Really Rocket Science

NASA selects 295 research and technology proposals from 216 American small business for negotiations that could lead to contract awards worth up to a combined $38.7 million. [Space Travel – 04/05/2013]

GVF-EMP Conference Partnership to hold its 17th conference in its global Oil & Gas Communications Series in Rio de Janeiro, for the third year in succession. [SatNews – 04/05/2013]

KVH more than doubles mini-VSAT satellite broadband network capacity in Brazil and Africa. [Space Daily – 04/05/2013]

Cobham SATCOM to unveil EXPLORER 710 BGAN terminal, capable of streaming rates of over 650 kbps when using new high data rate streaming service to be introduced in September, at NAB 2013. [SatNews – 04/05/2013]

Crystal Solutions to demo its Spectrum Monitoring & Recording solution at NAB 2013, which will enable broadcasters to defend the 2GHz Broadcast Auxiliary Service. [SatNews – 04/05/2013]

Astrium to present several new products and services at the LAAD Defence & Security 2013 exhibition. [SatNews – 04/05/2013]

Globecomm CEO David Hershberg to appear on Fox Business Network Saturday, April 6th, and Bloomberg Telivision International Sunday, April 7th. [laserpostal.com – 04/05/2013]

Euroconsult strategic review expects global in-flight connectivity market to grow at a CGR of ~42% over the next 10 years. [SatNews – 04/04/2013]

Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) is accepting project proposals for 2013 from members and non-members for projects that promote the use of telecommunications to improve quality of life in the Pacific. [SatNews – 04/04/2013]

AsiaSat signs partnership deal with GeoMetWatch, under which the satellite operator will host the first of six Sounding & Tracking Observatory for Regional Meteorology (STORMTM) instruments on board a new satellite. [Satellite Today – 04/04/2013]

L-3 EDD 50-watt NanoMPM Ka-band power amplifier is the world’s smallest commercially available millimeter wave power amplifier module at just 6.5 in. x 4 in. by 1 in.. [SatNews – 04/04/2013]

NASA celebrates 30th anniversary of the deployment of the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-A, launched on space shuttle Challenger’s maiden voyage. [redOrbit – 04/04/2013]

ETL to display latest V-series RF Matrix at NAB 2013. [SatNews – 04/04/2013]

Spanish satellite communications operator HISPASAT to provide broadband connections for the Mars Spanish Mission. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/04/2013]

Advantech Wireless releases new Millennium series VSAT hub for High Throughput Satellites. [Satellite Today – 04/04/2013]

Gilat to showcase new lightweight integrated airborne satellite communications solution for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) at LAAD 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil April 9 – 12. [Aviation Pros – 04/04/2013]

ORBCOMM completes acquisition of GlobalTrak and MobileNet. [Satellite Evolution Group – 04/04/2013]

Intelsat plans scaled-back IPO in New York, seeking to raise up to $710 million. [Google Hosted News – 04/03/2013]

OnAir targets slew of in-flight connectivity deals in emerging markets. [Satellite Today – 04/03/2013]

China’s second female astronaut, Wang Yaping, to fly in space aboard the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft later this year. [Space Daily – 04/03/2013]

China to launch dual purpose satellite in 2013 to be used in weather forecasting and satellite disaster warning, and the BDS system will begin operations for the first time outside China, in Thailand. [SatNews – 04/03/2013]

Cobham SATCOM and LiveU, a leader in portable live video-over-cellular solutions, announce alliance to offer broadcasters a robust, high performance hybrid solution for live video transmission in diverse locations. [Screen Africa – 04/03/2013]

Satcom Direct holds 9th annual conference to answer satellite questions in the airborne arena; its growth is evidence that steady pace of satcom development has led to greater variety of services and lower prices. [AIN online – 04/03/2013]

China says its Beidou GPS System will soon be available to civilians on public mobile phone services. [GPS Daily – 04/02/2013]

Hughes expands managed network services for African Development Bank. [Sacramento Bee – 04/02/2013]

Viasat CTO describes ViaPlay, with video streaming apps for the Apple iOS, Google Android platforms, Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Xbox 360, as a complement to satellite pay-TV and DTH. [Satellite Today – 04/01/2013]

Norsat receives $13.3 million (CAD) research and development contract from Canada’s Strategic Aerospace and Defense Initiative. [Satellite Today – 04/01/2013]

Acoustic time delay device could reduce size and cost of phased-array antennas. [R&D Magazine – 04/01/2013]

Turkish Armed Forces plans to send five military reconnaissance and Earth observation satellites into space. [Satellite Today – 04/03/2013]

British companies aim for 10% of projected £400bn 2030 global satellite services market. [Financial Times – 03/31/2013

Independent studies commissioned by satellite operators give them plenty of room to boast. [Satellite Today – 03/29/2013]

Experiments in Saharan Desert prepare for manned missions to Mars, supported by satellite link provided by BusinessCom Networks and Constellation Networks Corp. [PR.com – 03/29/2013]

Intelsat and Digital Networks sign deal to improve VSAT communications in North America. [Satellite Today – 03/29/2013]

April 2013 issue of Satellite Executive Briefing magazine available. [Satellite Markets – April 2013]

Could a satellite company decongest American Wi-Fi and save itself in the process?  Globalstar’s “terrestrial Low Power Service” (TLPS) plans. [Quartz – 03/05/2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

XCOR Aerospace announces firing of full piston pump-powered rocket engine, a first in aviation and space history – the engines will be reusable several times a day. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/28/2013]

ILS and Intelsat sign contract for two firm ILS Proton launch missions. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

Space Systems/Loral will study options for low-cost U.S. military weather satellite replacement system. [Space News – 03/28/2013]

China to launch the first satellite for its high-resolution Earth observation system in April. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

Harris Corporation and NOAA develop and deploy new tool that will help track and report anomalies in critical weather satellite information. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/28/2013]

Reinventing Space – dramatically reducing space mission cost with advanced spacecraft technology. [Space News – 03/28/2013]

Cobham to introduce MediaMesh, a new IP-based platform for lightweight, rapid set-up field newsrooms, at NAB 2013. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/28/2013]

Gilat Satellite Networks gets three year contract from Peruvian Ministry of Education to provide SkyEdge II-c hub and Aries VSAT equipment, installation, maintenance and technical support for 2,600 schools nationwide. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

C-COM to show new, rugged, lightweight iNetVu line of Ka- and Ku-band auto-pointing antenna systems at NAB 2013. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

XipLink’s wireless link optimization solutions are successfully tested and implemented at Maritime Communications Partner, assisting MCP in servicing a higher number of internet subscribers on maritime vessels while reducing operating expenses. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

Satcom Direct releases new mobile application, GetORT+, allowing users of their Satcom Direct Unity product kit to interface with their satcom equipment using Apple devices. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

On Call chooses Romantis Universal Hardware Platform for second generation of QuickSPOT on demand satellite network, saying it should just take moments to book satellite space online and then access it. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

First Search and Rescue payload on U.S. satellite, NOAA-E, was launched 30 years ago; more than 33,000 lives have been saved to date. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

Canada receives part of the ground segment of its military’s first dedicated operation military satellite from Denmark’s Terma A/S. [SatNews – 03/28/2013]

Mitsubishi Electric delivers world’s first helicopter satellite communication system, expected to gather information on disaster areas to support rapid deployment of first response measures. [Yahoo Finance – 03/27/2013]

Satmex 8, launched March 26, successfully performs post-launch maneuvers. [Yahoo Finance – 03/27/2013]

Proton successfully launches Satmex 8 in return to flight. [Space News – 03/27/2013]

Italy and France put aside conflicts to partner in manufacture of new Sicral 2 communications satellite. [Defense News – 03/27/2013]

Cassidian and Astrium Services provide access to satellite communications to French fire and rescue services. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/27/2013]

Dutch broadcaster NOS selects GlobeCast and Eutelsat resources for SNG operations. [Yahoo Finance – 03/27/2013

Soviet MIR EVA spacesuit auctioned for 112,000 euros. [Space Daily – 03/27/2013]

Spacenet announces addition of a range of new communications services and products to the GSA schedule. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/26/2013]

Hughes announces first Inmarsat BGAN M2M terminal to receive hazardous locations accreditation. [Yahoo Finance – 03/27/2013]

VSAT provider Maju Nusa of Malaysia to use Hughes Network Systems Network Operations Center and 130 HXb roadband satellite terminals to deliver cellular backhaul services. [SatNews – 03/27/2013]

Exinda announces that Satcom Direct has selected its Exinda Mobile platform to be integrated into the Satcom Direct Router, to act as a Wi-Fi access point on an airplane. [Yahoo News – 03/26/2013]

ViaSat CEO speaks optimistically about ViaSat-2 satellite at 2013, saying it is expected to be a dramatic improvement over ViaSat-1; a realistic time frame for the satellite may be 2016. [Satellite Today – 03/25/2013]

NSR report ‘Aeronautical Satcom Markets’ due out in April answers critical questions affecting the in-flight connectivity business. [NSR – Apritl 2013]

NSR report ‘Energy Markets Via Satellite’ builds on legacy of NSR’s detailed analysis of the Oil & Gas markets, adding detailed view into the O&G, mining, and utility verticals. [NSR – March 2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Financing no longer expected to be an issue for U.S. satellite exporters as Export-Import Bank plans to maintain aggressive satellite financing position. [Space News – 03/22/2013]

Arianespace announces contract to launch three satellites for Intelsat S.A. [Space Daily – 03/22/2013]

Orbit Communications systems launches new VSAT product line for the maritime market called OceanTRx. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/22/2013]

Intelsat S.A. gets multi-year extension agreement with ART/International Network Distribution of Lebanon for capacity on Intelsat 21 and Intelsat 805, [SatNews – 03/22/2013]

Estonia’s student cubesat satellite is ready for the next Vega launch. [Space Travel – 03/22/2013]

PolarSat receives order for VSATPlus3 from Guangdong Dapeng LNG Company of China to be used for real time SCADA, voice, and corporate services. [SatNews – 03/22/20103]

U.S. Air Force launches second satellite for SBIRS, GEO-2, from Vandenberg AFB. [Satellite Today – 03/21/2013]

High-Throughput dominates Satellite 2013 discussion as NovelSat CEO predicts demand for international satellite bandwidth services will have increased 2,000% in a 10-year timespan between 2002 and 2020. [Satellite Today – 03/21/2013]

Yahsat system is certified for use with the U.S. Air Force’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) – WGS terminals will be interoperable with Yahsat’s Ka-band military satellite frequencies. [Space News – 03/21/2013]

Echostar subsidiary Hughes Network Systems announces that it has selected Space Systems/Loral to build the world’s highest capacity broadband satellite, JUPITER2/EchoStar XIX, with over 150 Gbps throughput. [SatNews – 03/21/2013]

ViaSat executive says the company’s refusal to decide on a builder for its ViaSat-2 Ka-band satellite has nothing to do with its lawsuit against Space Systems Loral. [Space News – 03/21/2013]

Sea Launch and EchoStar reach preliminary agreement for launch services in 2015. [Space Travel – 03/21/2013]

Astrium Services expects to partner with MDA on Earth Observation satellite network. [Space News – 03/21/2013]

Apollo-era rocket engine parts are recovered from beyond 3 miles deep in the Atlantic by an expedition funded by Rick Bezos of Amazon. [R&D Magazine – 03/21/2013]

SES reach in 2012, driven by strong gains in India and Germany, extends to 276 million TV homes worldwide. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/2013]

ESA’s Planck satellite telescope data used to map the Universe’s most ancient light. [BBC – 03/21/2013]

Space Exploration Technologies’ Merlin 1D engine achieves flight qualification and is now fully qualified to fly on the Falcon 9 rocket. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/20103]

Mitsubishi Electric completes expansion of satellite production facility at its Kamakura Works in Kamakura, Japan. [Daily Herald – 03/21/2013]

Armarda Group subsidiary China Mobile Satellite Communications Group (CMSCG) and Thuraya Telecommunications announce distributorship arrangement with China Telecom Satellite (CTS) for the Thuraya SatSleeve, a module that transforms an iPhone into a dual mode satellite phone. [The Business Times – 03/21/2013]

C-COM Satellite Systems introduces new generation of Ka-band flyaway antennas at Satellite 2013. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/2013]

SingTel’s ConnectPortal allows shore side professionals to have total control over their shipboard crews’ internet usage by implementing a flexi-time allowance. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/2013]

Spacecom adds eighth DTH platform on AMOS-5 over Nigeria. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/2013]

Signalhorn has completed the rollout of over 400 point of sale (PoS) sites which service a global fuel retailer’s South African network. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/21/2013]

Free ESA iPhone app allows quadcopter owners to attempt simulated dockings with International Space Station while flying their drones for real. [Space Daily – 03/21/2013]

Voyager 1 leaves our solar systems after traveling 11 billion miles. [R&D Magazine – 03/20/2013]

Radio Frequency Interference-End Users Initiative and Global VSAT Forum collaborate, with support and commitment from World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group, to launch training of satellite newsgathering operators to reduce interference. [SatNews – 03/20/2013]

NSR report grades the financial performance of the big four satellite operators. [SatNews – 03/20/20013]

Newtec wins WTA Teleport Technology of the Year award, presented at WTA luncheon at Satellite 2013. [Newtec Press Release – 03/19/2013]

Launch Services Panel at Satellite 2013 recognizes common challenges while examining cooperative approch to increase business and profitability for the sector. [Satellite Today – 03/20/2013]

Kratos introduces new SATCOM Cybersecurity Assessment service addressing increasing threats and unique requirements of the satellite industry. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/19/2013]

Chinese collaboration with neighbouring countries’ space-related programmes sparks off a fresh scare in India’s national security establishment. [The Economic Times – 03/19/2013]

Nupoint Systems selects Globalstar Data Services for M2M satellite connectivity. [Daily Herald – 03/18/2013]

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I reckon ULA had something to show in their booth at Satellite 2013.

That show hasn’t had anything exciting for years. In fact, their site still has videos from 2012. Ironically, their slogan is “Bridging the Gap between Today and Tomorrow.”

Close your eyes, imagine you’re living in 2003 again. Now, open them and look at the conference program. Feels like 10 years ago, huh?

Your gap is off.

It was bound to happen, sooner or later. One of the thousands of pieces of debris from the Chinese missile test from 2007 in LEO dabbed the Russian Ball Lens In The Space (BLITS) and threw it off…

The apparent destruction of a small Russian satellite six weeks ago highlights the growing threat space junk poses to activities in low-Earth orbit, experts say.

The satellite and space junk crash involved Russia’s Ball Lens In The Space nanosatellite, or BLITS, which likely collided on Jan. 22 with a piece of orbital debris spawned by a 2007 Chinese anti-satellite test, SPACE.com reported on March 8. The event adds another name to the list of spacecraft that have had run-ins with space junk.

Italy blocks completion of controversial U.S. military satellite station in Sicily pending results of a health and environmental study. [Space News – 03/15/2013]

NASA’s first laser-based space communications system, for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft, has been integrated into the spacecraft and is ready for launch. [R&D Magazine – 03/15/2013]

Swiss company announces plans to develop reusable air-launched suborbital vehicle to launch small satellites into orbit for around $10 million per launch. [Space News – 03/15/2013]

Newest U.S. missile warning satellite encapsulated into payload fairing for March 19 launch from Cape Canaveral. [Space Daily – 03/15/2013]

Preparations for the second Vega launch from French Guiana are underway, with VNREDSat-1A and Proba-V undergoing initial checkout. [SatNews – 03/15/2013]

Idaho Department of Water Resources eagerly awaiting data from recently launched Landsat 8 for use in developing hydrologic models and reaching legal decisions on water rights. [SatNews – 03/15/2013]

ESA and Roscosmos sign ExoMars deal after NASA bows out mainly due to funding restrictions. [NASA Spaceflight – 03/14/2013]

ResearchMoz report on Global Military Satellites Market provides detailed analysis of the current industry size and growth expectations from 2012 – 2022, including key growth stimulators. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/14/2013]

Reinventing Space – dramatically reducing space mission cost for traditional large spacecraft missions. [Space News – 03/14/2013]

ViviSat opens ATK Robotic Rendezvous and Proximity (RPO) testing facility to its clients for tours of the facility during Satellite 2013. [SatNews – 03/14/2013]

Prodea Systems, Inc. Residential Operating System, a comprehensive distributed cloud-based platform, has been integrated into satellite hybrid set-top boxes destined for My-HD subscribers across Middle East and North Africa. [equities.com – 03/14/2013]

Gilat to introduce new revenue-enhancing satellite broadband solutions at Satellite 2013. [4-traders – 03/14/2013]

Telenor Satellite Broadcasting signs agreement with Neterra, a new direct-to-home shared platform that offers pay-tv services in Bulgaria. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/14/2013]

Editors of Satellite Today and Via Satellite publish “2012 Satellite Industry Financial Breakdown.” summarizing satellite industry’s top companies’ financial performance in 2012 and forecasting expectations for 2013. [Satellite Today – 03/14/2013]

Foxcomm will mark 20 years of serving the Satcom industry at Satellite 2013. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/14/2013]

Glowlink introduces GS380, a breakthrough product dramatically improving performance and effectiveness of satellite interference geolocation systems. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/13/2013]

Harris CapRock expands collaboration with O3b to deliver advance communications solution for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd cruise ships Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas. [SatNews – 03/13/2013]

Thuraya, in partnership with Rory Peck Trust, sponsors freelance journalist with the IP+ satellite terminal. [Yahoo! Finance – 03/13/2013]

Newtec’s latest broadband equipment helps expand SES Ka-band Broadband Services offering. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/13/2013]

Service provider IsNet successfully deploys satellite-based backup network for a major Oil and Gas company in Turkey employing PolarSat system. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/13/2013]

The fifth WGS satellite for the Air Force, WGS-5, arrives at Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, from where it will be transported to Cape Canaveral for launch. [Los Angeles Air Force Base News – 03/12/2013]

ITC Global agrees to acquire NewSat, expanding its position in worldwide energy markets. [Yahoo! Finance – 03/12/2013]

Eutelsat and OneAccess develop first performance-enhanced platform for businesses designed to deliver services on Eutelsat’s KA-SAT Hight Throughput Satellite in a secure VPN environment. [msn MONEY – 03/12/2013]

Talia and Newtec provide new satellite communications backbone infrastructure for AGSM.MOBI in Somalia. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/12/2013]

Sumitomo of Japan will use ORBCOMM’s global satellite communications network to track and monitor the location, status and performance of their equipment anywhere in the world. [Yahoo! Finance – 03/12/2013]

DigitalGlobe contracts MDA to build a satellite ground station which it will use ton enable access to imagery and data from the WorldView satellites for an unnamed international customer. [Satellite Today – 03/12/2013]

Active Russian satellite collides with what is thought to be remnants of a destroyed Chinese satellite. [Satellite Today – 03/11/2013]

Satellites built by Orbital Sciences Corporation exceed 1,000 years of cumulative in-orbit operational experience. [Stockhouse – 03/11/2013]

GE Aviation to provide inertial reference units for Boeing’s wideband phased array satellite communications systems for airborne mobile communications. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/11/2013]

C-band use again to take stage at World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07), with satellite operators challenging use of C-band by mobile operators. [International Telecommuinication Union – ITU News Magazine]

Satellite communications enable government agencies, emergency response, and military organizations to maintain continuity of operations during and after an event when network outages can be life threatening. [MILSAT Magazine – March 2013 edition}

NSR Energy Markets via Satellite report adds coverage into the mining and utilities verticals, in the midst of a bandwidth revolution that may affect satellite companies over the next decade. [NSR – March 2013]

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Satellite Interference Reduction Group announces approval of the DVB Carrier ID specification which will now be submitted to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for formal standardization. [SatNews – 03/08/2013]

SES signs contract with BT to provide satellite communications services for the Galileo Data Dissemination Network (GDDN) to support the Galileo Operator Spaceopal. [equities.com – 03/08/2013]

TCS gets $16 million in incremental funding to provide Deployed Engineering Services to the U.S. Marine Corp for its Wireless Point to Point Link systems. [msn MONEY – 03/08/2013]

Glowlink to unveil a technology that can remove interferences from broadband communications signals, including those occurring in satellite communications, at Satellite 2013. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

China’s fourth launch center, located on tropical island of Hainan, to be ready for space launches in two years. [Space Daily – 03/07/2013]

Harris is awarded contract to study and make recommendations to help modernize the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

U.S. Air Force unit’s mission is to defend and protect operability of the Air Force’s communications satellites, combating intentional and accidently jamming. [U.S.A.F. – 03/07/2013]

New NSR report examines the launch services industry in midst of environment that has raised questions about launch services reliability. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

Russian GLONASS orbital navigation group is again at full strength. [GPS Daily – 03/07/2013]

China targeting global coverage for its BeiDou navigation system by 2020. [GPS Daily – 03/07/2013]

ViaSat HTS ViaSat-1, the Ka-band satellite used for Exede Internet, earns Guinness World Records title as highest-capacity satellite in the world – 100 times typical Ku-band satellite and 10 times any Ka-band satellite. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

U.S. House of Representatives approves legislation funding next generation of NOAA weather satellites. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

MacDonald Dettwiler stock has room to rise as it taps U.S. government satellite market through its Space Systems/Loral acquisition. [Bloomberg Businessweek – 03/07/2013]

Spacenet’s new ECSConnectTM solution offers affordable emergency broadband communications and eliminates upfront capital expenditure. [Satellite Spotlight – 03/07/2013]

Inmarsat and Kymeta sign agreement to develop revolutionary satellite antenna to enable business jets of any size to access high-speed broadband connectivity globally. {Satellite Evolution Group – 03/07/2013]

Indian Space Research Organisation plans construction of high-resolution remote sensing Earth satellite, Cartosat-3, capable of 0.25 metre resolution. [Space News – 03/06/22013}

Inmarsat certifies Boeing to provide 3G, Voice over IP, streaming video, direct dialing, secure communications, and other capabilities through Inmarsat-4 L-band service. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/07/2013]

Thuraya signs Service Partner agreement with Pivotel Group Pty Limited of Australia, enabling licensed mobile carrier Pivotel to provide Thuraya’s products and services across Australia and Southern Asia. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/07/2013]

News Corporation announces that its News Limited subsidiary will divest its 44% stake in SKY Network Television Limited of New Zealand. [SatNews – 03/07/2013]

EM Solutions delivers two Australian-made Ka-Band ‘Satellite on the Move’ systems to partner Jepico Corporation in Japan. [WBMSAT Press Releases – 03/06/2013]

ITC Global signs a long term agreement to provide Kinross Gold Corporation with a comprehensive satellite communications network and bandwidth service for its mining sites in Russia. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/06/2013]

ViaSat demonstrates high-performance Ka-band satellite communication system providing sustained data rates of 4Mbps from helicopter to ground station and 8 Mbps from ground station to helicopter. [SatNews – 03/06/2013]

Eutelsat and Alterie Telecom complete renewal of three long-term satellite capacity contracts on EUTELSAT 5. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/06/2013]

Romantis releases new software for UHP VSAT platform. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/06/2013]

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited signs agreement with Glavkosmos/NPO Lavotchkin for the launch of the UK technology demonstration mission TechDemoSat-1 in Q3 of 2013. [Satellite Evolution Group – 03/05/2013]

SpaceX flight controllers succeed in recovery of Dragon, getting it to the International Space Station a day late. [R&D Magazine – 03/04/2013]

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SES confirms Padraig McCarthy as new CFO and announces full-year financial results, missing desired 2012 earnings due to three-week delay in launching SES-5 satellite. [Satellite Today – 02/22/2013]

Russia asks Germany for permission to buy two x-band reconnaissance satellites from Astrium for use by Russia’s military. [SpaceNews – 02/22/2013]

ViaSat mobile Ka-band satellite antenna gets FAA and International certification. [PR Newswire – 02/22/2013]

YAHSAT to fit state-of-the-art satellite communications systems to complete fleet of UAE Navy Baynunah-class corvettes. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/22/2013]

skyDSL signs five-year multiple spotbeam capacity contract on Eutelsat’s KA-SAT, to step up broadband deployment across Europe. [SatNews – 02/22/2013]

International Space Station hosts research on effects of microgravity on disease-causing organisms. [Space Daily – 02/22/2013]

Global VSAT Forum announces extensive series of scheduled, public Hands On Skills Test (HOST) sessions worldwide for the Spring of 2013. [SatNews – 02/22/2013]

NASA calls for proposals to develop miniaturized electrospray propulsion technologies that could revolutionize small satellite propulsion systems. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/21/2013]

HispaSat’s Amazonas 3 begins in-orbit tests. [Satellite Today – 02/21/2013]

Telesat reports 2012 financial results, and notable achievements including refinancing of debt, bringing Nimiq 6 on line, and completion of construction of Anik G1 satellite. [SatNews – 02/21/2012]

After a year of significant investment, ViewSat plans to expand across global markets, including the middle East, Asia, Europe, and North America. [Satellite Today – 02/21/2013]

NSR to host free webinar “Where’s the demand in Military and Government SatCom” March 13 at 10:00 AM EDT. [SatNews – 02/21/2013]

ST Electronics announces commencement of design and development of the first made-in-Singapore commercial satellite. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/21/2013]

NASA report attributes failure of Glory spacecraft to reach orbit in March, 2011, to failure of the Taurus launch vehicle’s fairing system to open fully, due to unknown factors. [SatNews – 02/21/2013]

EchoStar reports modest increase in subscribers to its Hughes U.S. satellite broadband service in 2012, but remains confident that EchoStar 17/Jupiter Ka-band high-throughput satellite is being well received by market. [SpaceNews – 02/21/2013]

CommunicAsia2013 Summit and BroadcastAsia 2013 back in a new format, participating in two-part visionary address on June 19, 2013. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/21/2013]

Hispasat reports continued growth and profit increase in 2012. [SpaceNews – 02/21/2013]

Wireless Matrix extends satellite agreement with LightSquared. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/21/2013]

Astrium crew communications survey reveals growing number of seafarers see on board Wi-Fi connectivity as essential. [SatNews – 02/21/2013]

Following the Russian meteor explosion last week, the international scientific community renews its call for U.S. military satellite data to be made available, since the satellites also detect incoming meteoroids. [Satellite Today – 02/20/2013]

Brazil hosts part of the Russian Glonass satellite navigation system. [Satellite Today – 02/20/2013]

Lockheed Martin completes successful demonstration of remote control of Squad Mission Support System vehicle via satellite. [Azorobotics – 02/20/2013]

India prepares Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C20) for February 25th launch of 7 satellites, including the Indo-French satellite SARAL which will study sea surface heights.. [SatNews – 02/20/2013]

Satellite TV widens market share gap with cable in Germany. [Satellite Today – 02/20/2013]

RV5MONDE Afrique joins AMOS-5 French-language broadcast bouquet. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/20/2013]

Orbital Sciences executive expresses concern that tight budgets will limit U.S. government’s plan to move toward smaller satellites. [Satellite Today – 02/19/2013]

Azerbaijan’s first satellite, Azerspace/Africasat-1a, reaches final orbit and begins in-orbit testing. [Satellite Today – 02/19/2013]

Visiongain report estimates value of global military communications and COTS market at $17.46 billion in 2013. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/18/2013]

World Teleport Association rates Mexic0-based Elara Communicaciones as the second fastest growing teleport in 2012. [Satellite Today – 02/19/2013]

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Meteorite crash in Russia focuses news article on proposal by Deep Space Industries to establish several sentry lines encircling Earth with small spacecraft able to dart after intruders to get close-up photos and data. [SatNews – 02/15/2013]

Russia may suspend its lease of some facilities at the Baikonur space complex, allowing for joint operation of the space base by Russia and Kazakhstan. [R&D Magazine – 02/15/2013]

Gilat will provide satellite-base communications as the primary mode of connectivity for up to 30,000 ATM sites across India for Nelco and Bharti Airtel. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/15/2013]

NASA satellite image reveals evidence of the recent volcanic eruption on Indonesian island of Paluweh. [SatNews – 02/15/2013]

JPL research team finds way to control erosion of electric rocket engine walls by shaping engine’s magnetic field to shield the walls from ion bombardment. [Space Travel – 02/15/2013]

Society of Exploration Geophysicists article describes how two energy companies used satellite imagery to locate and attempt to unravel mystery surrounding British Royal Air Force fighter plane crash in Egyptian Desert in World War II. [SatNews – 02/15/2013]

NASA shows that Orion spacecraft can safely land even if one of its three parachutes fails to deploy. [Space Travel – 02/15/2013]

Possible changes incorporated in latest Chinese launch vehicle, Shenzhou 10, remain veiled. [Space Daily – 02/15/2013]

Beam Communications enters into agreement with Beijing Marine Communications and Navigation Company for $1 million worth of Beam Inmarsat satellite terminals. [SatNews – 02/15/2013]

As the Sequestration concept gains momentum as a U.S. government satellite acquisition approach, the GAO urges action on the weather satellite gap, adding it to the so-called high-risk list. [Federal Times – 02/14/2013]

France selects Astrium to build the country’s first digital, military ultra-fast broadband satellite network. [UPI – 02/14/2013]

Astrium will contribute to development and demonstration of service to measure citywide emissions of greenhouse gases in Paris. [Satellite Today – 02/14/2013]

Spanish researchers claim to have developed new system capable of increasing conventional GPS devices’ accuracy by as much as 90%. [Satellite Today – 02/14/2013]

Fujitsu Frontech North America will showcase at Video Service Forum’s Los Angeles conference a new firmware release for its video encoders/decoders that dramatically improves end-to-end latency while delivering exceptional video quality at reduced bit rates. [SatNews – 02/14/2013]

COM DEV equipment is utilized aboard NASA’s recently launched TDRS-K satellite. [Broadcaster Magazine – 02/14/2013]

Hughes will demonstrate high-speed wireless 4G/LTE capabilities over satellite at California’s Naval Postgraduate School’s Joint Interagency Field Exploration event. [Satellite Today – 02/14/2013]

Spacenet gets 5-year base contract from one of world’s leading delivery services companies to upgrade and provide network connectivity to more than 5,700 locations. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/14/2013]

PolarSat gets multi-phase order from GECI for equipment supply and technical services for a VSATPuls3 satellite communications network to upgrade air traffic control communications network within Mozambique. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/14/2013]

MTN expands its MTN Worldwide TV service to include three new live channels, as well as programming in French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/14/2013]

Hughes M2M satellite terminal integrates 9502 modem with compact antenna to create single-piece, integrated, rugged terminal to withstand the most extreme weather conditions, providing IP connectivity over BGAN network. [SatNews – 02/14/2013]

South Korea moves to accelerate development of longer-range ballistic missiles in response to third nuclear test by North Korea. [Space Daily – 02/13/2013]

Boeing signs contract with U.S. Air Force worth more than $50 million for completion and deployment of the 12 GPS satellites it is building for the government. [Satellite Today – 02/13/2013]

ITT Excelis sensor to be used on U.S. Air Force weather satellites under new contract will provide the Air Force and war fighter with better weather information, especially regarding clouds. [SatNews – 02/13/2013]

Norsat introduces GLOBETrekker 2.0 upgraded fly-away satellite terminal. [Stockhouse – 02/13/2013]

Polish satellite TV operators Cyfra+ plan to introduce new satellite platform to include Internet service and compete with Cyfrowy Polsat, which offers LTE Internet service at 150 Mbps. [Satellite Today – 02/13/2013]

Study using data from NASA satellites finds that parts of Middle East region lost 117 million acre feet of freshwater reserves over past 7 years. [SatNews – 02/13/2013]

Near-Earth asteroid not expected to pose any threat to orbiting satellites. [Satellite Today – 02/13/2013]

Hughes to demonstrate how “store of the future” will be driven by its high-powered networks and managed services solutions at EuroCIS 2013. [Yahoo Finance – 02/13/2013]

Deep Space Industries to use cubesats to investigate nature of near-Earth asteroids with goal of eventually mining the asteroids to create propellant to extend the working life of communications satellites among other applications. [SatNews – 02/13/2013]

Landsat satellite successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB. [Satellite Today – 02/12/2013]

NASA demonstrates robotic fluid transfer in space during Robotic Refueling Mission aboard the International Space Station. [SatNews – 02/12/2013]

The 1800th flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle successfully placed Progress cargo spacecraft on target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station. [Satellite Evolution Group – 02/12/2013]

Comtech Xicom gets $.4 million order for traveling wave tube amplifiers from U.S. government agency for military communications. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/12/2013]

SES and Viking Satcom partner for development and deployment of commercial satellite antenna systems to enable expansion of SES’s center arc cable neighborhood. [Satellite Today – 02/12/2013]

Newtec signs Basic Ordering Agreement with the NATO Communications and Information Agency. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/12/2013]

MDA signs contract with OGSystems to develop prototype surveillance solutions for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that will utilize a quickly deployable mobile satellite terminal to receive and process imagery from multiple commercial satellites. [Satellite Today – 02/12/2013]

Kratos gets multi-million SES contract for interference monitoring and geolocation system enhancements. [Equities.com – 02/11/2013]

Harris CapRock and AIS Engineering team to provide end-to-end satellite, teleport and terrestrial services to U.S. intelligence customer. [Orlando Business Journal – 02/12/2013]

Astrium Services signs multi-year renewal agreement for C-band capacity to serve maritime customers in the Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. [Satellite Spotlight – 02/11/2013]

Hosted U.S.A.F. infrared surveillance payload on commercial satellite will be discussed with industry. [Military Aerospace – 02/10/2013]

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