WBMSAT News Bits 08/15/2014
Industry Reports
New TDG report finds 4K TV forecast overly optimistic, predicting that it will be a niche market for at least another five years, finally seeing widespread viewing in 2019 and growing quickly beyond.
[Satellite Markets & Research – 08/14/2014]
New Euroconsult report finds modest revenue growth for commercial FSS operators in 2013.
[Satellite Markets & Research – 08/13/2014]
High Throughput Satellites definitely have a role to play in consumer broadband, enterprise applications, and mobility – but will they face a zero-sum game in the energy market?
[Northern Sky Research – 08/13/2014]
New UK Satellite Telecommunications activities Market report finds rising demand for mobile internet access is encouraging expansion, with 5-year compound growth through 2014 of 5.8%, to £1.7 billion.
[Live-PR – 08/12/2014]
Industry Groups, Trade Shows
Leading industry experts to meet at MilSatCom Latin America in Rio de Janeiro August 27, 28.
[Brazil Business – 08/14/2014]
The Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG) has announced that its next workshop will be hosted by Inmarsat at its London Headquarters from 21st – 22nd October.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 08/13/2014]
Satellite Launches
First operational Galileo GPS satellites integrated for Soyuz launch.
[GPS Daily – 08/15/2014]
Return of Optus 10 to French Guiana sets stage for Sept launch of Optus 10 and co-passenger MEASAT-3b.
[Space Travel – 08/15/2014]
ULA Atlas V successully launches DigitalGlobe WorldView-3 satellite out of Vandenberg AFB.
[NASA Spaceflight – 08/13/2014]
Satellite Construction
Orbital selected by Avanti Communications to build HYLAS 4 High-Throughput commercial Satellite.
[TMCnet – 08/14/2014]
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory awards contact to Northrop Grumman for Scalable Space Inertial Reference Unit for NASA’s Solar Probe Plus satellite.
[Via Satellite – 08/14/2014]
Satellite Technology
RapidEye PCM combines BlackBridge’s RapidEye satellite imagery with MDA’s PCM technology to accelerate the comparison of images from different times and identifying lasting changes.
[Via Satellite – 08/14/2014]
NASA is exploring a wide range of propulsion technologies to enable cubesats to maneuver.
[Space News – 08/11/2014]
Ground Systems Technology
MaxLinear’s new low-cost USB tuner-demodulator brings digital broadcast high-definition TV to consumers throughout Latin America.
[Satellite Spotlight – 08/14/2014]
Luso Microwave announces a new family of modular C–band to KA-band antennas in a range of reflector sizes from 1.2m to 4.2m.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 08/12/2014]
NovelSat conducts successful trial of its “free bandwidth” product, NovelSat Freeband, at the Redo Novo Tempo de Comunicação broadcast center in Brazil.
[Via Satellite – 08/12/2014]
Government, Military & Defense
Russia is considering creating a new satellite system for transmitting secret military communications as it continues to beef up its defense capacities in a bid to re-emerge as a global military power.
[The Moscow Times – 08/14/2014]
Next generation satellite communications system to see testing aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy during Arctic Shield 2014.
[dvids – 08/14/2014]
SSL and NanoRacks partnership for Hosted Payloads Solutions program one of most unique approaches to Air Force’s recently announced IDIQ contract.
[Via Satellite – 08/14/2014]
Newly confirmed U.S. Space Command Chief makes forceful case for adopting a new space architecture.
[Space News – 08/13/2014]
Schriever Air Force Base 3 SOPS bids farewell to oldest DSCS satellite, shutting down the final components on July 30.
[Air Force Space Command – 08/13/2014]
General Dynamics successfully demonstrates the promise of the MUOS satellite communications system using PRC-155 Manpack radios in Phoenix, Arizona and Taunton, Massachussets.
[MarineLink – 08/13/2014]
Kratos Defense & Security gets $$38.7 million SPAWARS contract to provide satellite communications, radio frequency and navigation systems support services.
[Yahoo Finance – 08/12/2014]
DoD signs situational awareness agreement with Space Data Association.
[Via Satellite – 08/12/2014]
Airbus Defense and Space awarded contract to provide services related to hosting U.S.A.F. communications systems onboard commercially operated satellites.
[Satellite Spotlight – 08/11/2014]
Government Regulation
Inmarsat gets approval to sell IsatPhones in Colombia.
[Via Satellite – 08/13/2014]
Cobham’s AVIATOR 200 SwiftBroadband solution has received Administración Nacional de Avianción Civil (ANAC) Brazil Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval for installation by King Air operators.
[Satnews – 08/12/2014]
Aeronautical
Inmarsat announces first successful installation and ongoing trials of its ACARS1-capable SwiftBroadband Safety equipment on an Airbus A319.
[HispanicBusiness – 08/15/2014]
Consumer Broadband
ViaSat Inc. to offer Exede(R) high-speed satellite internet plans that provide households in select locations across the country with virtually unlimited broadband data usage.
[The Wall Street Journal – 08/12/2014]
Maritime
Royal Caribbean cruise ships Allure of Seas and Quantum of the Seas to get high-speed Internet powered by O3b Networks.
[Sun Sentinel – 08/13/2014]
Oil & Gas
RigNet upgrades VSAT bandwidth of global offshore drilling customer in the Barents Sea to 8 Mbps.
[Via Satellite – 08/14/2014]
Space
Astronauts aboard ISS release Cygnus supply ship, now full of trash for disposal, after month-long space station visit.
[R&D Magazine – 08/15/2014]
XCOR Lynx spacecraft full scale model “Space Corvette” lands at Monterey Jet Center.
[Space Travel – 08/15/2014]
Purdue Univ. student team designs, builds and tests critical part of new rocket engine as part of a NASA project to develop spacecraft technologies needed for cosmic venues.
[R&D Magazine – 08/13/2014]
NASA’s OCO-2 satellite reaches operational orbit.
[Space News – 08/13/2014]
Legal
Loral wins reversal of $283 million damages award – new trial on damages set for November – ViaSat seeks court order barring further patent infringement.
[Via Satellite – 08/11/2014]
Capacity Agreements
Kacific signs multimillion-dollar agreement with Solomon Telekom Company for broadband services on the upcoming HTS Kacific 1.
[Via Satellite – 08/13/2014]
Azercosmos signs first TV channel, Afghan Paiwestoon Media Communication’s free-to-air Batur TV, for Azerspace 1 satellite.
[Via Satellite – 08/11/2014]
Services Contracts
Optus will provide ITC Global with expanded satellite capacity, equipment hosting, up-linking and downloading services via its major satellite facility in Perth, Australia.
[SatNews 08/15/2014]
Air Astana has selected SITA to assure its general and operational communications needs, including communications with partners and advanced datalinks for air traffic control.
[The Astana Times – 08/15/2014]
GenCom, the communications arm of Genco Energy Services (GES) signed an additional contract with SCS Networks to use iDirect technology for a private satellite network.
[Via Satellite – 08/12/2014]
Operator Market Strategy & Revenues
ViaSat asks investors to focus on revenue and gross profit, and not raw subscriber numbers.
[Space News – 08/13/2014]
Globalstar hopes half of its subscriber base will be made of non-North American customers by 2017.
[Via Sateilite – 08/12/2014]
TCS selected to join O3b’s exclusive partner program.
[PCB007 – 08/11/2014]
History
On this day in history – August 12, 1960 – NASA’s 1st successful communications satellite, Echo 1A, is launched from Cape Canaveral.
[EDN – 08/12/2014]
Human Interest
Inmarsat-supported aid agency Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) has been required to leave an Iraqi camp as civil war develops.
[Via Satellite – 08/12/2014]
Tags: satellite news, satellite today, satellite week, satnews, space news, via satellite