Really Rocket Science

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

Smithsonian scientist Tom Watters thinks the moon is shrinking…

By looking at images and data taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of scientists, including Watters, a planetary scientist in the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the National Air and Space Museum, were able to examine geological features on the moon called lobate scarps—thrust faults that occur primarily in the lunar highlands. These scarps are the result of the interior of the moon slowly cooling, and as it does so, it shrinks causing its surface area to crack and buckle.

“One of the remarkable aspects of the lunar scarps is their apparent young age,” said Watters. “Relatively young, globally distributed thrust faults show recent contraction of the whole moon, likely due to cooling of the lunar interior. The amount of contraction is estimated to be about 100 meters in the recent past.

The moon’s lobate scarps were first recognized in photographs taken near the moon’s equator by the panoramic cameras flown on the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions. Fourteen previously unknown lobate scarps have now been revealed in very high resolution images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. The newly detected scarps indicate that the thrust faults are globally distributed and not clustered near the moon’s equator.

“The ultrahigh resolution images from the Narrow Angle Cameras are changing our view of the moon,” said Mark Robinson of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University, coauthor and principal investigator of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. “We’ve not only detected many previously unknown lunar scarps, we’re seeing much greater detail on the scarps identified in the Apollo photographs.”

Because the size change is relatively small, however, Watters said that there would be no effect on lunar cycles, tides, etc. It would take millions of years for there to be a perceivable difference in the size of the moon to the naked eye. But this discovery does help change the commonly held belief that the moon is just a dead rock, showing that it is still active and dynamic.

Apollo 17 images are some of those Moon prints featured by BigBangPrints.com, and you can get some LROC love here.

 

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

Spending bill passed by Congress provides NOAA funding flexibility for maintaining launch schedules for two weather satellite programs.
[Space News – 10/18/2013]

Companies interested in taking part in a revolution in the way Europe develops and builds rockets have submitted more than 150 proposals for overturning the current launch vehicle industrial base to build the next-generation Ariane 6 within the cost objectives.
[Space News – 10/18/2013]

ESA delays the contract award for next-generation polar-orbiting MetOp satellite system to assure the spacecraft are built to disintegrate over the Pacific Ocean on retirement.
[Space News – 10/18/2013]

Orbital Sciences pursues commercial launch opportunities for its Antares rocket following two successful NASA funded test flights.
[Space News – 10/18/2013]

Sirius FM-6 to launch October 20 on Proton M/Breeze M; – Via Satellite webcast starts October 20th at 1:45pm EDT.
[ILS Launch – current] [Webcast at imgondemand – ongoing]

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory expects to download 700 terabytes of data per day from NASA missions; its engineers are busy developing creative tools to better store the data.
[R&D Magazine – 10/18/2013]

U.S. Air Force awards two-year contract extension to SES for hosted payload.
[Via Satellite – 10/18/2013]

NSSLGlobal announces further expansion of their VSAT Ku-Band network to include an additional two satellite beams covering the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean region.
[CiOL – 10/18/2013]

$4.1 billion of Department of Defense contracts awarded prior to the U.S. Government shutdown is a tree hiding a forest of not-so-good news that gives the impression the bottom of the milsatcom wave is yet to come for the satellite industry.
[NSR – 10/17/2013]

Raytheon leverages its position as the only provider of AEHF satellite terminals to three branches of the military to show that it can provide an affordable protected tactical solution using an unclassified secure waveform.
Azosensors – 10/17/2013

SATCON 2013 will shine spotlight on intersection of satellite communications and future media capabilities.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/17/2013]

Reportlinker adds new report to its catalogue: Global Markets for Satellite Technology — Focus on the EMEA Market.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/17/2013]

IRG Challenge industry to implement Carrrier ID 100 percent by June 2014, the date of the 2014 Football World Cup.
[Via Satellite – 10/17/2013]

ESA awards Astrium three new contracts for Ariane 6 and Ariane 5 ME.
[Via Satellite – 10/17/2013]

HISPASAT and Astrium present Europe’s first reconfigurable Ku-band satellite antenna, boasting four simultaneous beams, which will be installed in the Hispasat AG1 satellite.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/17/2013]

Nippon Television Network Corporation chooses SES as its satellite operator of choice to provide live transmissions of three key sporting events in Europe.
[Via Satellite – 10/17/2013]

Media Networks launches satellite Internet wholesale service in Latin America on the nine Ka-Band beams on ISAT-KA.
[Via Satellite – 10/17/2013]

Europe reaches major milestone in drive to bridge the Digital Divide, launching broadband satellite services in the Baltics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, now reaching all 28 EU countries.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/17/2013]

Thales merges the navigation, surveillance, and simulation segment of the Thales air traffic management organization and the former Thales USA Defense and Security organization with 2012 acquisitions Tampa Microwave, Viosionix, and InterSence.
[Military Aerospace – 10/17/2013]

Major U.S. broadcaster selects NovelSt to upgrade the satellite communication technology in their global Digital Satellite News Gathering fleet.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 10/17/2013]

Boatracs Inc. to provide a broadband communications solution to B & J Martin, Inc., outfitting the site clearance trawling division of their fleet with KVH TracPhone V7-IP VSAT terminals and mini-VSAT Broadband service.
[PR Web – 10/17/2013]

The United States Navy built the first satellite communications ship, the U.S.N.S. Kingsport, in 1963.
[Space.com – 10/16/2013]

10 reasons why Global MilSatCom 2013 is set to become SMi’s biggest SatCom event to date.
[Digital Journal – 10/16/2013]

U.S. Air Force delays upcoming GPS 2F-5 launch for unspecified reasons.
[Space News – 10/16/2013]

Iridium Communications Inc. announces successful completion of a Critical Design Review of the complete Iridium NEXT satellite network system, on schedule for first launch in early 2015.
[Wall Street Journal – 10/16/2013]

SES enters public-private partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) for the development of a full-electric propulsion satellite platform.
[Via Satellite – 10/16/2013]

Thales Alenia and Italy’s CGS to build a visible and ultraviolet imaging telescope for Europe’s future Solar Orbiter satellite.
[Space News – 10/16/2013]

SkyVision donates an iDirect-powered satellite network for the Crossover International Academy in Tongor-Attokrokpo, Ghana.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/16/2013]

Inmarsat selects Kratos subsidiary Sat Corporation’s Monics system to provide satellite interference detection for Global Xpress.
[Via Satellite – 10/16/2013]

Thales Alenia Space will build Multi Element Telescope for Italian Space Agency’s Imaging and Spectroscopy instrument.
[Via Satellite – 10/16/2013]

Alcatel-Lucent to provide ground station for monitoring of spectrum in satellite communications for Anatel of Brazil.
[Telecompaper – 10/16/2013]

Morgan Stanley report claiming the FSS sector has entered a “no-growth” cycle and that “HTS will struggle to find a market” misses the mark.
[NSR – 10/15/2013]

Boeing to build fourth satellite for the Inmarsat Global Xpress network.
[UPI – 10/15/2013]

Harris CapRock to provide communications services for more than 100 Carnival Corporation cruise ships worldwide.
[Yahoo Finance – 10/15/2013]

Newtec and SniperHill deploy new satellite technology providing increased throughput and service availability for network serving NATO and U.S. Troops in Afghanistan.
[Government Video – 10/15/2013]

NewSat signs $5 million worth of new teleport business contracts in first quarter of FY 2014 to provide satellite communication services across the Middle East and Austaliasia.
[SatNews – 10/15/2013]

United Airlines launches 100th aircraft with satellite Wi-Fi.
[Via Satellite – 10/15/2013]

Arabsat gets exclusive rights to broadcast Sudan’s football.
[all Africa – 10/15/2013]

The Global VSAT Forum (GVF), and the Satellite Interference Reduction Group (IRG) will be joining Cobham Technical Services and Eutelsat for a pre-conference workshop on satellite interference alongside Global MilSatCom in London. [SatNews – 10/14/2013]

Broadband Satellite Services Limited (BSS), an investment company based in the North East of England, completes the acquisition of AND Group & the Satcom Global group of companies.
[MarineLink – 10/14/2013]

iDirect Wins VSAT 2013 Technology Innovation Of The Year Award for high performance X7 remote.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/14/2013]

Cable & Wireless to sell its Algerian satellite communication business Divona SpA to Smart Link Com SpA of Algeria for $1.4 million..
[4-traders – 10/14/2013]

Gilat Satellite Networks continues to make strong progress in Latin America, getting an award for equipment and services from Entel S.A., the largest telecom operator and satellite network operator in Bolivia.
[Via Satellite – 10/14/2013]

Spacecom gets five-year capacity deal from an East African video service provider worth just under $6 million.
[Via Satellite – 10/14/2013]

Earth station constructed by Harris near Arua Town, Uganda in 1976 for Idi Amin is now rotting away.
[Hispanic Business – 10/14/2013]

As part of U.S. Army’s recently announced 4.1 billion communications budget, Lockheed Martin gets IDIQ contract to deliver satellite and terrestrial communications to the Army.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/14/2013]

SatStream Media launches new maritime service, SatstreamNet, a multicast-IP content delivery network developed specifically for the maritime industry.
[Via Satellite – 10/14/2013]

BT and BSkyB sign multi-year agreement for Sky Movies to be made available through BT TV.
[Via Satellite – 10/14/2013]

Via Satellite speaks with Michel de Rosen of Eutelsat about all things Latin America, and how his vision for Eutelsat is shaping up.
[Via Satellite – November issue]

Oil companies see a future in satellite, but want lower prices.
[Via Satellite – November issue]

U.S. government changes its business approach with satcom vendors under Sequestration, but what does this mean?
[Via Satellite – November issue]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Technical Proposals	System Acceptance Testing
Link Analysis	System Quality Testing
Systems Engineering	Project Management
Systems Integration	Satellite Industry Research

360-895-0478   email:  [email protected]

The above review piece on the movie “Gravity” agrees with Leroy Chiao’s OpEd on CNN. Love the bit about orbital mechanics…

The physics of reality spaceflight are also boring. Orbital mechanics can be quite complex. Maneuvers and orbit changes are performed precisely and deliberately, and take some time. Much more exciting to have spacecraft “fly” like winged jet fighters in space, like in “Star Wars.” How boring would those battle scenes have been had their maneuvers been technically accurate?

Why is CNN doing so much around this film? It’s a Warner Bros. film! Regardless, I’d go see it. Here’s the official trailer…

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]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

SES 8 launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 suffering delays – Space News
Launch providers say the market is in state of chronic oversupply – satellite operators see another side of the coin, as they experience launch delays and struggle to secure launches.
[Space News – 09/20/2013]

Eutelsat’s ‘smart LNB’, a new-generation electronic feed connected to an antenna with an embedded transmitter for a new broadcasting ecosystem, wins EUsatcom innovation award.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/20/2013]

Boeing demonstrates potential for military to access more communications pathways at lower cost, transmitting a government-developed, frequency-hopping signal through a commercial satellite.
[Via Satellite – 09/19/2013]

All 11 UHF, S, C and Ku-band transponders of India’s first exclusive defence satellite GSAT-7 have been turned on and are operating normally.
[India TV News – 09/19/2013]

European Space Agency delivers its SuperSites Exploitation Platform designed to enable the analysis and interpretation of large volumes of satellite data in order to better understand the processes causing geohazards.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 09/19/2013]

SES and CETel sign multi-transponder capacity deal to provide service to meet escalating demand in the Middle East.
[Yahoo Finance – 09/19/2013]

Orbital Sciences launches its first ever supply ship to ISS, becoming second private company to do so.
[R&D Magazine – 09/18/2013]

The PLA of China and the Pentagon are both testing and improving Anti-Satellite capabilities.
[Defense One – 09/18/2013]

The third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) protected military communications satellite for the U.S. and its allies is successfully launched from Cape Canaveral.
[Space Fellowship – 09/18/2013]

OHB contracts Astrium to build German radar reconnaissance satellite to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9.
[Space News – 09/08/2013]

Bentley Walker extends its service coverage towards Libya using Newtec’s Ka-band VSAT broadband platform.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/18/2013]

Rebortbuyer.com publishes “The Global Military Satellites Market 2012-2022 – Country Analysis: Market Profile” offering detailed analysis of the global Military Satellites Market over the next ten years.
[News Channel 5 – 09/18/2013]

MIT researchers are investigating how space weather may affect components of geostationary satellites.
[R&D Magazine – 09/18/2013]

Global VSAT Forum’s VSAT certification program is expanded to West Africa with partners NetHope and iDirect.
[Green Technology World – 09/17/2013]

Algerian hopes a new contract signed by Newtec and the Algerian Telediffusion d’Algerie will boost communications infrastructure for the North African country.
[IT News Africa – 09/17/2013]

Iridium announces the first turnkey hosted payload solution, Iridium PRIME, to host third-party payloads on stand-alone satellites leveraging the connectivity afforded by the Iridium NET satellite network.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/17/2013]

KVH signs expanded capacity agreement with SES to meet rising demand for maritime communications.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/17/2013]

Capacity on two Eutelsat satellites mobilised by Media Broadcast for coverage of German Federal Elections.
[PR Newswire – 09/17/2013]

Latin America will be fastest growing region in the world in terms of subscriber and revenue growth in the DTH market in the next 3-5 years according to NSR report.
[NSR – 09/174/2013]

Gilat announces release of Wavestream Ka-band Matchbox mini block upconverter.
[Wall Street Journal – 09/17/2013]

Arbitral Tribunal decides that Intersystem Coordination Agreement (ICA) signed by SES and Eutelsat in 1999 does not bar SES from using disputed Ku-band spectrum where Eutelsat does not hold the “regulatory” right to operate in these bands – SES agrees that Eutelsat would use those bands where it holds “regulatory” right.
[SatNews – 09/16/2013]

Inmarsat and Onixsat Telecom partner to provide BGAN M2M service to Brazilian banking sector.
[Via Satellite – 09/16/2013]

Great program for encouraging interest in STEM education: FMA Live! Now with “hip hop” in the press release.

Created by Honeywell and NASA in 2004, FMA Live! is an award-winning, 45-minute, live hip hop science education program targeted at the middle school level. The FMA Live! tour has traveled 99,969 miles to bring science to life for over 323,484 students at 887 middle schools in all 48 contiguous U.S. states, Mexico and Canada.

Pink Floyd has sold more than 40 million copies of the album “Dark Side of the Moon” — the title refers to lunacy, not the actual Moon.

Today’s APOD features something we’ve never seen before: the rotating moon…

No one, presently, sees the Moon rotate like this. That’s because the Earth’s moon is tidally locked to the Earth, showing us only one side. Given modern digital technology, however, combined with many detailed images returned by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a high resolution virtual Moon rotation movie has now been composed. The above time-lapse video starts with the standard Earth view of the Moon. Quickly, though, Mare Orientale, a large crater with a dark center that is difficult to see from the Earth, rotates into view just below the equator. From an entire lunar month condensed into 24 seconds, the video clearly shows that the Earth side of the Moon contains an abundance of dark lunar maria, while the lunar far side is dominated by bright lunar highlands. Two new missions are scheduled to begin exploring the Moon within the year, the first of which is NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). LADEE, which launched just over a week ago, is scheduled to begin orbiting the Moon in October and will explore the thin and unusual atmosphere of the Moon. In a few months, the Chinese Chang’e 3 is scheduled to launch, a mission that includes a soft lander that will dispatch a robotic rover.

Maybe Syd Barrett can see it.

Yes, that’s a real frog.

LADEE Frog Photobomb
Date: 6 Sep 2012

A still camera on a sound trigger captured this intriguing photo of an airborne frog as NASA’s LADEE spacecraft lifts off from Pad 0B at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The photo team confirms the frog is real and was captured in a single frame by one of the remote cameras used to photograph the launch. The condition of the frog, however, is uncertain.

Credit: NASA Wallops Flight Facility/Chris Perry

There’s no way you can catch it when watching the video (duh)…