON managed network and digital media solutions for the enterprise and government markets. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/25/2013]

Earth observation data sales continue to grow globally – a Euroconsult report. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/25/2013]

Hughes 9502 BGAN M2M ‘integrated antenna’ terminal receives Inmarsat type approval. [Yahoo Finance – 04/24/2013]

Kymeta is the first to close a Ka-band link with a passive phased array antenna using metamaterials. [EON – 04/23/2013]

iDirect to host its third annual Global Partner Summit, where industry leaders from around the world will discuss market trends, insights, and best practices, in Istanbul May 6 – 8. [Wall Street Journal 04/23/2013]

Speedcast acquires Australian satellite communications service provider Pactel International. [Satellite Today – 04/23/2013]

KVH’s TracPhone V3-IP and mini-VSAT satellite broadband ideal for remote oil and gas applications including on moving vehicles. [Wall Street Journal – 04/23/2013]

Israel Defense Forces select Gilat SatTrooper 1000 to provide Israeli soldiers with dependable data, video and telephony at broadband speeds. [NBC News – 04/23/2013]

SES, Inverto, Abilis, and MaxLinear develop the first low-noise block down-converter to incorporae eight-channel satellite-to-IP bridging technology. [Business Wire – 04/22/2013]

UniSA develops low-cost satellite system for sending and receiving sensor information collected in Australia’s vast unpopulated areas. [Spatial Source – 04/23/2013]

Telecom reform proposed by new Mexican President features important opportunities for foreign investors and satellite communications service providers. [Satellite Today – 05/01/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

The 6th European Conference on Space Debris will be held at ESOC, ESA’s European Space Operations Center, Darmstadt, Germany, 22 – 25 April. [Space Daily – 04/19/2013]

Orbital now plans April 20 launch for Antares rocket. [Space News – 04/19/2013]

Galileo In-Orbit Verification In Orbit Test Review Board held at European Space Agency facility in Noordwijk, Netherlands, is declared a full success. [SatNews – 04/19/2013]\

Capacity on Azerbaijan’s first communications satellite, with Ku- and C-band transponders but no Ka-band, may be too expensive for internet providers. [ABC.AZ – 04/19/20103]

NASA seeks proposals for suborbital technology payloads and spacecraft capability enhancements that could be used on future space missions. [Space Travel – 04/18/2013]

Intelsat raises $347.8 million in IPO, less than hoped for, but stocks rise 7% in first day after offering. [Bloomberg – 04/18/2013]

Libya participates in Arabsat’s General Assembly Meeting. [Libya Herald – 04/18/2013]

COM DEV built multiplexers and switches populate Telesat’s Anik G1 satellite successfully launched April 15. [SatNews – 04/18/2013]

Responder to Superstorm Sandy disaster in Breezy Point, NY turns to Global VSAT Forum to put him in touch with satellite communications companies that are helping the community recover. [Urgent Communications – 04/18/2013]

TSF brings satellite broadband communications to Syrian refugee camps. [SatNews – 04/18/2013]

Beam Communications provides satellite communication solution to Australian charity organization Just 4 Kids. [Satellite Today – 04/18/2013]

General Dynamics PRC-155 manpack radio is successfully tested through on-orbit MUOS satellite network. [Wall Street Journal – 04/18/2013]

GMPCS introduces new line of Ka-band uplink field kits for satellite newsgathering applications. [Broadcast Engineering – 04/18/2013]

The Saturno project, centering on distribution of satellite content to all domestic devices (television, laptops, tablets, or smartphones) using current infrastructure, led by HIspasat, successfully concludes its work  with a meeting in Madrid. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/18/2013]

Digiturk and Eutelsat partner on Turkey’s first Ultra HD channel. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/18/2013]

Comtech EF Data gets a $1.1 million equipment order from an Asian telecommunications operator to support high-speed trunking links transporting 880 Mbps of data traffic, software upgradeable to over 3 Gbps. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/18/2013]

SES announces that IN DEMAND has renewed an integral part of its cornerstone capacity agreement with SES for delivery of Pay-Per-View and Video ON Demand sports and entertainment television content .. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/18/2013]

British firm unveils a sat-nav system that warns lorry drivers when they are approaching roads where they are at high risk of hitting a cyclist. [GPS Daily – 04/18/2013]

Proba-3 mission will be first in which two spacecraft will fly through space as a single unit – relative position accuracy to within less than one millimeter. [SatNews – 04/17/2013]

Eutelsat satellite Eutelsat 3D is undergoing final preparations for May 14 launch aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M rocket at Baikonour. [Satellte Today – 04/17/2013]

Astrium study, under contract with French space agency CNES, will analyze existing concepts and technologies and determine which can be used to successfully tackle large items of space debris. [SatNews – 04/17/2013]

MilSatCom Asia-Pacific 2013 – the largest SatCom event within the APAC region, to take place in Singapore May 9th and 10th. [Yahoo News – 04/17/2013]

Canadian company Norsat acquires US-based satellite communications business. [Wall Street Journal – 04/17/2013]

French company Astrium approaches near-global X-band satellite communications for government and military customers with entry into service of its Skynet 5D and the launch of its hosted payload on Telesat’s Anik G1. [UPI – 04/17/2013]

Thuraya expands GSM roaming coverage across 11 additional countries in the Americas. [Wall Street Journal – 04/17/2013]

Eastern Africa regional conference on satellite communication is held in Uganda. [UN-SPIDER – 04/17/2013]

Honeywell’s Sky Connect Tracker III combines voice, text and flight-tracking technologies into single system designed for helicopters, using the Iridium satellite network. [AIN online – 04/17/2013]

Wireless Innovation provides satellite communications solution for the British Antarctic Survey’s “Project Javelin.” [Satellite Spotlight – 04/17/2013]

Anik G1, successfully launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan; aims to ease overcrowded communications networks in Latin America and add capacity to DTH services in Canada, and government and military users across the Americas. [Universe Today – 04/16/2013]

U.S. State Department eases export rules on aerospace parts. [Space Daily – 04/16/2013]

Air Force Space Command developed database that was turned over to Stratcom maintains a registry of tens of thousands of man-made objects in space and shares the information freely with anyone who seeks it through a command-run website. [SatNews – 04/16/2013]

New Nigerian Permanent Secretary to the Communications Technology Ministry, on tour of NIGCOMSAT facility, expresses regret that the government has not properly harnessed the facilities for nation building. [allAfrica – 04/16/2013]

Spacecom of Israel wins three-year contract with one of Africa’s largest Internet Communications Service Providers for VSAT services on AMOS-5. [SatNews – 04/16/2013]

NSSLGlobal opens new Singapore office. [Satellite Today – 04/16/2013]

Charlie Ergen’s company bids $25.5 billion for Sprint. [Multichannel News – 04/15/2013]

Ecuador is scheduled to launch its first satellite, a nanosatellite named Pegasa, from China April 26. [SatNews – 04/16/2013]

The U.S. Air Force is requesting a space program budget for fiscal year 2014 that is nearly one-third smaller than the 2013 request, at $6.4 billion. [SatNews – 04/15/2013]

Arianespace hopes to equal its 2012 performance in 2013. [Satellite Today – 04/15/2013]

ABI Research reports the Over The Top (OTT) video market is now worth over $8 billion, but does not yet see it as a threat to satellite. [Satellite Today – 04/12/2013]

Northrup Grumman Aerospace Systems Business Development Director discusses need for protected MILSATCOM and an affordable solution. [MILSATMAGAZINE – April issue]

Satellite Short Burst Data is cost-effective Beyond-Line-of-Sight transmission for multiple military units in the field. [MILSATMAGAZINE – April issue]

iDirect VP of Technology feels High Throughput Satellites can help solve biggest challenges of using satellite communications in the military – bandwidth and cost. [MILSATMAGAZINE – April issue]

Delivery of two state-of-the-art Ka-band Satellite On-The-Move terminals to the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology by Australian company EM Solutions represents key milestone for the firm for a partnership project with Tokyo-based Jepico Corporation. [MILSATMAGAZINE – April edition]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Instruments on the ground or attached to weather balloons give us wind velocity measurements, helping us predict weather changes and forecasting. And they do a pretty good job with it. Anybody with a radio, TV or Internet device can avail themselves of the weather forecast. Or a newspaper. Remember those?

Although I appreciate being able to know what the weather will be like after tomorrow or next week, I long for the days when we would simply look toward the sky, feel the wind and/or humidity and make an experienced guess on the next day’s weather. Winds from the south and we’ll get rain. Chilly wind from the northwest indicates a change toward colder days ahead.

If the wind makes a difference on the ground, think about what it would mean if we were able to use an instrument in space. Enter the ESA’s Aeolus mission, which includes the Aladin UV laser instrument.

The Aeolus satellite will carry a single, but complex, instrument that will probe the atmosphere to profile the world’s winds. Reliable and timely wind profiles are urgently needed by meteorologists to improve weather forecasts. In the long term, they will also contribute to climate research.

Aeolus carries a pioneering instrument called Aladin that uses laser light scattering and the Doppler effect to gather data on wind.

The laser generates high-energy UV light, which is beamed towards Earth through a telescope. As the light travels down through the atmosphere, it bounces off molecules of gas, particles of dust and droplets of water.

By comparing the shift in frequency of the received light from the transmitted light caused by the Doppler effect, the motion of the molecules in the atmosphere can be measured, revealing wind velocity.

The laser transmitter is being developed by Selex-ES in Italy.

It has been a very long and difficult undertaking – forging new technologies in many areas such as optics, opto-electronics, precision mechanics and thermo-mechanical design.

Recent tests show all this effort has not been in vain.

Throughout three consecutive weeks, the laser transmitter remained perfectly stable at full energy, producing a total of 90 million UV laser shots.

Considering that each shot is 5 MW, peaking at an intensity similar to that of a lightning strike and that this is repeated 50 times a second – the stress on the optical components that shape and guide the laser beam is tremendous.

Predicting weather and climate changes using a space-based UV laser. Cool.

Eight satellite builders group themselves into seven separate bids for Brazil’s dual-use X- and Ka-band telecommunications satellite. [Space News – 04/12/2013]

Belarus plans for a communications satellite to be constructed by China Great Wall Industry Corporation. [Belarusian Telegraph Agency – 04/12/2013]

Satellite tracking with single STMicroelectronics Teseo II chip successfully tested using Europe’s independent Galileo satellite navigation system. [SatNews – 04/12/2013]

NSSLGlobal opens new office in Singapore. [SatNews – 04/12/2013]

University of Hawaii faculty and students designed satellite that will be launched in October 2013 in the first space launch from the State of Hawaii, from the U.S. Navy’s missile range on Kauai. [SatNews – 04/11/2013]

NASA’s Aqua satellite captures images of Mediterranean obscured by thick plumes of dust. [SatNews – 04/11/2013]

Honeywell and Boeing sign technical services agreement, seeking to develop next generation of high-speed in-flight connectivity services on passenger devices such as iPads, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. [Satellite Today – 04/11/2013]

NOAA-17 Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite turned off after 11 years of successful operation. [SatNews – 04/11/2013]

SES announces launch of SES Ultra HD Experience initiative inviting content providers and broadcasters to work with SES to support the development of the Ultra HD value chain. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

DeLorme launches next generation inReach satellite communicator with GPS; inReach keeps users connected when out of cell phone range. [Herald online – 04/11/2013]

Cobham EXPLORER 710 BGAN terminal unveiled at NAB2013 features fastest ever BGAN streaming. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

C-COM’s iNetVu antenna is first to be deployed on Yahsat’s YahClick network. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

Globecomm and TodoCast partner to combine TodoCast’s live Internet broadcast capabilities with Globecomm’s global satellite network and broadcast infrastructure to provide direct-to-consumer content distribution. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

Row 44 announces completion of installation of in-flight entertainment solution on 60 Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 737-800s. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

Bahrain’s NOORSAT deploys multiple Telairity quad-channel BE9400 high-compression SD encoders in a complete end-to-end redundant encoding system for new Middle East video installations. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/11/2013]

Commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific says U.S. can intercept North Korean missile. [Space Mews – 04/10/2013]

Canada’s Radarsat 1 satellite feared lost for good as prospects for reviving it are not promising. [Spaceflight Now – 04/10/2013]

Next Vega to be launched from French Guiana is delivered to Arianespace – is slated for May 2 mission to carry aloft Proba-V for the ESA, VNREDSat-1 for Vietnam, and an Estonian student nanosatellite ESTCube-1. [SatNews – 04/10/2013]

Aireon, a commercial venture that will leverage the Iridium Next satellite communications constellation to provide navigation and flight safety communications to airlines, waits for FAA funding commitment. [Space News – 04/10/2013]

United Airlines discusses plans to use both Ka-band and Ku-band technology for in-flight connectivity. Satellite Today – 04/10/2013]

SES and SkyStream renew multi-year NSS-6 capacity deal to expand VSAT networks in the Middle East. [itWeb Business Wire – 04/10/2013]

Antares rocket rolled out at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility for launch set for April 17. [Space News – 04/09/2013]

New Australian space coordination office to be created under new space policy that will provide strategic direction for Australian users of satellite technology. [Yahoo 7 news – 04/09/2013]

Fourth MUOS satellite, with communication module and multi-beam antenna installed, enters system test. [Sacramento Bee – 04/09/2013]

Panasonic leases full transponder of Ku-band satellite capacity on Eutelsat 172A  from Australian Satellite Communications. [PR Newswire – 04/09/2013]

NSSLGlobal to be reseller for Inmarsat Global Xpress. [4-traders – 04/09/2013]

RRsat to launch new content management and distribution solution for Russia and the CIS that includes RRsat’s Ku-band MCPC platform on the new Yamal-300K satellite. [RRSAT Press Release – 04/09/2013]

NAB – International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers (IABM) conference session saw data on recent market growth of 4.7% per annum, though profits down 12.7%; discussed strategies for reinvention of industry. [Satellite Markets – 04/09/2013]

ITT Exelis to fabricate composite-based bus structures for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s GEOStar-3 communications satellite. [EON – 04/09/2013]

New report in Reportlinker.com catalogue discusses the Global Military Communications and COTS Market for 2012-2013. [Yahoo Finance – 04/08/2013]

Euroconsult predicts strong performance for Ka-band in in-flight connectivity; overall take-up rate of connectivity services is lower than expected. [Satellite Today – 04/08/2013]

Telecommunications ministers from nine major Arab states, including Qatar, look into the prospects of acquiring next generation satellite technology to boost services across the region. [Gulf Times – 04/08/2013]

Iridium endeavors to re-enter India with Indian partners Bhgarat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and MTNL. [afaqs – 04/08/2013]

Boeing developing family of small satellite prototypes called Phantom Phoenix sharing a common architecture that can quickly and affordably be manufactured and configured for specific missions. [SatNews – 04/08/2013]

Abbot-led coalition Australian government would keep the fixed-wireless and satellite components of Australia’s National Broadband Network project. [ZDNet – 04/08/2013]

ATCi displays low cost flyaway antenna package at NAB 2013. [Sacramento Bee – 04/08/2013]

Telesat Anik G1 to launch on Proton rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 15. [Spaceflight 101 – 04/07/2013]

KVH announces availability of integrated service package pairing its mini-VSAT Broadbandsm service with Iridium OpenPort broadband services for seamless, fully global connectivity. [Daily Herald – 04/07/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Virgil interviews Bunke and Martos at Satellite 2013.

Remember real-time DVR for satellite radio? It would grab the past and future (+/-3 minutes) so you could go back a little to hear what you missed. The satellite TV ones are awesome, too. Go back as far as you like, skip the ads, etc. So we’re taking spaced-based tech and adding some magic on the ground to make it better.

I don’t have a GPS device. I use my iPhone and Google Maps. Without an Internet connection, it won’t be help — unless you download where you know you’ll be with a connection. Like remote national park. Download the maps and the GPS will still kick-in and guide you.

What if you lose your GPS connection? Think long tunnel or deep gorge — or the bad guys putting the jam on your signal. Enter DARPA and it’s new prototype timing & inertial measurement unit (TIMU)…

DARPA researchers at the University of Michigan have made significant progress with a timing & inertial measurement unit (TIMU) that contains everything needed to aid navigation when GPS is temporarily unavailable. The single chip TIMU prototype contains a six axis IMU (three gyroscopes and three accelerometers) and integrates a highly-accurate master clock into a single miniature system, smaller than the size of a penny. This chip integrates breakthrough devices (clocks, gyroscopes and accelerometers), materials and designs from DARPA’s Micro-Technology for Positioning, Navigation and Timing (Micro-PNT) program.

Three pieces of information are needed to navigate between known points ‘A’ and ‘B’ with precision: orientation, acceleration and time. This new chip integrates state-of-the-art devices that can measure all three simultaneously. This elegant design is accomplished through new fabrication processes in high-quality materials for multi-layered, packaged inertial sensors and a timing unit, all in a tiny 10 cubic millimeter package. Each of the six microfabricated layers of the TIMU is only 50 microns thick, approximately the thickness of a human hair. Each layer has a different function, akin to floors in a building.

The TIMU is tiny and so very cool.