Really Rocket Science

Intelsat 27 plunges into Pacific as Zenit-3SL Sea Launch rocket fails 50 seconds after launch, possibly veering off course due to heavy waves. [Space Travel – 02/01/2013]

DigitalGlobe enters GeoEye into United Arab Emirates competition by proposing to sell the nearly completed GeoEye-2 satellite to the UAE. [Space News – 02/01/2013]

Space programs face cuts in 2014-2020 European Union budget. [Space News – 02/01/2013]

NASA successfully launches a Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital rocket from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. [Space Travel – 02/01/2013]

Iran’s claims to have launched a Pioneer Explorer Satellite with a monkey aboard, and to have safely recovered the monkey, called into question as photos appear to show two different monkeys. [Space News – 02/01/2013]

Inmarsat, with partners AnsuR Technologies and SingTel, showcase portfolio of voice and data solutions at Asia Pacific  Aid and International Development Forum in Thailand. [SatNews – 02/01/2013]

Yahsat partners with turIT Uganda to begin operating its Yahclick satellite broadband service in Uganda. [Satellite Today – 01/31/2013]

Eutelsat announces it will deliver the fastest satellite-based consumer broadband speeds in the United Kingdom with a new range of Tooway packages with unlimited data download usage day and night, at competitive prices. [Satellite Today – 01/31/2013]

PolarSat receives multiple orders from General Administration of Civil Aviation of China for equipment supply and technical services for additional VSATPlus II satellite communications equipment. [SatNews – 01/31/2013]

NASA program will use spare parts from a retired wind-measurement satellite to build a new hosted observatory that will be launched to the International Space Station in 2014. [Space News – 01/30/2013]

South Korea successfully launches its first satellite, an Earth observation satellite launched aboard the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1). [Satellite Today – 01/30/2013]

Globalstar confirms February 5 launch for its fourth launch of six second generation satellites. [Satellite Evolution Group – 01/30/2013]

European Space Agency selects Astrium to develop the Ariane 5 ME and Ariane 6 launchers. [Satellite Today – 01/30/2013]

Inmarsat introduces Remote Terminal Manager, which provides management and control over unmanned M2M terminals in the field. [Satellite Today – 01/30/2013]

New NASA TDRS-K satellite is first of three to launch between now and 2014 to upgrade the TDRS satellite network for tracking spacecraft and satellites orbiting Earth. [Space.com – 01/29/2013]

Boeing completes software qualification and systems integration tests on U.S. Air Force Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminal (FAB-T) program which will provide protected wideband satellite communications for command and control of U.S. nuclear forces. [Satellite Spotlight – 01/29/2013]

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch Israel’s Amos 6 communications satellite in 205. [Spaceflight Now – 01/29/2013]

Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems Interoperability Working Group meets in France, welcoming for the first time Russian and Indian representatives. [Satellite Today – 01/29/2013]

Global military satellite market is dominated by Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin. [Companies and Markets – 01/29/2013]

Hughes satellite broadband internet and voice supports Habitat for Humanity in Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts. [msn MONEY – 01/29/2013]

Swedish based satellite broadband supplier Ancylus enters strategic partnership with Net1 to offer Scandinavian and Nordic maritime market a cost effective Hybrid broadband solution. [WBMSAT – 01/29/2013]

Skywave’s IsatData Pro satellite network and ILS Technology’s deviceWISE M2M platform are teamed to enable Oil & Gas, Utilities, and Industrial Automation industries to implement SCADA applications in less time at lower cost. [Satellite Spotlight – 01/29/2013]

Gilat announces its subsidiary Wavestream has exclusive contract to provide Ka-band tranceivers to Honeywell to provide in-flight connectivity to Inmarsat Global Xpress network. [MarketWatch – 01/29/2013]

Singapore’s MediaCorp selects Pay-OTT platform provider Tvinci to power its new cross device service, Toggle, available as a subscription or pay per view service offering both linear and video on-demand. [Satellite Today – 01/29/2013]

NATO’s protected satellite communications capability to be upgraded by Thales to enhance performance and reduce operational costs. [UPI – 01/28/2013]

Effects of Worst Satellite Breakups in History Still Felt Today. [Space.com – 01/28/2013]

ViaSat signs contracts that increase Ku-band satellite capacity of Global Mobility Satellite Network by more than 60 percent. [4-traders – 01/28/2013]

Hughes is contracted by government of Punjab to provide India’s largest ever satellite-based education network, for over 2900 schools. [msn MONEY – 01/28/2013]

Japan plans to offer 4K satellite video broadcasts starting in July 2014; also, NHK expects to bring 8K on line by 2016 (8K is understood to be at the limit of what the human eye can process). [Satellite Today – 01/28/2013]

Belarusbank to service Chinese loan for Belarusian satellite communication project. [Belarusian Telegraph Agency – 01/28/2013]

Rusat, a Russian satellite service provider for enterprise, ISPs, and government agencies, launches new satellite broadband service using Newtec’s latest VSAT hub and end-user terminal technology. [Satellite Today – 01/28/2013]

Japan successfully launches two intelligence satellites, amid concerns over North Korean plans for additional long-range rocket tests and nuclear tests. [Satellite Today – 01/27/2013]

Satellites reveal North Korean nuclear test preparations. [Nextgov – 01/25/2013]

NSR free webinar March 13 to discuss government and military satcom demand. [NSR – March 13 Webinar]

NSR report, Energy Markets Via Satellite, 3rd Edition, coming in March. [NSR – Energy Markets Report]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

U.S. Air Force engages U.S. arm of British small-satellite specialist Surrey Satellite Technology to examine new approaches to satellite navigation using small platforms to augment the GPS constellation.
[Space News – 01/18/20013]

More than 3 dozen developing nations have purchased satellites or begun early design in recent years, risking destabilization of global market for satellite capacity; more than half have secured Chinese financing in return for using China’s Long March rocket for launch.
[Space News – 01/18/2013]

Six student alliances from Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal compete in developing software codes to control movements of two mini-robots aboard the International Space Station from ESA’s Netherlands research and technology center.
[Space Daily – 01/18/2013]

NASA beams image of the Mona Lisa to Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, nearly 240,000 miles away, in test of communicating with a satellite using a laser.
[CBS News – 01/18/20103]

RapidEye satellites likely to operate into 2019 or later, extending their life beyond design by some 3 years.
[Space News – 01/18/2013]

American Samoa Telecommunications Authority signs agreement with O3b for up to 1.2Gbps of broadband connectivity on the O3b constellation expected to be in place in the third quater this year.
[SatNews – 01/18/2013]

SpaceX plans a pad abort test for its Dragon capsule at Cape Canaveral in December 2013 to demonstrate how passengers could fly away from malfunctioning Falcon rocket.
[Space News – 01/18/2013]

Pactel International signs multi-year multi-transponder deal with SES for capacity on NSS-9 to ramp up voice and data service offerings in the Pacific.
[SatNews – 01/18/2013]

NASA says SpaceX’s Merlin engines are “good to go” for March 1 launch to International Space Station.
[Space News – 01/18/2013]

GEO-2 satellite delivered by U.S.A.F. and Lockheed Martin to Cape Canaveral for March launch.
[SatNews – 01/18/2013]

Pre-launch checkout of Azerspace/Africasat-1a, one of two payloads to be launched on Arianespace’s first 2013 flight, is now underway.
[SatNews – 01/17/2013]

NASA ordered batteries for International Space Station from same Japanese supplier whose batteries are implicated in Boeing 787 Dreamliner troubles.
[NextGov – 01/17/2013]

Thales Alenia expects renewed competition from U.S. satellite manufacturers.
[Space News – 01/17/2013]

NASA and European Space Agency agree to use European service module on the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle’s second mission – NASA offers details about fix necessary for Orion crew module whose bulkhead cracked during a test.
[Space News – 01/17/2013]

With four government and two commercial payloads competing for space on four Soyuz rockets scheduled for 203 launches, Arianespace hopes satellite deliver delays will allow it to satisfy all the high-value customers.
[Space News – 01/17/2013]

Lockheed Martin completes work on second MUOS satellite for U.S. Navy.
[Space Daily – 01/17/2013]

South Korea to make third attempt to reach orbit with a launch scheduled between Jan. 30 and Feb 8.
[Space News – 01/17/2013]

Spacecom is chosen to provide broadcast capacity for the 29th Africa Cup of Nations being held in South Africa January 19 through February 10.
Satellite Evolution Group – 01/17/2013]

Belgium Satellite Services signs new long-term contact for 46 MHz of C-band capacity on EUTELSAT 10A satellite.
[msn Money – 01/17/2013]

Telkenor Satellite Broadcasting, a DTV provider in the Nordic region, chooses Thomson Video Networks’ ViBE VS7000 multi-screen video platform to deliver streaming services for its key broadcast clients.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 01/17/2013]

TeleCommunications Systems gets order from Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation for deployable VSAT satellite systems.
[msn Money – 01/17/2013]

Russian rocket carrying three military satellites blasts off from http://i.space.com/images/i/000/025/147/original/mona-lisa-nasa-laser.jpg?1358463767 cosmodrome in Northern Russia.
[SatNews – 01/16/2013]

Astronauts at International Space Station may get inflatable rooms.
[R&D Magazine – 01/16/2013]

EUTELSAT 70B goes into commercial service at 70.5 degrees east to serve users in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
[SatNews – 01/16/2013]

Six Globalstar satellites ready for next Soyuz launch from Baikonur.
[SatNews – 01/16/2013]

China plans to launch 20 spacecraft in 2013.
[SatNews – 01/16/2013]

Research and Markets 2012 report analyzes global trends and prospects within the major maritime satellite communications markets.
[Satellite Spotlight – 01/16/2013]

United Airlines spends $550 million to become first international carrier in the U.S. to introduce onboard satellite-based Wi-Fi Internet connectivity, using Panasonic Avionics Ku-band service on select international flights.
[Satellite Today – 01/16/2013]

SpeedCast of Hong Kong completes buyout of Elektrikom Satellite Services, a leading maritime satellite communications service provider in the Netherlands.
[Satellite Spotlight – 01/16/2013]

Eutelsat’s next generation of advanced functions satellites designed to mitigate effects of interference by increasing control over uplink frequencies, optimising electrical power use to increase active channels, expanding satellite relocation capabilities, and allowing uplink signal frequency change without affecting downlink frequency.
[SatNews – 01/15/2013]

United States is concerned about China’s space capabilities.
[Economic Times – 01/14/2013]

Value-Added Services market associated with the Global Navigation Satellite System is expected to more than double its current intake of some 22 billion Euros by 2021.
[Satellite Today – 01/14/2013]

First Ka-band satellite built to serve Latin America, Amazonas 3 multi-mission satellite built for Hispasat, arrives in Kourou.
[Satellite Today – 01/14/2013]

NSR report, “UltraHD Via Satellite,” analyzes key elements for satellite-based UltraHD demand in terms of market viability, cost considerations, ecosystem development, and end user adoption issues.
[NSR – January 2013]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Pretty awesome of MSNBC to report on the Kepler mission’s discoveries…

Our Milky Way galaxy is home to at least 100 billion alien planets, and possibly many more, a new study suggests.

“It’s a staggering number, if you think about it,” lead author Jonathan Swift, of Caltech in Pasadena, said in a statement. “Basically there’s one of these planets per star.”

Swift and his colleagues arrived at their estimate after studying a five-planet system called Kepler-32, which lies about 915 light-years from Earth. The five worlds were detected by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, which flags the tiny brightness dips caused when exoplanets cross their star’s face from the instrument’s perspective.

It was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal. Good luck finding the abstract.

Hoping some of these images make it to the BigBangPrints.com gallery.

What a great story. The White House’s “open government” approach gives visitors to their Web site a chance to ask for an answer to a question once 25,000 visitors sign a petition.

A petition to “Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016” got 34,000+ signatures and got a response: This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For, written by Paul Shawcross (Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget).

It’s brilliant…

The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:

• The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
• The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
• Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

However, look carefully (here’s how) and you’ll notice something already floating in the sky — that’s no Moon, it’s a Space Station! Yes, we already have a giant, football field-sized International Space Station in orbit around the Earth that’s helping us learn how humans can live and thrive in space for long durations. The Space Station has six astronauts — American, Russian, and Canadian — living in it right now, conducting research, learning how to live and work in space over long periods of time, routinely welcoming visiting spacecraft and repairing onboard garbage mashers, etc. We’ve also got two robot science labs — one wielding a laser — roving around Mars, looking at whether life ever existed on the Red Planet.

Keep in mind, space is no longer just government-only. Private American companies, through NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO), are ferrying cargo — and soon, crew — to space for NASA, and are pursuing human missions to the Moon this decade.

Even though the United States doesn’t have anything that can do the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, we’ve got two spacecraft leaving the Solar System and we’re building a probe that will fly to the exterior layers of the Sun. We are discovering hundreds of new planets in other star systems and building a much more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope that will see back to the early days of the universe.

We don’t have a Death Star, but we do have floating robot assistants on the Space Station, a President who knows his way around a light saber and advanced (marshmallow) cannon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is supporting research on building Luke’s arm, floating droids, and quadruped walkers.

We are living in the future! Enjoy it. Or better yet, help build it by pursuing a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field. The President has held the first-ever White Housescience fairs and Astronomy Night on the South Lawn because he knows these domains are critical to our country’s future, and to ensuring the United States continues leading the world in doing big things.

If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star’s power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

Cape Canaveral launch manifest for 2013 includes 16 launches, 4 more than 2012, but availability of booster rockets may slow the planned launch rate.
[Space News – 01/11/2013]

Arianespace targets total of 12 missions with Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega in 2013.
[Space Travel – 01/11/2013]

Landsat Data Continuity Mission is scheduled for February 11th launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
[SatNews – 01/11/2013]

AXE looking for men and women from 60 countries to sign up for 22 seats aboard the suborbital spacecraft Lynx  under its new Apollo campaign, created by AXE with one of first men to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin.
[Space Travel – 01/11/2013]

TCS gets another $3.4 million in incremental funding from U.S. Army for SNAP deployable satellite systems equipment and support.
[msn Money – 01/11/2013]

Com Dev says it will refuse to build the central electronics system it has been designing for Canada’s Radarsat Constellation Mission once the program transitions to a fixed price contract, citing high technical risk.
[Space News – 01/11/2013]

KVH launches new Unrestricted Rate Plans featuring Business Class Service for its mini-VSAT Broadband network.
[Space Daily – 01/11/2013]

Hong Kong telecom and services distributor Neo Telemedia acquires HCH Investments for $273 million in effort to enter satellite telecommunication operator business.
[Satellite Today – 01/10/2013]

Ball Aerospace completes successful critical design review for Joint Polar Satellite System spacecraft.
[Satellite Evolution – 01/10/2013]

MDA gets $706 million contract from Canadian Space Agency to build, launch, and provide initial operations for the Canadian government’s Radarsat Constellation Mission.
[Satellite Today – 01/10/2013]

Israel’s Aerospace to use ATK’s PUMA solar array on AMOS-6.
[SatNews – 01/10/2013]

GeoEye announces first sale of stereo imagery from high resolution GeoEye-1 satellite to Government of India to support development of India’s freight-railway corridor.
[Satellite Evolution – 01/10/2013]

Lockheed Martin Solar Ultraviolet Imager for GOES-R series meets requirements of Pre-Environmental Review.
[Satellite Evolution – 01/10/2013]

Hughes gets New England Telehealth Consortium contract to provide high-speed satellite services for mobile telehealth clinics throughout rural Northern New England. [Satellite Evolution – 01/10/2013]

GeoEye receives antitrust clearance from U.S. Department of Justice for pending combination with DigitalGlobe.
[Satellite Evolution – 01/10/02013]

Toyota to equip its entire vehicle line-up with SirusXM radio equipment starting in 2013.
[SatNews – 01/09/2013]

Dish outbids Sprint in attempt to acquire Clearwire.
[Android Police – 01/08/2013]

SES mourns loss of satellite executive Rob Bednarek.
[Fort Mill Times – 01/08/2013]

Orbcomm gets additional $45 million loan to help secure investment in OG2 satellite constellation.
[Satellite Today – 01/10/2013]

Lockheed Martin completes and delivers software waveform to enable military satellite communications terminal providers to deploy equipment taking full advantage of enhanced MUOS capabilities.
[Satellite Spotlight – 01/08/2013]

ViaSat ships 500th ultra-small airborne satellite terminal.
[TMCnet – 01/08/2013]

iDirect is recipient of 2012 INTERNET TELEPHONY Product of the Year award for its cost effective Evolution X1 satellite remote DVB-S2/ACM TDMA narrow-band product for SCADA/M2M applications.
[SatNews – 01/08/2013]

SkyBitz inclusion of cellular 3G in its portfolio of SCADA/M2M solutions may signal cellular threat to satellite SCADA/M2M.
[NSR – 01/08/2013]

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov instructs communications ministry to provide efficient and well-organised functioning of communications companies.
[Satellite Spotlight – 01/08/2013]

Space Systems/Loral determines that inability to vent air led to honeycomb central solar panel failures during the Telstar-14, Telstar 14R, and Intelsat-19 launches. [SatNews – 01/07/2013]

ATK to conduct study of network-centric small satellites under U.S. Air Force contract.
[Satellite Today – 01/07/2013]

Despite today’s almost exclusive focus on big-pipe broadband VSAT services for high value segments, recent Hughes India contract to connect 27,000 ATMs in a narrow-band network is like hearing a great, forgotten classic on the radio.
[NSR – 01/07/2013]

MTN signs contracts with Windstar Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises and The World to provide array of VSAT services.
[Satellite Today – 01/07/2013]

Marlink completes series of new FSAT installations aboard De Poli Tankers BV vessels.
[SatNews – 01/07/2013]

NSR’s Broadband Satellite Markets report, 11th edition, assesses installed base of sites or subscribers in seven different regional markets, investigates market growth trends, forecasts service and equipment revenue, and predicts satellite capacity requirements.
[NSR – December 2012]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

India plans to double on-orbit transponders by 2017 under five-year government investment program.
[Space News – 12/28/2012]

South Korea recovers what it believes to be debris from the North Korean rocket launched this month.
[Space Travel – 12/28/2012]

SpaceX’s 10 story Grasshopper rocket ascends to 40 meters and hovers in 3rd test flight.
[Space News – 12/28/2012]

Russia embarks on 2.1 trillion rubles (about $70 billion) 7-year state program for development of national space industry.
[Space Daily – 12/28/2012]

Iran Space Agency announces it will unveil new home-made satellite in February.
[Space News – 12/27/2012]

Orbcomm enters into a launch agreement with SpaceX to launch up to 18 Orbcomm second-generation commercial communications satellites.
[Satellite Today – 12/27/2012]

Chinese offers services on Beidou satellite navigations network to users in Asia-Pacific region, in competition with America’s Global Positioning System.
[Space News – 12/27/2012]

U.S. Air Force selects AGI and A.I. Solutions to support Pentagon Space Ops Center upgrade.
[Space News – 12/27/2012]

Angosat, the first satellite for the nation of Angola, is being built by a Russian consortium.
[Satellite Today – 12/26/2012]

NASA’s newest Landsat satellite arrives at Vandenberg AFB in preparation for January launch.
[Space News – 12/26/2012]

U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center releases request for proposal intended to move Space Fence program forward.
[Space Daily – 12/24/2012]

Maldives communications minister claims the country is potentially entitled to an orbital slot, and that two Chinese companies approached the country’s defence minister about launching a satellite during his recent visit to China.
[Minivan News – 12/23/2012]

 WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

ESA and the European Union’s executive commission may be on collision course over space policy authority.
[Space News – 11/30/2012]

Astrium is commissioned to build two new research satellites for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

ESA and Germany disagree on test site for Ariane 5 ME upper stage.
[Space News – 11/30/2012]

Satmex 8 arrives at Baikonur Space Center where it will by launched by ILS aboard Proton Breeze M rocket.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

Orbital Science replaces SpaceX on Stratolaunch project.
[Space News – 11/30/2012]

U.S. Air Force expects throughput to double on the newest WGS satellites.
[Space News – 11/30/2012]

U.S. Strategic Command accepts firs Mobile User Objective System satellite for initial operational use.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

Telesat welcomes recently released Report of the Aerospace Review mandated by Minister Paradis addressing many of the critical issues facing Canada’s space industry.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

Syrians turn to satellites as the country’s Internet connections are shut down, although instances of jamming are making even that challenging.
[Computer World – 11/30/2012]

Globecomm is awarded option year two of five year contract from U.S. Government agency for $6.8 million to provide satellite and network services.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

Beam Communications Pty Limited enters into strategic product development initiative with Iridium Communications to build new end customer solution product.
[SatNews – 11/30/2012]

South Korea’s KSLV-1 carrier rocket scheduled for Thursday afternoon launch. [Ria Novosti – 11/29/2012]

Liftoff for Pleiades 1B payload aboard fourth Arianespace Soyuz mission of the year is a go for Friday evening.
[SatNews – 11/29/2012]

Much of more than $1 billion in commercial satellite capacity purchased annually by U.S. government sits idle because the agency responsible for allocating the bandwidth does not know when the capacity is not being used.
[Space News – 11/29/2012]

Defense bill amendment would extend U..S. commercial launch companies’ liability shield and allow NASA to keep using Russia to support International Space Station, provided minimum funding guarantee for NASA’s heavy-lift rocket also passes.
[Space News – 11/29/2012]

Encompass Digital Media acquires TIBA Satellite Services S.A.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 11/29/2012]

SES gets long-term capacity agreement on SES 4 with Level 3 Communications to deliver advanced corporate communications services to businesses across Brazil. [SatNews – 11/29/2012]

Comprehensive space weather forecasting system could cost $2 billion.
[Next Gov – 11/28/2012]

GOES-R replacement weather satellite program passes Mission Critical Design Review. [SatNews – 11/28/2012]

Japan selects SkyPerfect JSat-led consortium to build and launch two X-band military satellites.
[space News – 11/28/2012]

SupremeSAT-1, Sri Lanka’s first satellite, launched by China.
[gant daily – 11/28/2012]

Sea Launch will provide backup launch services for AsiaSat.
[Satellite Evolution Group – 11/28/2012]

Chinese launch places European-built Chinese-owned telecommunications satellite in orbit.
[Spaceflight Now – 11/27/2012]

SES signs deal with ESA to support innovation in satellite broadband communication.
[eqjuities.com – 11/27/2012]

SES to provide broadband services for Parliamentary election=s in Burkina Faso. [Satellite Evolution Group – 11/27/2012]

Astrium Services gets order to fit six UK Royal Navy mine countermeasure vessels with military X-band satellite communications capability.
[SatNews – 11/27/2012]

Hughes Network Systems announces new high-speed Internet service plans offering speeds up to 15Mbps for U.S. government agencies.
[SatNews – 11/27/2012]

NewCom launches iDirect based satellite distance education network serving 26 schools in Northern Colombia’s Paramillo Region.
[SatNews – 11/27/2012]

GeoEye partners with Japan Space Imaging Corporation to provide major Japanese ministry with access to comprehensive high-resolution satellite imagery of all of Japan.
[SatNews – 11/27/2012]

Range Global Services becomes distribution partner for VSAT provider X2nSat.
[The Maritime Executive – 11/27/2012]

ESA and EUMETSAT sign agreement on Meteosat Third Generation weather satellite system.|
[SatNews – 11/26/2012]

GVF Ka Roundtable Assembly in London December 5th and 6th to bring leading satellite industry technology and service providers together to discuss the impact of Ka-band in the broadband satellite market.
[GVF Ka Roundtable Assembly]
WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

SpaceX got the job done: the Dragon capsule has docked with the International Space Station!

Check out their B-roll video….

SpaceX B-Roll Package for Broadcast from SpaceX on Vimeo.

Actually, they opened the hatch early because they had the munchies (hat-tip to SpaceFlightNow.com).

“Looks like we’ve tamed the Dragon,” radioed space station commander Suni Williams. “We’re happy she’s on-board with us. Thanks to everyone at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her here to us, and the ice cream.”

Judging by their launch manifest, I’d say these SpaceX folks are for real and will be around for many years.

The payload deployment test shown above moves the FalconSAT-7 mission forward, which is scheduled for 2015. Why is this “cubesat” important? It uses diffraction instead of refraction or reflection and it is becoming a real alternate to a large space-based observatory in studying the Sun’s chromosphere — especially in the H-alpha wavelengths.

The cubesat is being developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, among others, including the NRO, DARPA, AFOSR, AFIT, MMA Design and AFRL.

A photon sieve is a novel optical element consisting of a flat opaque sheet with millions of tiny holes. Light passing through these holes is focused in a similar manner to a lens or a mirror. Photon sieves have several key advantages over those more conventional optics:

• Focusing can be achieved from a flat, thin sheet that can be unfurled from a very compact, lightweight package
• Surface quality tolerances are orders of magnitude more relaxed
• The fabrication costs are much lower

The trade-offs include:

• Lower efficiency / loss of light
• Narrow bandwidth giving what are essentially grayscale images

The photon sieve will have the following design parameters:

• 200mm diameter, 400mm focal length, 656.3nm wavelength
• 2.5 billion holes ranging in size from 2-277 microns
• 50% fill factor, 30% focusing efficiency

The telescope has a relatively simple design due to space constraints and has:

• 4 µrad resolution which equates to 600 km at Sun surface
• ~0.1 degree field of view (about a 1/5th of the Sun’s disk)

Clockwise from top left: A 4-inch photon sieve lit by laser light. The focal spot produced. A magnified image of the central 25mm. An image of a resolution chart produced by the sieve. An interferogram of the wavefront that indicates perfect focusing capability.

NSR report projects strong long term growth in government and military demand for satellite services in spite of short term slump caused by troop withdrawals and budgetary challenges.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Dish Network offers broadband Internet to underserved U.S. rural market.
[Chicago Tribune – 09/28/2012]

Indra closes with European Space Agency the definition of requirements for management system for Spanish satellite Ingenio.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Beam Communicatons entire range of Inmarsat products approved for sale into Japanese market.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Astrium Services is awarded ESCPC framework contract by the EDA for commercial satellite communications for European military needs.
[Defence Professionals – 09/28/2012]

Four instruments on the Metop-B weather satellite activated this week.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Danish shipping company TORMN selects Inmarsat XpressLink to deliver next generation high-speed broadband to its entire bulk carrier and tanker fleets.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Iridium Pilot terminals to be added to NSSLGlobal’s portfolio.
[SatNews – 09/28/2012]

Canadian pioneer in space technologies recalls NASA’s first reservations that Alouette satellite program was too ambitious.
[The Province – 09/28/2012]

Arianespace’s Ariane 5 mission with ASTRA 2F and GSAT-10 gets go ahead for September 28. [Space Ref – 09/27/2012]

GE Capital’s GE 23 satellite goes to Eutelsat.
[Digital Edge – 09/27/2012]

TCS, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin team to produce affordable satellite terminals for protected communications on the move and at the halt.
[Defence Professionals – 09/26/2012]

First ECME and live hybrid event in Dubai and Bahrain deemed huge success.
[AME info – 09/26/2012]

Satellite communications have crucial role in helping bridge digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa.
[African Business Review – 09/26/2012]

Astrium reveals first demo of robotics in space for maintenance and disposal of satellites.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

ORBCOMM’s first OG2 satellite to launch on October 7.
[4-traders – 09/25/2012]

Collaborative efforts of stakeholders in the satellite industry and Pacific militaries improve disaster preparedness in the Pacific with training program at Changi Naval Base.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

Spacenet to showcase “Pay-as-You-Use” emergency communications solutions at International Association of Chiefs of Police.
[Daily Finance – 09/25/2012]

Bentley Walker unveils new Freedomsat service to Iraq and Afghanistan, the fastest satellite broadband connection available in both countries to date.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

Cassidian and Astrium enhance regional Tatrapol networks, enabling interconnection of the networks over satellite.
[Defence Professionals – 09/25/2012]

Air Force Space Command to build Space Fence radar site on Kwajalein Island in 2017.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

ViaSat developing a vertically integrated communications play.
[Seeking Alpha – 09/25/2012]

Russia’s first satellite manufactured and operated by a private firm to be launched next year.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

Vizada to showcase latest innovations in maritime communications at National Marine Electronics Conference in Orlando, FL.
[SatNews – 09/25/2012]

Telesat mounts PR offensive in Nunavut to prove relevance of satellite communications in spite of the company’s battered reputation.
[Succeed – 09/24/2012]

U.S. Weather satellite used for East coast hurricanes is busted.
[SatNews – 09/24/2012]

SpaceXs Grasshopper vertical takeoff and landing test vehicle takes first test flight hop.
[SatNews – 09/24/2012]

Lockheed Martin reaches major software design milestone in development of “switchboard in the sky” for Iridium NEXT constellation.
[Sacramento Bee – 09/24/2012]

MDA-Loral satellite deal clears U.S. national security hurdle.
[Reuters – 09/21/2012]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services