Really Rocket Science

Satcom types will be gathering in Washington next week for the Satellite 2010 conference and exhibition. It's usually a subdued affair, populated most my men in dark suits. It remains an essential point of contact for people who work in commercial space.

Expect to see a few 3DTV demos, as that's the next "bandwidth hog" the satellite operators are hoping. More bandwidth mean more money.

More exciting is what happens on Friday, 19 March 2010: "Hubble 3D" opens at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater. During the space shuttle final mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (STS-125), they packed an IMAX 3D camera with them.

Here's the trailer...

And another example of what this telescope can do, via DeepAstronomy.com...

So what's all this we read in The Wall Street Journal about a deal between Google and Dish Network? Just the usual "according to people familiar with the matter." Bloomberg writers use the same source. But there appears to be serious speculation as to exactly what's going on, even though we blogged it three years ago.

The service, which runs on TV set-top boxes containing Google software, allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube, according to these people. It also lets users to personalize a lineup of shows, these people said.

With the test, Google moves deeper into a crowded field of companies, large and small, that have been trying for years to marry the Web and TV and their business models—from rivals Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. to the manufacturers of televisions and set-top boxes.

Just last week, TiVo Inc. announced new digital video recorders that blend broadcast and online content.

Google's test, which began last year, is limited to a very small number of the company's employees and their families and could be discontinued at any time, said the people familiar with the matter.

Viewers in the Google test, these people said, can search by typing queries, using a keyboard rather than a remote control. Google hopes to connect the service with its nascent TV ad-brokering business, allowing it to target ads to individual households based on search and viewing data.

I think this is the beginning of something wonderful. Google will be able to target individual STBs -- in the same household, for example -- and sell the context, just as they do today across millions of Web sites. How can you do that with video? Simple: use the audio track to identify context. Yeah, Microsoft can do that, too.

Bring it!

 It took Paul Yperman two years and 30,000 pieces of LEGO to built it. Why?

Some years ago I walked into a second hand book shop and I bought a Star Wars Cross sections book. In the center stood the Droid Control Ship. It blew my mind and I knew I had to build it.

Looking for more pictures of the back -engines - of the ship, I soon found out that someone had done it earlier than I. Thomas Benedict -master builder -made a work of art of his Droid Control Ship. He was my inspiration an motivation. I wish to thank the greatest builder for his "help". Thanks a lot Thomas and keep building your super creations.

I used almost 30000 parts. Lots in the center globe that I build with the aid of a building program that I found on the web. 3500 tiles to cover the outside structure. Lots of Technic parts to make the inside frame, so I could move, lift and take it apart without breaking it. The technic parts are joined left/ right and top / bottom, resulting in a firm and solid almost selfcarrying structure.

Very cool.

No time to spare for such a project? Try the LEGO Portrait app on an iPhone.

Orbital Sciences reaches agreement to acquire spacecraft development and manufacturing business of General Dynamic's subsidiary GD Advanced Information Systems.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

Air Force accepts WGS-3 from Boeing.
[UPI - 03/05/2010]

RRsat Global Communications Network signs agreement with ISG Media of India to provide fiber connectivity, playout and distribution for satellite broadcast in Europe and North America.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

SatMAX and TLC  Engineering offer SatMAX repeaters to aid Chile.
[CNN Money - 03/05/2010]

GlobecCast's new Content Acquisition and Distribution division signs agreement with Chinese content provider ZN Animation to deliver content to Video on Demand viewers throughout Europe.
[SatNews - 03/05/2010]

GOES-P satellite, NASA and NOAA's environmental satellite completing the N -O series,  is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
[NASA web site - 03/04/2010]

OmniGlobe Networks EMEA signs Letter of Intent to acquire entire issued share capital and assets of privately-held Sat-Comm Ltd.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Telesat expresses support for Canadian government's commitment to remove foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian satellite operators.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Iridium provides satellite voice and data communications for 2010 Iditarod sled dog race.
[Market Watch - 03/04/2010]

European Satellite Operators Association representative takes part in  Commercial Satellite Critical Infrastructure Protection workshop with experts working on critical national security and emergency programmes from the European Commission, the US Department of State, and Department of Defense and others.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

TiVo wins court ruling against Dish Network and EchoStar for patent infringement with Digital Video Recorder software.
[Business Week - 03/04/2010]

Global VSAT Forum called upon to expand reach of the GVF VSAT Installation & Maintenance Training Programme.
[SatNews - 03/04/2010]

Texas senator proposes bill to extend space shuttle program.
[Space.com - 03/04/2010]

U.S. Air Force investigates electrical mini-thrusters for possible use in satellite propulsion.
[PHYSORG - 03/03/2010]

Secretary of State Clinton delivers satellite phones in Chile following earthquake and tsumani.
[Kaiser Family Foundation - 03/03/2010]

Gilat is chosen by Satcom Systems to deliver SkyEdge II network for broadband internet connectivity in Africa.
[Market Watch - 03/03/2010]

iDirect announces launch of Talia Home by Talia Limited, providing consumer-focused internet and telephone communications service in MENA, using iDirect Evolution technology.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010]

Tachyon Networks announces availability of new end-to-en d fixed and mobile broadband satellit solutions for Southwest Asia using ultra-small aperture terminals.
[SatNews - 03/03/2010].

Earth's day is shortened by earthquake in Chile.
[Time - 03/02/2010]

UN and Iridium rush satellite phones to Chili to help restore vital communications links.
[PC World - 03/02/2010]

MTN supplies satellite communications system for Oasis Of The Seas, the world's largest cruise ship.
[Space Daily - 03/02/2010]

Upstar Comunicacoes selects Eutelsat to broadcast ZAP, the new satellite TV bouquet of Angola.
[PR Newswire - 03/02/2010]

New satellite mobile broadband service OverHorizon, based in Arlington, VA, selects Arianespace to launch its first satellite.
[Space News Examiner - 03/01/2010]

Millions of tons of water ice found at North Pole of Moon.
[Space.com - 03/01/2010]

Russia launches 3 navigation satellites.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

NASA announces plans to launch small cube-shaped satellites for educational and not-for-profit organizations.
[Space Daily - 03/01/2010]

SES WORLD SKIES announces plans to join leading broadcaster, programmers, TV makers, and technology providers in series of extensive tests aimed at accelerating delivery of 3DTV.
[SatNews - 03/01/2010]

Soldiers provide communications support in Haiti, working with a variety of networks and satellite links.
[DVIDS - 03/01/2010]

SatMAX receives 2nd U.S. Navy order for its satellite communications repeater system.
[CNN Money - 03/01/2010]

EchoStar to purchase SatMex.
[Multichannel News - 02/28/2010]

TRA grants Al Yah Satellite Communications Company a Satellite Services License.
[WAM - 02/28/2010]

Antarctic satellite broadband project wins funding under Australian Space Research Program.
[Computer World - 03/01/2010]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

 It was bound to happen: using an "app phone" in a combat zone. We've seen the DishPointer app in use in Aghanistan, and it probably won't be long before a "tough" unit is out for warfighters in the field. Sure, there must be some proprietary software to keep it secure, but does it have to be so complicated?

Now the U.S. Army is throwing its considerable weight behind it with their "Apps for the Army" program:

Ever since we launched Apps for Democracy for DC’s Office of the CTO back in September 2008 the world has been a-buzz with “Apps for” contests. We recently released a guide for how to create your ownin order to make this kind of innovation method more accessible to people around the world. There are now about a dozen of these innovation contests being run by cities, national governments and various non-profits.

Today I’m happy to announce a new Apps initiative – one which iStrategyLabs has been contracted to create with the Army’s CIO/G6. A special thank you goes out to Tim O’Reilly – who envisioned this program and served as an advisor/connector to make it happen. Below you’ll find full details from the Army’s official media advisory (download as .DOC), and a summary is as follows:

1. A media and bloggers’ roundtable will take place March 3 at 1:30 pm in the Pentagon, Room  1E462.  Lieutenant General Jeffery Sorenson (Army CIO) will discuss Apps for the Army and take questions. To attend the roundtable in person, or if you plan to call in, please contact: Ms. Ashley McCall-Washington at 703-614-1649 or ashley.mccall1@us.army.mil
2. The competition runs from March 1st to May 15st 2010
3. There are 40 employee cash awards totaling $30,000 for mobile and web apps
4. Only 100 initial teams can participate
5. Awards will be announced in June, with public demonstrations at LandWarNet
6. Registration forms and other details can be found on AKO: http://www.army.mil/ciog6/armyapps
7. Forge.mil will serve as a collaborative software repository
8. RACE – a cloud based development sandbox will be provided. Participants can access a Windows server, Linux server and mobile app emulation software for Android and Blackberry. iPhone apps will need to be developed outside of RACE.
9. MilBook’s Apps for the Army group will serve as the core collaboration space for all participants
10. If you’re on twitter, use the hashtag #apps4army to follow the conversation

Video summary...

Cool approach by reaching to developers with real cash prizes.

For more on what's happening out there, it's always a good idea to keep up with Wired's Danger Room:

In the military’s vision of future, the real trick will be getting information down to the individual soldier on the battlefield. Now the Army plans to test a smartphone for soldiers that will have mobile applications that could — in theory — access everything from technical manuals and maintenance records to maps and cultural intelligence.

In a discussion yesterday with reporters, Maj. Gen. Keith Walker, director of the Army’s Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, Texas, said that around 200 soldiers would receive an “iPhone-like device” with digital apps installed.

Walker said the devices would have “various apps for system maintenance, instruction manuals — that we can all remotely upgrade. Also, we’re working to allow soldiers to have a distributed way of getting feedback to us on the equipment, where they can do Wikipedia-style upgrades to tactics, techniques and procedures, and comments on performance of hardware and software.”

Further down the road, Walker said he could envision tactical applications, like an app with GPS capability that could pinpoint the user’s location, or a digital tool that would allow troops to analyze terrain.

“This initiative we are moving out on,” Walker said. “We will see this happen this year.”

It’s part of a larger project called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications. While there is not yet a definite plan to procure and field a combat iPhone, troops at Fort Bliss will experiment with the handset to test ways that some of these new technologies might actually be integrated into the force.

It’s not the only experiment underway at Fort Bliss. Soldiers of the service’s 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss are testing and evaluating pieces of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization plan — a more streamlined successor to the service’s now-defunct Future Combat Systems program. Other items being tested include a common controller, a Nintendo-style control that can be used to maneuver both the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle robot and the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (affectionately known as the “flying beer keg”).

 Need some imagination? Check out these gadgets and robots...

"Saludar a mi pequeño amigo!"

That's right: say hello to my little friend. EchoStar is buying Satmex in a joint venture with MVS Comunicaciones:

Under the deal, EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones, one of the largest media and telecommunications companies in Mexico and EchoStar's partner in the Mexican direct-to-home TV service Dish Mexico, will take ownership of Satmex, that nation's leading satellite operator that delivers video, audio and data services, through a joint venture.

According to the parties, EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Satmex for approximately $267 million in cash, plus up to $107 million in cash on the Mexican satellite operator's balance sheet at closing.

As such, there will be up to $374 million for distribution to Satmex's stakeholders. The transaction is expected to close early in the third quarter 2010.

In connection with the sale, Satmex said it intends to offer to purchase all of its outstanding senior secured notes for cash upon the closing of the sale of the Satmex shares.

Established in the mid-1980s as part of a government operation before becoming a commercial organization, Satmex, which has some 200 employees, owns and operates three satellites and two satellite uplink facilities, all of which are expected to be included as part of the transaction.

"We are pleased to make this announcement with EchoStar, a major provider of satellite services in the United States with a significant and growing presence in Mexico," said Satmex CEO Patricio Northland in a statement. "Our companies have common goals in delivering satellite communications services across the Americas, and EchoStar has the dedication and expertise for continued growth."

"The Satmex acquisition provides us with a footprint over Mexico and South America and presents us the opportunity to serve a growing global demand for satellite services," noted Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C. "We look forward to leveraging our satellite operations and uplink expertise in North America to expand our fixed satellite services throughout the Americas, including the delivery of satellite Internet to rural communities."

EchoStar set up the business a couple of years ago, a few years after they signed up with SES in the formation of QuetzSat S.R.L. de C.V. in the successful bid for the 77° West orbital location. The QuetzSat-1 satellite is expected to come into service in 2011.

Great move my EchoStar. Although Satmex 5 is a sickly HS-601, it still has several choice orbital locations and a decent business model. Satmex-6 is in much better shape (Loral FS-1300). This will definitely have a positive effect on DISH Network's plans for Mexico, as well as Central and South America.

Way to go, Dean O!

SkyTerra considers acquisition by a new corporation formed and indirectly owned by Harbinger Capital Partners.
[Business Wire - 02/26/2010]

KVH announces distribution agreement with Japan Radio.
[Trading Markets - 02/26/2010]

The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) teams up with Romantis to offer satellite solutions in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
[Space Daily - 02/26/2010]

GAO denies SpaceX protest of launch contract with Orbital Sciences for scientific satellite for NASA in 2012.
[Satellite Today - 02/26/2010]

Orbital Sciences and Aerojet initiate engine tests of Aj26 liquid-fuel rocket for Orbital's Taurus 2 medium-class launch vehicle.
[Satellite Today - 02/26/2010]

Thales Alenia signs with French Space Agency to build the Jason-3 oceanographic satellite.
[Space Daily - 02/25/2010]

Globecomm Systems wins 3-year maritime managed services contract for Singapore based FACC Ship Managers Pte Ltd.
[Trak.in - 02/25/2010]

Thales Alenia Space delivers YahSat 1A communication module to EADS Astrium for integration on their platform.
[WebWire - 02/25/2010]

Among a series of satellites launched by NASA over the last decade to monitor the health of our planet, ICESat has provided a consistent big picture look at polar icecaps.
[Space Daily - 02/25/2010]

Both payloads for the first launch of the year by Ariane 5 are in Kourou, French Guiana undergoing initial checkout for a March 24 liftoff.
[Space Travel - 02/25/2010]

South Africa's second satellite, Sumbandila, delivers its first live images.
ITWeb - 02/24/2010]

Boeing gets NASA approval to build new TDRS satellites series K and L..
[Satellite Today - 02/24/2010]

Government Space Programs spend $68 billion in 2009.
[Satellite Today - 02/24/2010]

UPC Broadband consolidates its European DTH businesses to create a new company, UPC DTH.
[Satellite Today - 02/24/2010]

The Arab States Broadcasting Union, Arabsat, and Newtec will provide expanded services to additional customers on their TV/Radio contribution and exchange network.
[SatNews - 02/24/2010]

NDS selected by On Digital Media as technology provider and prime integrator to support the launch of its DTH platform in South Africa.
[SatNews - 02/24/2010] 

Space junk mess gets messier as head-on collision between the European Space Agency's Envisat Earth remote-sensing spacecraft and upper stage of a Chinese rocket is averted.
[Space - 02/23/2010]

U.S. broadband stimulus funds of $100 million set aside for satellite projects in U.S. Rural Utilities Services and National Telecommunications and Information Administration notice falls short of expectations.
[Satellite Today - 02/23/2010]

SatMAX announces joint marketing plan with TLC Engineering for efficient disaster recovery.
[CNN Money - 02/23/2010]

Expand Networks help optimize Global Satellite Services with Inmarsat.
[EON - 02/23/2010]

NASA, NOAA GOES-P meteorological satellite is lifted into the mobile service tower at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 37 for March 2 launch.
(Physorg - 02/23/2010]

India plans to send two astronauts into space in 6 or 7 years.
[Space Travel - 02/23/2010]

SpaceX's Falcon 9 two-stage rocket hoisted into vertical launch position at Cape Canaveral in preparation for maiden flight later this year.
[Space - 02/23/2010]

TerreStar announces successful testing of Ground Based Beam Forming (GBBF); the system provides the flexibility to deploy over 500 spot beams and manage power and capacity; Terrestar to launch commercial service in first half of this year.
[Space Daily - 02/23/2010]

Space Systems Loral ships communications satellite built for Dish Network to Baikonur Space Center for launch later this year.
[SatNews - 02/22/2010]

Cobham SATCOM's USAT 24 60 cm (24 in) Marine Stabilized Antenna for the Sea Tel range of Ultra Small Aperture Terminals receives full accreditation FCC license as ESV.
[SatNews - 02/22/2010]

DISA and DoD award two contracts to Marshall Communications Corp for maintenance and support at Landstuhl, Germany, and Skyline, Falls Church DVB-RS hubs.
[SatNews - 02/22/2010]

Hughes announces availability of SCADA IP satellite terminal.
[PR Newswire - 02/22/2010]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Project M, via AmericaSpace.com:

Project M is  a JSC Engineering Directorate led mission to put a lander on the moon with a robot within a 1,000 days starting Jan 1., 2010. “M” has significance in two ways. First, it is the Roman numeral for 1,000. And “M” is the first letter for “Moon”.

Remember Devo? We do -- especially their song "Timing X/Space Junk" from the 1979 album Duty Now for the Future. With their performance at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver the other night, they're embarking on a comeback of sorts.

The conversation on space debris took on a new urgency as the ESA's 8-ton Envisat nearly got whacked by a piece of Chinese junk, as in a spent booster...

Data from US military networks, and from independent German radar measurements show that the European Space Agency's (ESA) huge Envisat satellite passed incredibly close to the spent upper stage of a Chinese rocket last month. Telemetry data showed that the two spacecraft zipped past each other separated by a distance of just 160 feet (50 meters), which had space experts on the edge of their seats. The recent incident again underlines the deteriorating condition of our planet's orbit, which is becoming increasingly clogged with debris from all sorts of space missions.

If the Chinese rocket had collided with the European satellite, the result would have been devastating. Envisat is one of the largest spacecraft in orbit, weighing in at around eight tons. The rocket stage weighs about 3.8 tons, so a combined mass of more than 11 tons would have been pulverized into fast-traveling shards. Such small pieces of metallic debris, which move with incredible speed, can cause a devastating chain reaction in orbit. If they impact other satellites, they have the ability to destroy them as well, creating even more shards and debris, and fueling the vicious circle. In order to avoid this scenario, European experts maneuvered their satellite using some of the propellant left onboard.

According to ESA official Heiner Klinkrad, who is the head of the Space Debris Office, in Darmstadt, Germany, a collision between the two objects would have spelled “mayhem.” He explains that the altitude at which the two are currently flying is already littered with debris as it is, and that further impacts could reduce the chances of any other spacecraft passing through and onward into space. At the same distance from the Earth's surface, a Russian Cosmos spacecraft collided with an American satellite early last year, producing a vast amount of debris. The other shards present in this particular orbit were generated by the Chinese anti-satellite test that was conducted in 2007.

“The future environment is expected to worsen without additional corrective measures,” NASA Johnson Space Center chief scientist for orbital debris Nicholas Johnson says. He adds that five spacecraft belonging to the American space agency had to undergo collision-avoidance maneuvers last year. These included the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-3), Cloudsat, the Earth Observing Mission 1, Aqua, and Landsat 7. What's more worrying, he adds, is that the International Space Station (ISS) and some shuttle missions also had to steer clear of incoming metallic fragments.

“A penetrating object hitting the ISS, and possibly causing a casualty onboard […] I think that would be the most dramatic case we could have,” Klinkrad shares, adding that medical evacuations from the ISS are incredibly difficult to even plan, let alone perform. Currently, there are two Americans, two Russians, and one Japanese aboard the orbital facility.

50 km is really close. Did somebody on The Continent fall asleep? This isn't supposed to happen as the path/orbit of every piece of space debris is known and can therefore be predicted and avoided.

 Leave it to the folks at SAIC to commercialize a system for tsunami warnings developed by NOAA. They just announced a big sale to the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services:

The SAIC Tsunami Buoy systems will be deployed at locations in the Bay of Bengal and off the northwest coast of India near the Makran subduction zone. These systems represent a part of a larger network of tsunami buoy systems that will provide the entire region with critical data to assess the magnitude of tsunamis generated in the Indian Ocean. The eastern Bay of Bengal, one of the most seismically active regions in the world, is near the origin of the Boxing Day mega-tsunami that claimed over 220,000 lives in 2004. 

"The deployment of these STBs will provide the Indian regional tsunami forecast center with a foundation of reliable and technologically sound deep-water tsunami assessment systems," said Tom Baybrook, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "SAIC looks forward to a long term relationship with INCOIS supporting their extensive tsunami assessment network."

The STB system consists of three subsystems: a surface communications buoy, a buoy mooring, and a bottom pressure recorder. The bottom pressure recorder includes a highly accurate sea floor pressure sensor which can detect earthquakes and sea level changes. Acoustic communications transmits the pressure data to the surface buoy which then relays the data by satellite communications to oceanographic forecast centers for analysis. Once processed, the data can provide real-time assessments of the characteristics of the tsunami in deep water. This data is then used with forecast models to predict the height of the wave and inundation when it arrives at a particular coastal location.

How does it work? Check out NOAA's DART specs.

Satcom saves lives. More power to them!