Really Rocket Science

Russian Proton-M rocket puts Russian government communications satellite Express-AM5 into orbit.
[Space Fellowship – 12/27/2013]

U.S. Air Force selects Raytheon’s high-bandwidth AEHF satellite terminal for secure, protected communications to aircrews during nuclear and non-nuclear missions.
[Yahoo Finance – 12/27/2013]

Global VSAT Forum (GVF) emphasizes importance of blanket licensing for countries to ensure the coexistence of satellite in the marketplace, and help developing countries attract foreign investment.
[Via Satellite – 12/26/203]

NASA’s 30-day Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), with record-breaking data download and upload speeds, showed the system could operate as well as any NASA radio system.
[R&D Magazine – 12/26/2013]

Three Russian military satellites launched December 25 reach their target orbit.
[Space News – 12/26/2013]

Russia and Kazakhstan agree on three-year Baikonur roadmap.
[Space Daily – 12/26/2013]

ISRO targets January 5th launch window for GSAT 14 satellite.
[Via Satellite – 12/26/2013]

Set to launch in February, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite will gather data that can help with efforts to monitor the effects of global warming on precipitation.
[The Christian Science Monitor – 12/26/2013]

Azerbaijan’s first telecom satellite reaches $10 million in revenue for 2013, with more than 50% of payload sold.
[Via Satellite – 12/26/2013]

U.S. federal court grants in part and denies in part a motion by Boeing to dismiss counterclaims filed by Russian space giant Energia in Boeing’s lawsuit against the Russian company.
[Space News – 12/26/2013]

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) purchases assets of the Satellite Communications Conference and Expo (SATCON) as well as Content and Communications World (CCW) from JD Events.
[SatNews – 12/26/2013]

NASA selects United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas 5 to launch planned 2016 Mars mission.
[Via Satellite – 12/24/2013]

Congress says Russia must use U.S. citizens to manage construction, operation, and maintenance of any satellite monitoring ground stations it builds in the U.S.
[NextGov – 12/23/2013]

Emerging data-coding technology could more than double bandwidth on satellite Internet connections, boosting service to developing countries, planes, and cruise ships and fixing jerky live video news feeds.
[MIT Technology Review – 12/23/2013]

Green satellite propulsion nears industry breakthrough with development of competitive propellant called Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate (HAN) fuel/oxidizer blend, or AF-M315E.
[Via Satellite – 12/23/2013]

U.S. Air Force considering whether Falcon 9 v1.1 maiden launch will count toward certification qualifying the company to launch national security assets.
[Space News – 12/23/2013]

Panasonic and China Telecom partner to offer in-flight internet.
[telecompaper – 12/23/2013]

Chinese rocket launches Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite, with the president of Bolivia, who traveled to China for the launch, declaring it a success.
[7 News – 12/21/2013]

SpaceX had edge in competition to lease NASA pad in Florida because of its firm backlog.
[Space News – 12/20/2013]

Alcatel-Lucent to sell U.S. satellite unit LGS for $200 million.
[Bloomberg Business Week – 12/20/2013]

XTAR wins $5.6 million renewal of U.S. Army satellite telecom contract.
[Space News -12/20/2013]

Turksat and Eutelsat announce an agreement whereby Eutelsat will redeploy its EUTELSAT 33A satellite in May 2014 from 33 degrees East to 31 degrees East, where it will be operated by Turksat under its satellite network filings.
[SatNews – 12/20/2013]

Europe launches star-surveying satellite Gaia, in mission to map 1 billion stars.
[R&D Magazine – 12/19/2013]

ViaSat demonstrates full mesh MF-TDMA DAMA multi spot beam networking over the WGS satellite network for the U.S. Army.
[Via Satellite – 12/19/2013]

SSL celebrates 50th satellite built for Intelsat, and CEO discusses future satellite opportunities for the company.
[Via Satellite – 12/19/2013]

Inmarsat signs Astrium services as Global Xpress distributor.
[Space News – 12/19/2013]

Gilat to connect remote areas near the Amazon river in Peru to enable Internet and telephone services for 70 communities in the Loreto region.
[Via Satellite – 12/19/2013]

Aeromexico to install Gogo Vision on at least 75 aircraft.
[Via Satellite – 12/19/2013]

Top 10 quotes from January issue of Via Satellite, as the magazine celebrates the winners of the first edition of the Via SAtellite Excellence Awards.
[Via Satellite – 12/18/2013]

SES, SpeedCast and AsiaSat donate satellite capacity and ground infrastructure services to Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan.
[Wall Street Journal – 12/18/2013]

Surrey Satellite Technology to develop interplanetary communications system between Mars and Earth for Mars One.
[getSurrey – 12/18/2013]

Military communication improved as 6th Boeing-built Wideband Satellite enters service.
[Space Daily – 12/18/2013]

Geoforce GT1 satellite GPS tracker becomes world’s first to receive IECEx/ATEX Zone 0 certification, the highest satellite tracking device safety rating.
[Via Satellite – 12/18/2013]

Comtech EF Data demonstrates 10% roll off functionality for DM240XR video broadcast modulator.
[Via Satellite – 12/18/2013]

Brazil and China to launch new joint environmental monitoring satellite in 2014. [Phys.org – 12/17/2013]

Arianespace orders two Vega launchers for unidentified commercial customer for launches in 2017 and 2018.
[Space News – 12/17/2013]

45th Space Wing provided vast network of radar, telemetry, optical and communications instrumentation to support successful launch by Space X of the SES-8 satellite.
[Aurora Sentinel – 12/17/2013]

Inmarsat acquires U.S. maritime service provider Globe Wireless in bid to transform its 6,000 ship customer base into future Inmarsat Global Xpress broadband users.
[Space News – 12/17/2013]

New Zealand plans to enhance naval communications capabilities, procuring ground infrastructure to operate on the WGS satellite network.
[IHS Jane’s 360 – 12/17/2013]

ISS Astronauts undertake massive repair job that could stretch to Christmas day, with series of spacewalks.
[R&D Magazine – 102/17/2013]

Kymeta successfully tests flat panel Ka-band antenna on Anik F2 and moves toward product development.
[Via Satellite – 12/17/2013]

ViaSat Exede Evolution is first satellite internet plan to offer unlimited, full-speed access for web pages and email.
[Yahoo Finance – 12/17/2013]

Exelis to use ENVI software for Skybox imaging data analysis, supporting data analysis of images from SkySat 1, the first in a planned constellation of 24 satellites from Skybox Imaging.
[Via Satellite – 12/17/2013]

Astrium and GeoNorth sign multi-satellite receiving station agreement, working together to build the first multi-mission Direct Receiving Station (DRS).
[Via Satellite – 12/17/2013]

Astrium signs agreement to provide 18 additional Ariane 5 ECA launchers to Arianespace.
[Via Satellite – 12/16/2013]

SSL is selected to build new replacement satellite for AsiaSat, AsiaSat 9.
[Via Satellite – 12/16/2013]

U.S. Air Force awards Lockheed Martin more than $200 million in contract options to complete production of its fifth and sixth next-generation Global Positioning System satellites, known as GPS 3.
[Via Satellite – 12/16/2013]

Avanti Communications takes over ownership of the ARTEMIS satellite.
[IFA Magazine – 12/16/2013]

Arianespace to launch SGDC satellite for Brazil in 2016.
[Via Satellite – 12/06/2013]

GATR terminals among first high-bandwidth satellite communications terminals deployed in key areas of Phillipines after typhoon.
[SatNews – 12/16/2013]

Boats and aircraft passing through Andaman Sea region warned to watch out for falling parts of India’s GSLV-D5-II satellite launch vehicle.
[Asia One – 12/14/2013]

Research and Markets adds “Global Satellite Communication Market in the Oil and Gas Industry 2014 – 2018″ to their offering; number of UDW rigs expected to reach 220 – 230 units by 2018.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/13/2013]

Sea Launch plans to focus on the heavy lift launch market, focusing on its strength to stay afloat as SpaceX enters its waters with a successful launch of SES-8.
[Via Satellite – 12/13/2013]

Lockheed Martin to re-enter the commercial satellite business, building and launching satellites.
[Via Satellite magazine January 2014]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

NASA negotiating pad lease with SpaceX after GAO rejects Blue Origin protest.
[Space News – 12/13/2013]

Brazil selects Thales to play a key role in its space development plans as it establishes SGDC Government Communications Satellite System.
[Defense World – 12/13/2013]

Arianespace and Visiona Tecnologia Espacial S.A. sign launch contract for the next Brazilian government satellite, the Geostationary Defense and Strategic Communications Satellite (SGDC).
[SatNews – 12/13/2013]

Mexican government to award licenses for two orbital slots in Ku- and extended C-band frequencies at two orbital positions it has long held.
[Space News – 12/13/2013]

The sixth WGS satellite, funded by Australia, enters service.
[Via Satellite – 12/13/2013]

China’s first lunar rover to land on moon December 14.
[Space Daily – 12/13/2013]

Comtech reports increased commercial orders and expects downward revenue spiral following loss of Army contract and U.S..budget freeze to end this year.
[Space News – 12/13/2013]

EchoStar Corp. and Vivendi end talks on a joint venture to develop a pay-television service in Brazil using EchoStar’s orbital slot at 45 degrees west longitude.
[Space News – 12/13/2013]

New, low-cost cubesat mission led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory will demonstrate technology needed to measure the absolute imbalance in the Earth’s radiation budget for the first time.
[Space Daily – 12/13/2013]

Federal budget crunch leads U.S. Air Force to decommission an experimental missile warning sensor hosted aboard a commercial satellite after 27 months on orbit.
[Space News – 12/12/2013]

Russian official plays down concerns on the future of Proton launches from Baikonur, saying that during a recent meeting with Kazakhstan’s president “we came to a mutual understanding about resuming Proton launches from Baikonur.”
[Space Travel – 12/12/2013]

Northrup Grumman re-purposes satellite communications system normally used in space as high-functioning low cost system for aircraft in one year.
[msn money – 12/12/2013]

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Melco) to build Japan’s GOSAT-2 environmental satellite.
[Space News – 12/12/2013]

Research and Markets announces addition of “2013 Report on the US Machine-to-Machine Communications Market – Includes Forecasts to 2018″ report to their offering.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/12/2013]

Team of researchers, mainly Valencian, win contract with ESA to conduct research on use of new materials for reduction of the Multipactor effect in effort to improve space communications systems in ESA’s satellites.
[Product Design and Development – 12/12/2013]

British government deepens ties to China’s space sector with bilateral agreements on future joint projects and a fund to promote British industry’s search for a foothold in China.
[Space News – 12/12/2013]

Spacecom mulls over possible sale or merger.
[Globes – 12/12/2013]

Telespazio recently linked-up with Eutelsat to market broadband services using its Ka-Sat satellite and hopes satellite broadband can make a big impact in Italy, as well as other countries in Europe.
[Via Satellite – 12/12/2013]

ATK and Hughes successfully demonstrate LEO-based weather sensing technology to US Air Force.
[Via Satellite – 12/12/2013]

Avanti secures deal to connect libraries in South Africa.
[Via Satellite – 12/11/2013]

Contribution & Occasional Use TV Markets to Require over 700 Transponders and 1.4 Gbps of HTS Capacity by 2022.
{NSR – 12/11/2013]

NSR’s new report “Land Mobile and Handheld Satellite Markets” points out that traditional growth in this part of the satellite communications market accounted for 97% of global revenues in 2012; is expected to drop to 82% by 2022; growth in the consumer market is making significant impact.
[Via Satellite – 12/11/2013]

KVH is chosen by BW, a worldwide leader in maritime energy transportation, as the satellite communications solution for its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fleet.
[Wall Street Journal – 12/11/20103]

NIGCOMSAT decries annual capital flight due to unchecked penchant of Nigerian organisations to purchase bandwidth from abroad.
[National Mirror – 12/11/2013]

Chinese-Brazilian satellite launched by China Monday failed to reach planned orbit and likely fell back to Earth.
[msn news – 12/10/2013]

Obama administration reviews Russian proposals for satellite monitoring stations on U.S. soil.
[Nextgov – 12/10/2013]

Lt. Gen Ellen Pawlikowski says USAF needs innovative approaches to procuring satellite capacity; tells interviewer “A different strategy would be for us to go out and leverage the bargain basement aspects of the (commercial) satcom business.”
[National Defense – 12/10/2013]

6-year-old donates life savings and starts on-line petition to save NASA.
[Nextgov – 12/10/2013]

Russian DTH provider Tricolor discusses satellite capacity demands.
[Via Satellite – 12/10/2013]

Private Mars One venture engages Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology to work on hardware concepts for robotic Mars mission.
[nbc news – 12/10/2013]

200,000 people apply to live on Mars.
[CNN – 12/10/2013]

SkyWave and Garmin solution enables integrated vehicle tracking, navigation, driver communication and dispatch capabilities regardless of cellular service availability.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/10/2013]

Honeywell and Inmarsat advance global wireless in-flight connectivity program.
[Via Satellite – 12/10/2013]

Globecast, Measat and Mezzo partner to bring new HD channel to Asia-Pacific region.
[Via Satellite – 12/10/2013]

NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite arrives at Kennedy Space Center.
[Yahoo News – 12/09/2013]

SSL delivers ABS-2 satellite to launch base in Kourou.
[Yahoo Finance – 12/09/2013]

Spacecom has kept all five of its satellites working at close to full capacity from DTH operators, TV channels, and North American agencies, and ultimately hopes to use its brand of Amos satellites to become a global operator.
[Via Satellite – 12/10/2013]

Recent Gooch & Housego acquisition Constelex Technology Enablers announced its participation in new European Union R&D projects and European Space Agency (ESA) space photonics contracts.
[LaserFocusWorld – 12/09/2013]

First Global Xpress®Satellite Launch and 7th ILS Proton Launch of 2013, Inmarsat-5 goes into orbit.
[Hispanic Business – 12/08/2013]

[MarketResearchReports.biz announces addition of new report “Global Satellite Communication Market in the Oil and Gas Industry 204 – 2018” to its database.
[WatchList News – 12/08/2013]

December 2013 issue of the Satellite Executive Briefing Features: Europe Gets Universal Broadband Coverage by Elisabeth Tweedie DTH Services Boost the Asia-Pacific Market by Peter Galace The Importance of Latency in the Mobile Market by Virgil Labrador Enterprise-Class HTS Servicees by Martin Jarrold
[Satellite Markets & Research – December 2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Today’s launch of SES-8 into GTO made many rocket scientists very happy. Obviously, those who’ve worked at SpaceX for years are ecstatic. The entire launch vehicle community is happy for their success, as are those living on Florida’s Space Coast, who are expecting economic growth again.

The engineers who work on commercial satcom missions are happy to be back at the The Cape for launches. Let’s face it: compared to Kazakhstan or French Guiana, Florida is a better place for launches.

From a business perspective, satcom operators now have more options when it comes to launch vehicles. And with the SpaceX manifest of 50 launches, it seems this “crazy space business” is about to start making money.

We wish SpaceX and their commercial customers continuous success!

Here’s the full launch video…

For years, Internet by satellite was deemed “acceptable” by those who couldn’t get broadband by other means. Satellite operators have known for 20+ years that Ka-band was good for data, but nobody had the balls to really make a financial and operational commitment toward achieving commercial and/or technical success. Hughes, Starband, Wildblue and a host of 2nd and 3rd tier resellers tried to make a go of it, but nobody could get the cost of satellite bandwidth down to a workable level.

When satellite operators are getting 80% EBITDA margins from video distribution, why bother?

ViaSat set out to change perceptions by working the technology to make it work. They’re winning.

Mark Fidelman put together a solid piece in Forbes last week that should have been written 15 years ago — if big satcom walked the talk back then. He sat down with ViaSat CEO Dankberg and got into the details:

Most people would assume that the bandwidth issues will forever limit the size of the satellite communications market, but I’d hold off on that assumption. Dankberg explained that current satellite systems are manufactured by different vendors that build to the lowest common technical denominator. The three primary components, the satellite, the ground systems and the satellite communications service providers are all different vendors with different priorities. Which means that the entire communication system is not optimized. These systems are like a large truck with a lawn mower engine meant for a race car driver.

“So what we’ve done is developed all three of those areas. We build the ground system, we design the satellites and we operate them, so we know what we need,” Dankberg explained, “Since we are the architect of all three, we can completely integrate and optimize the system.”

Dankberg told me that ViaSat-1 used existing space components, and sub-systems, but that ViaSat-2 will have a better design and thus optimized architecture. He believes it will be twice as fast as ViaSat-1 which means it will provide even greater competition with high speed cable and DSL providers.

That means anyone anywhere could have their own high speed communications antenna. Essentially filling the gaps that current providers can’t fill due to regulatory or terrestrial issues. Yes satellite communication technology still operates on higher frequencies which don’t propagate walls very well. But Dankberg says in those situations antennas on cars, busses, trains, homes and commercial buildings will convert the signal to lower frequency Wi-Fi which is better able to penetrate the interiors of buildings.

Has anyone noticed that when you need higher bandwidth the most, it never seems to be available? I’m thinking about those situations where streaming video, uploading and downloading media are essential but are slow due to network congestion. Dankberg’s solution was to develop a type of artificial intelligence: “One of the things we did to make our network faster is develop software to figure out what you are doing, and deliver it faster that you otherwise would get -because we can anticipate what you’re going to do,” Dankberg said.

Satellite’s gotten such a bad rap that Exede partner Dish Network barely mentions the word on its website. And not at all in TV spots…

Mark Dankberg and his team are real innovators and us rocket scientists are glad to see this part of his business meet real success.

We’ve been fans of DLR’s Heavens Above site for years, a site that predicts when orbiting spacecraft are expected to be seen from Earth. Iridium flares are especially fun to predict to impress your friends.

Now we have s spacecraft prediction app of a more topical “spying” nature: SpyMeSat, a $2 app that predicts flyovers by observation satellites. Via SlashGear…

SpyMeSat was created by Orbit Logic, Inc., which specializes in supplying software to the aerospace and intelligence communities. The app, which was released last week, gets its data from organizations like NORAD, but it doesn’t use any classified information. In other words, any terrorists or human rights abusers looking to hide from satellites already can access the info through other data sources. The app’s chief purpose is to gather all that data into one cheap app.

“We were careful to only include satellites that are unclassified and whose orbits are published by NORAD,” Orbit Logic president Alex Herz said. “Even the sensor data — resolution, etc. — was taken only from the websites published by the satellite operators. So everything SpyMeSat is using is open and public.”

The app is accurate to 16 meters. You can set SpyMeSat to give you alerts for any location, track satellites even when they’re not overhead, call up resolution specs for each model, and learn about their various on-board sensors. Satellite models in the database are owned and operated by either public or private bodies, including the GeoEye, France’s SPOT-5, India’s CartoSat-2A, DigitalGlobe WorldView, and RADARSAT-2 of Canada.

It may save you some embarrassment.

Comms-on-the-move Ka-band mobile satellite terminal developed by EM Solutions of Australia, enabling high speed data transfer while driving in locations lacking other communications, finds emergency applications.
[The Australian – 11/02/2013]

FAA loosens rules for electronic devices during flights.
[USA Today – 11/01/2013]

Spacecom announces a manufacturer’s workaround for Amos 5 power-supply anomaly that should enable the satellite to operate for its full 15-year service life.
[Space News – 11/01/2013]

Delayed O3b satellites should be repaired and ready for launch in March 2014.
[Space News – 11/01/2013]

The number of commercial aircraft providing either Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity will reach 4,048 by the end of 2013, representing 21% of the global fleet, according the recent research published by IHS Inc.
[SatNews – 11/01/2013]

China’s homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System will be put into its first oversea operation in Thailand early next year.
[GPS Daily – 11/01/2013]\

GCI extends capacity agreements with Intelsat to support broadband services to Alaskan schools and medical clinics, as well as telemedicine applications for hospitals in underserved areas.
[SatNews – 11/01/2013]\

Analysts forecast the Global Fixed Satellite Service market to grow at a CAGR of 5.44 percent over the period 2013-2016.
[SBWire – 10/31/2013]

Latest Ericsson Mobility Report presents key statistics and future forecasts which should provide satellite technology, especially High Throughput Satellites (HTS) , with highly promising short term opportuniteis.
[NSR – 10/31/2013]

Telesat considers expansion after one of its new satellites helps increase revenues in third quarter.
[Ottowa Business Journal – 10/31/2013]

NASA will rely on hosted payload to continue some of the long-running Earth-system observations the agency took over from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in April.
[Space News – 10/31/2013]

Astrium enters into partnership agreement with IHS to deliver satellite imagery and services for intelligence analysis and reporting.
[Via Satellite – 10/31/2013]

MTN Communications experiences a surge in demand, claiming customers increased demand for additional bandwidth on its network by 61% since 2013.
[Via Satellite – 10/31/2013]

Astrium Services is expanding its global VSAT coverage following the signing of new separate Ku-band capacity agreements with SES and Eutelsat.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/31/2013]

UltiSat signs multi-year contract with Eutelsat for capacity on EUTELSAT 5 West A to provide C-band service to nongovernmental organizations (NGO) in Africa.
[The Wall Street Journal – 10/31/2013]

Having recently signed a new deal with MTN Communications to enhance its onboard suite of connectivity options for passengers and crew, cruise ship operator Pullmantur executive explains the need for satellite.
[Via Satellite – 10/31/2013]

Signalhorn is selected for ht operation and management of a pan-African network for one of the world’s leading providers of offshore service vessels in the global energy industry.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/30/2013]

SimbaNET uses iDirect’s Evolution platform to advance Nigeria-based satellite network.
[Via Satellite – 10/31/2013]

Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser space plane skids off runway in test flight landing as landing gear collapses.
[R&D Magazine – 10/30/2013]

Arianespace reschedules SES, Hispasat and ESA’s launch dates, with consent of its customers.
[Via Satellite – 10/30/2013]

Raytheon is awarded $11.9 million contract for sustainment services supporting the Military Satellite Communications System (MILSATCOM) Global Broadcast System (GBS). [Signal online – 10/30/20103]

High speed satellite broadband provider ViaSat defies the naysayers who have stigmatized satellite communications as impractical, flawed, and slow.
[Chicago Tribune – 10/30/2013]

Comtech Telecommunications Corp is awarded $1.4 million for communications jamming high-power amplifier systems.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/30/2013]

Dish and Southwest start in-flight iPad lending program for on-demand entertainment on Wi-Fi enabled Southwest flights..
[Via Satellite – 10/30/2013]

Maxwell Technology, in partnership with Cable Wise, expands satellite internet to Northern KwaZulu-Natal.
[Human IPO – 10/30/2013]

Global Maritime VSAT market expected to grow at CAGR of 7.71 percent between 2012 and 2016 according to new Research and Markets report.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/29/2013]

Data product differentiation beginning to become important again in the Earth Observation market.
[NSR – 10/29/2013]

Eutelsat and Es’hailSat announce that their jointly owned EUTELSAT 25B/Es’hail 1 satellite launched August 29, went into commercial service October 29.
[The Wall Street Journal – 10/29/2013]

Astrium to build new satellite for DIRECTV.
[Space Daily – 10/29/2013]

Hundreds of space professionals from developing economies receive space training in China, including Pakistan, Nigeria, and Bolivia.
[Asia One – 10/29/2013]

Ball Aerospace & Technologies’ Green Propellant Infusion Mission is selected to test advance form of thermal insulation that could become standard on future satellites and cryogenic subsystems.
[Via Satellite – 10/29/2013]

NASA’s Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration makes history, successfully transmitting data from lunar orbit to Earth at a rate of 622 Mbps.
[R&D Magazine – 10/28/2013]

ESA approves sale of Artemis telecom satellite to Avanti.
[Spaceflight Now – 10/28/2013]

Measat CEO says company is open to partnerships.
[Via Satellite – 10/28/2013]

ILS Proton successfully launches the Sirius FM 6 satellite.
[Via Satellite – 10/28/2013]

Gogo signs deal with Japan Airlines to deliver in-flight connectivity.
[Via Satellite – 10/28/2013]

Oil and Gas companies – will High Throughput Satellites change the equation?
[Via Satellite Webinar November 14, 2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

 

X1.7 solar event with potential to disrupt satellite communications and harm astronauts sparks temporary radio blackout.
[MailOnline – 10/26/2013]

Proton-M launches with Sirius FM-6 satellite.
[NASA Spaceflight – 10/25/2013]

Northrup Grumman’s production of fifth and sixth Advanced EHF communication satellite payloads off to a strong start thanks to delivery of customized integrated circuits.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/25/2013]

Ground radars count 1,369 objects in geostationary orbit of which nearly half of are in an uncontrolled drift orbit, and another 178 dead satellites have converged at one of two libration points on opposite sides of the earth.
[Space News – 10/25/2013]

Globecomm Systems chooses Amino set top boxes as parts of deployment of managed communications solution to over 1,000 locations across the U.S. for a national retailer.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/25/2013]

Minot Air Force Base B-52 bomber crews to get upgraded communication system that can send and receive information via satellite links.
[Minot Daily News – 10/25/2013]

Business aviation forecast spells good news for satellite communications market.
[Via Satellite – 10/24/2013]

Emerging Markets Communications becomes first global VSAT and terrestrial connectivity provider to obtain a Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) license to provide services directly to oil and gas companies in Nigeria.
[WatchList News – 10/24/2013]

Orbital Science’s Cygnus space capsule concludes its first ISS cargo run, breaking up during re-entry and burning up over the Pacific Ocean.
[Space News – 10/23/2013]

ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg gets Clarke Foundation’s Innovator Award.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/23/2013]

Astrium is awarded contract by DirecTV Latin American to build the latest addition to its fleet, based on the E3000 platform, to be launched in early 20176.
[SatNews – 10/24/2013]

Avanti will buy Artemis data-relay satellite along with all rights to its orbital slot from the European Space Agency.
[Space News – 10/24/2013]

Harris-CapRock win of Carnival Cruise Line digital communications contract against MTN Satellite Communications means hit to MTN bottom line, but MTN still has key ingredients to remain relevant in maritime market.
[NSR – 10/24/2013]

Media Networks and Conekta to provide Ku-band satellite internet for rural towns in the Amazon.
[Via Satellite – 10/24/2013]

Blue Sky introduces HawkEye 7200 portable satellite tracking unit that operates on the U.S. GPS, Russian Glonass and European Galileo systems and also supports Iridium satellite communications for mobile devices.
[AIN online – 10/24/2013]

Aircell, a subsidiary of Gogo, signs with Honeywell Aerospace to become distributor for Inmarsat’s Ka-band GX Aviation Services.
[Hispanic Business – 10/24/2013]

Honeywell is enhancing its satellite communication product lines with a supplier agreement to bring to market the Aspire 300, a new FANS over Iridium product that improves safety and operational efficiency.
[SatNews – 10/24/2013]

Hispasat’s Amazonas 4A near completion, getting ready for launch in December.
[Via Satellite – 10/23/2013]

SES is now designing its satellites with dedicated beams for mobile markets, including the maritime market.
[Space NMews – 10/23/2013]

NASA awards Astrotech Space Operations a contract to provide facilities and pre-launch processing services for the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission to launch in late 2014 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
[Via Satellite – 10/23/2013]

SES renews contract with Sony Entertainment Television Asia.
[Via Satellite – 10/23/2013]

XIPLINK and Hughes to offer broadband connectivity to public schools in Mexico.
[Hispanic Business – 10/23/2013]

Signalhorn to connect thousands of locations across Europe for one of the world’s leading oil producers and gas retailers, using its Xtend solution fully integrating terrestrial, 3G cellular, and satellite technologies.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/23/2013]

Australian satellite firm NewSat gets $2.4 million deal to supports U.S. Department of Defense in the PACOM region.
[CRN – 10/23/2013]

Winegard deploys mobile antenna solution designed for IP Access International Isis network, guaranteeing access to the network when there is a regional disruption. [Satellite Evolution Group – 10/23/2013]

RSCC (Russian Satellite Communications Company) ready to commission three new satellites.
[Via Satellite – 10/22/2013]

Spacecom reports Amos 5 satellite fault that will shorten the satellite’s lifespan by eleven months.
[Globes – 10/22/2013]

Spacecom’s Amos 5 wins $3.6 million broadcast contract in East Africa.
[Via Satellite – 10/22/2013]

Raytheon supports U.S. Army’s Aviation units with additional satellite radio equipment.
[Providence Journal – 10/22/2013]

TeleCommunication Systems gets $14 million contract to supply satellite equipment and support to the U.S. Army.
[Wall Street Journal – 10/22/2013]

Inmarsat and Honeywell announce that Satcom1 will be a distribution partner to deliver GX Aviuation to VIP, government and business aircraft across the globe.
[SatNews – 10/22/2013]

Global Telesat Communications will provide satellite tracking solution for yachts participating in the Atlantic Odyssey rallies.
[Digital Journal – 10/22/2013]

Comtech Telecommunications receives $1.1 million of orders for satellite equipment spares from Brazilian military.
[Market Watch – 10/22/2013]

PBS announces request for information process for industry input into definition of the Public Television Interconnection System – Version 6 (PTISv6), to succeed present system in 2016 – DEADLINE November 1, 2013.
[PBS Press Release- 10/21/2013]

ESA declares end of mission for the GOCE satellite as its fuel is depleted.
[Via Satellite – 10/21/2013]

EU commissioner welcomes milestone achievement of satellite broadband connectivity now being available to all 28 countries in the European Union.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/21/2013]

U.S. Department of Defense awards Iridium, a $400 million, five-year contract for Iridium(R) airtime services.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/21/2013]

Harris delivers first satellite terminals for the U.S. Army’s Modernization of Enterprise Terminals program.
[4-traders – 10/21/2013]

Successful operational test of Phasor Solution’s flat, electronically steered antenna array puts the company on fast track to deliver the world’s first commercially available, highly affordable Ku-band phased array antenna in 2014.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/21/2013]

L-3 GCS receives first military band type approval for GX terminals from Inmarsat.
[Via Satellite – 10/21/2013]

Cobham Satcom’s two-box Aviator S family of satellite communications systems is more powerful than larger three-box systems.
[AIN online – 10/21/2013]

Fort Worth, Texas company Elbit Systems of America delivers hundreds of lightweight satellite communications amplifiers to the Army, Air Force and Navy each year for rotary wing aircraft.
[UPI – 10/21/2013]

Just as U.S. Air Force is finally revamping approach to attracting more companies to the military satellite business, cuts in defense spending threaten to undermine the progress.
[Reuters – 10/20/2013]

NSR’s Satellite Operator Financial Analysis report provides comprehensive picture of the satellite telecom industry from a financial standpoint.
[NSR – October 2013]

The new SATCOM standard (DVB-S2 extensions) explained – is the standard relevant for the MILSATCOM market?
[MilsatMagazine – October 2013 edition]

Incorporating satellite into Continuity of Operations plans for severed weather or disaster events.
[MilsatMagazine – October 2013 edition]

“The Changing Face of MILSATCOM.”
[MilsatMagazine – October 2013 edition]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

The 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Awards presentation: Innovator Award for Mark Dankberg, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ViaSat in Washington, D.C., on 22 October 2013.

As of 4 October 2013 Eutelsat has ceased operating and SES is operating on frequencies at 28.5 degrees East following arbitration in September and preliminary injunction by regional civil court of Bonn.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/04/2013]

SES authorizes shipment of SES-8 to Cape Canaveral for planned launch by SpaceX on Falcon 9 despite insurer’s concern that Falcon 9 did not meet all objectives in September 29 test flight, failing second ignition of upper-stage engine.
[Space News – 10/04/2013]

Company A, 53RD Signal Battalion at Fort Detrick hosts international partners to discuss memorandum of understanding between the partners related to global satellite communications.
[dcmilitary.com – 10/04/2013]

The U.S. and Japan Pledge Closer Cooperation on Space Surveillance.
[Space News – 10/04/2013]

The Kazakh government is on track to leverage its contract with Astrium of Europe into an ability to build and operate optical Earth observation satellites, according to the company managing the work.
[Space News – 10/04/2013]

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) on Oct. 4 said it had signed an agreement with Teledyne Brown Engineering of the United States to place the first commercial Earth observation payload on the international space station (ISS) in late 2015.
[Space News – 10/04/2013]

The company created to sell commercial launch services aboard Ukrainian rockets operated from a Brazilian equatorial spaceport is seeking to persuade skeptics that it is finally nearing launch readiness.
{Space News – 10/04/2013]

SES announces successful launch of ASTRA 2E satellite aboard an ILS Proton Breeze M booster.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/03/2013]

The fifth Wideband Global SATCOM satellite which was launched in May has completed on-orbit testing and is being operated by the U.S. Air Force, increasing coverage for warfighters.
[AEROSPACE Manufacturing and Design – 10/03/2013]

Intelsat feels impact of U.S. budget crisis, warning investors that usual end-of-fiscal-year spike in U.S. Defense Department spending on satellite =bandwidth will be absent this year.
[Space News – 10/03/2013]

Swiss company finalizes plans with Canada to launch space junk cleanup satellite on Swiss space plane in 2018.
[Yahoo News – 10/03/2013]

O3b returns second group of four satellites to manufacturer in Italy for testing following cancellation of late-September launch due to signal power anomaly on the first four satellites.
[Space News – 10/03/2013]

Launch preparations are back on for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter despite the U.S. government shutdown that has idled all but 500 or so of NASA’s 18,000 civil servants.
[Space News – 10/03/2013]

Russian government pushes ahead with massive investment in a new cosmodrome in the Russian Far East as part of strategy to reduce dependence on Baikonur in Kazakhstan and stimulate investment in Far East.
[Space News – 10/03/2013]

Interference Reduction Group executive says interference battle has “long way to go.”
[Via Satellite – 10/03/2013]

Lockheed Martin powers on GOES-R system module for the first time.
[Via Satellite – 10/03/2013]

Optus signs new contract with Western Australia government to deliver satellite services through its Aurora Digital Viewer Access Satellite Television platform.
[IT Wire – 10/03/2013]

Small-satellite manufacturer Andrews Space sells third satellite to unidentified customer as addition to earlier two-satellite order, with all three to be delivered in 2014.
[Space News – 10/03/2013]

UltiSat will provide several nongovernmental organizations with global managed satellite network solutions.
[Via Satellite – 10/03/2013]

KVH wins two prestigious National Marine Electronics Association product awards.
[Hispanic Business – 10/03/2013]

Arianespace’s next dual-payload heavy lift mission scheduled for mid-December begins assembly at spaceport in French Guiana, for payloads from SES and HISPASAT. [SatNews – 10/03/2013]

Asset-tracking provider Orbcomm Inc. said it has acquired Comtech Mobile Data Corp.’s Satellite-Enabled Notification System.
[Transport Topics – 10/02/2013]

Pullmantur Cruises, a Royal Caribbean International brand, renews and extends long-term contract with MTN Communications for enhanced onboard suite of connectivity options and expansion of broadband satellite services.
[SatNews – 10/02/2013]

Comtech EF Data completes interoperability testing with selection of Cobham SATCOM Maritime VSAT stabilized antenna systems and the ROSS Open Antenna Management protocol to enhance maritime connectivity.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/02/2013]

Raytheon Co. wins $33.4 million contract with U.S. Air Force to modernize satellite communication systems for nuclear missile launch control sites.
[Executive Biz – 10/02/2013]

ThinKom’s ultra-low profile ThinSAT 300 antenna and iDirect’s OpenAMIP protocol are now interoperable.
[Via Satellite – 10/02/2013]

Government shutdown affects Landsat program – Landsat 7 and 8 will continue to collect data which will be archived by U.S. Geological Survey, but will not be processed into data scientists and businesses are used to working with.
[Nextgov – 10/01/2013]

NSR report projects satellite-based Earth Observation market to reach $6 billion by 2022, driven by commercial vertical markets.
[Financial Content – 10/01/2013]

EchoStar and GVT will form joint venture in Brazilian pay TV market.
[Via Satellite – 10/01/2013]

October issue of Satellite Executive Briefing includes “Satellite Industry Remains Stable . . For now” by Elisabeth Tweedie; “Case Study: Remote Monitoring of Leased Equipment;” “A Ripening ‘Satellite Nation’” by Lou Zacharilla, and “ICT and the Hydrocarbons MarketPlace” by Marin Jarrold.
[Satellite Markets – October 2013]

GATR gets $440 million contract as U.S. Army awards $4.7 billion in year-end communications contracts.
[Nextgov – 09/30/2013]

Harris Corporation delivers system to prepare NOAA satellite operators for next-generation GOES-R satellites.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/30/2013]

Eutelsat and SEBS Net connect Montenegro’s police HQ and border controls with OneAccess satellite router solution.
[Yahoo Finance – 09/30/2013]

Members of Space Concordia’s ConSat-2 pit their skills against those of nine other teams in the second Canadian Satellite Design Challenge.
[Concordia – 09/30/2013]

Researchers will spend the next two years gathering meteorological data from Svalbard in the north to Nittedal in the south to update currently available statistical information about how much satellite signals are adversely affected by meteorological conditions.
[PHYS.org – 09/30/2013]

Linx Technologies announces launch of its GM Series Global Navigation Satellite System receiver module capable of simultaneously acquiring and tracking several satellite constellations.
[R&D Magazine – 09/30/2013]

Ukrainian President Yanukovych approves national space program for 2013-2017 that includes the launch of three satellites.
[intercfax – Ukraine – 09/30/2013]

NSR report analyzes key elements for satellite-based SCADA/M2M platforms in terms of shifting markets, cost considerations, application targets and end user requirements. [SatNews – 09/30/2013]

Cassiope, a Canadian satellite, was launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on Sunday to study the effect of solar storms on radio communications, satellite navigation and other ground-based technologies.
[CBC – 09/29/2013]

FSS experts warn of industry struggle in new Morgan Stanley report, predicting the sector has “entered a ‘no-growth’ cycle, and that returns will likely decline over the next few years.”
[Via Satellite – 09/27/2013]

Singapore Airlines takes to the skies with its first eight new Boeing 777-300ERs equipped with Panasonic Avionics Corporation’s true broadband Wi-Fi, mobile phone service and inflight entertainment.
[Via Satellite – 09/27/2013]

Commercial SATCOM is critical to the military’s future; it already meets 80 percent of DOD’s SATCOM needs.
[Defense One – 09/25/2013]

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