Satellite Industry News Bits for July 3, 2009


DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 satellite to be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on October 9.
[Satellite Today – 07/03/2009]

EchoStar wins stay of contempt order in TiVo case in a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals.
[Satellite Today – 07/03/2009]

Global handset navigatikon subscribers to reach 26 million by 2010 according to ABI Research report.
[Satellite Today – 07/03/2009]

Globalstar completes financing of $738m to fund its next-generation satellite system.
[Satellite Today – 07/02/2009]

SES places five year 650 million euro bond, the company’s first since 2006.
[Satellite Today – 07/02/2009]

Satcom Direct successfully sends and receives satcom datalink (AFIS/ACARS) messages between onboard flight and ground stations over the Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation.
[TMCnet – 07/02/2009]

Solaris Mobile discovers issues with W2A S-band payload and files insurance claim.
[Satellite Today – 07/02/2009]

VSD acquires Television Direct to Sailors program from SES Americom subsidiary Americom Government Services.
[Satellite Today – 07/02/2009]

Viasat awarded $21m contract for Multifuncional Information Distribution System terminals from U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego.
[Satellite Today – 07/02/2009]

MEASAT-3a successfully relocated to 91.4 degree orbital slot in preparation for in-orbit testing.
[SatNews – 07/01/2009]

Sirius FM-5 performing maneuvers successfully following June 30 launch from Baikonur on Proton Breeze M launch vehicle.
[SatNews – 07/01/2009]

IDL Corp., an Iridium Global Service Provider, develops multi-channel satellite communications interface that can act as emergency communication system.
[TMCnet – 07/01/2009]

World’s largest communications satellite, TerreStar-1, successfully launched from Kourou – to be used for mobile communications; Terrestar has roaming agreement with AT&T.
[San Francisco Chronicle – 07/01/2009]

Koreasat-2 satellite sale to be sold to Asia Broadcast Satellite by KT Corporation subject to U.S. governmental approval.
[SatNews – 07/01/2009]

BSkyB signs transponder deal with SES Astra for 24 transponders at 28.2 degrees east on a long-term basis.
[Satellite Today – 07/01/2009]

Inmarsat FleetBroadband 150 service, designed to handle IP data, goes live on Inmarsat-4 fleet; hardware providers need to increase working hours to keep up with equipment demands.
[BusinessWire – 07/01/2009]

Globecomm Systems promotes Keith Hall to President and Chief Operating Officer.
[newsday.com – 07/01/2009]

Sea Launch gets approval of bankruptcy judge to continue operations as it restructures under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
[Satellite Today – 06/30/2009]

This 4th of July weekend, the International Space Station will appear as the brightest star at dawn and dusk to most of U.S. – see http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings for a schedule when it can be seen from your area.
[SatNews – 06/30/2009]

Vancouver, Canada based telecommunications Telus Corp. adds satellite television to its suite of services, contracting to sell Bell’s TV service in British Columbia and Alberta.
[Vancouver Sun – 06/30/09]

Worth of DigitalGlobe satellite imagery emphasized by contract signed with National Geospatial Intelligence Agency through March 31, 2010 for $12.5m per month.
[SatNews – 06/30/2009]

Wavestream receives orders in excess of $50m from General Dynamics for solid-state power amplifiers for U.S. Army satellite communications terminals.
[Fox Business – 06/30/2009]

Eutelsat Communications launches new service, FRANSAT, enabling satellite access from metropolitan France to all French free Digital Terrestrial Television channels.
[TMCnet – 06/30/2009]

Iridium to begin offering new satellite communications service in Japan for ships at 10-20% less than its previous service, 50 times faster at 128 kbps.
[TMCnet – 06/30/2009]

Historic Ulysses space mission to receive last command from earth and turn transmitter off on June 30, after 18.6 years in space.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

Orbital Sciences and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport break ground at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility for launch facilities for the Taurus II space launch vehicle.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

Thales Alenia wins Russia satellite contract worth about 250 million euros to supply communications satellites.
[Reuters – 06/29/1009]

First signal successfully received from GOES-O satellite, launched to complete coverage of Western Hemisphere.
[aero-news.net – 06/29/2009]

Iran jams foreign satellite news in attempt to isolate Iranian public.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

Pacific Teleports becomes Pactel international.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

SpaceX gets new round of financing from Steve Jurvetson and his DFJ partners.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

European Space Agency plans to build 35m antenna south of Malargue in Mendoza province, Argentina as part of the ESA Tracking network.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES signs multi-year agreement to deliver Retro TV content on two transponders of AMC-3.
[SatNews – 06/29/2009]

Companies such as Iridium benefit as Maritime regulations like SOLAS and GMDSS are increasing demand for satellite-based solutions on all seas around the globe, but will satellite companies be able to support the increase from low data rate to high data rate?
[NSR Report – June 2009]

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