Really Rocket Science

Satellite Broadband on Airplanes: A New Era Set To Begin (Part Two).
[A Satellite Today Webinar October 25, 2011]

Arieanespace detects ground-based Soyuz fuel leak; postpones Galileo Launch.
[Satellite Today – 10/21/2011]

DARPA seeks innovators for its satellite servicing technology programs, with  goal of cooperatively harvesting and re-using valuable components from  nonworking retired satellites in geosynchronous orbits.
[SatNews –  10/21/2011]

SES will invest $4.1B in Latin America and Asia expansion efforts.
[Satellite Today – 10/21/2011]

China expects to launch its first Mars probe between November 8th and  November 20th, following a two-year delay.
[SatNews –  10/21/2011]

Boeing delivers 50,000th Combat Survivor Evader Locater combat search and  rescue communications system to U.S. joint services.
[SatNews –  10/21/2011]

Democratic Voice of Burma web site says Burmese government is preparing to  allow licenses for satellite television receivers again following a six-year  ban.
[Advanced Television – 10/21/2011]

TSF (Telecoms Sans Frontieres) faces conflict and insecurity and can only be  on site in daytime as it works to establish communications for humanitarian  organizations in Sirte Libya, Gaddafi’s home town and where he was killed.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

ViaSat-1, touted as DSL competitor, is in orbit following International  Launch Services Proton rocket launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
[Space News  – 10/20/2011]

Space Systems/Loral announces that ViaSat-1 is performing post-launch  maneuvers according to plan.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

Telesat, owner of nine Canadian beams on ViaSat-1, is delighted with the  successful launch of the satellite; has 15-year agreement with Xplornet  Communications for use of the capacity.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

ViaSat-1, launched Wednesday afternoon aboard Proton rocket in Kazakhstan,  will allow Xplornet of Canada to provide broadband service to 1.5 million North  American customers, and download speeds up to 25 Mbps.
[CBC News – 10/20/2011]

NASA pushes back NPOESS weather satellite launch by one day to October 28.
[Satellite Today – 10/20/2011]

Russia’s space program – presently the only way that the United States can  access the International Space Station, also seeks to match or even surpass the  United States in overall space capabilities.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

Hermes Datacomms announces that offshore and onshore VSAT services are back  in full operation in Libya.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

EUMETSAT’s Metop-A achieves 15 years of service, providing weather and  climate monitoring for Europe.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

Euroconsult consulting firm says governments will continue to drive Earth  observation industry over the coming decade through new satellites and growing  demand for data.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

KVH opens Asia-Pacific headquarters featuring state-of-the-art demo and  training lab to serve partners and customers.
[MarketWatch – 10/20/2011]

German scientific satellite Rosat may fall to earth this weekend.
[Washington Post – 10/20/2011]

Selex Elsag of Italy to upgrade NATO’s satellite communication systems and  associated infrastructure.
[UPI – 10/20/2011]

Indian media criticizes government for constant delays in the Indian military  satellite program.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

NSD reaches 20 million homes (100 million viewers) for its Indian pay-TV  service.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

Bently Walker selected by Wayuyu Taya Foundation to provide satellite  Internet to Los Lechosos school in remote area of Venezuela.
[SatNews –  10/20/2011]

Government and Defence markets prepare for significant growth in satellite  data rates, according to leading international satellite market research and  consulting firm NSR.
[SAT PR – 10/19/2011]

Newtec expects significant growth based on the NSR report on Government and  Defence markets, posturing its FlexACM as a solution for maximizing bandwidth  efficiencies.
[SatNews –  10/19/2011]

SkyBlue receives third extension to its Iridium frequency bandwidth approval  for aviation satellite communications in China.
[Satellite Today – 10/19/2011]

Caribbean’s newest low fare airline REDjet chooses Blue Sky Network for new  tracking and communication systems.
[MarketWatch – 10/19/2011]

Farm groups anxious for resolution of issue of interference by proposed  LightSquared wireless network with GPS.
[AgAlert – 10/19/2011]

European Space Agency picks Thales Alenia Space to lead nine-month study on  satellite communications for unmanned aerial systems.
[UPI – 10/18/2011]

Globe Wireless is granted Blanket Wireless Radio Station License by Japanese  Ministry of Information and Communications, allowing it to offer Inmarsat  FleetBroadband mobile satellite services in Japan and on Japanese registered  vessels.
[Marine Link – 10/18/2011]

Sir Richard Branson, children Sam and Holly, and troupe of dancer/acrobats,  scale down, dancing, on walls of new Virgin Galactic Spaceport in New Mexico  during dedication.
[SatNews – 10/18/2011]

NASA books flight on Virgin Galactic, with options for two more, to allow  engineers, technologists, and scientific researchers to conduct experiments in  suborbital space.
[SatNews –  10/17/2011]

Newtec gives support for standardization and adoption of industry-wide  counter-measures to combat interference, with the DVB accepted work topic  Carrier ID as a first step.
[SatNews –  10/17/2011]

NASA and Japan release the most complete digital topographic map of Earth  produced to date.
[SatNews –  101/17/2011]

Small satellites from less-than-500-kilograms to less than 100 grams prompt  big ideas for next 25 years.
[Space.com – 10/17/2011]

Astrium accepts financial backing from European Space Agency to build new  high-speed data relay service for Europe while simultaneously creating a market  for it.
[Aviation Week – 10/17/2011]

Harris Corporation receives $51.5M delivery order for advanced satellite  terminals under U.S. Army’s Modernization of Enterprise Terminals program.
[Business Wire – 10/17/2011]

ViaSat wins U.S. DoD study contract to assess bandwidth cost reduction  methods for commercial communication satellite systems.
[Market Watch – 10/17/2011]

Locus Traxx to use GSM service from Vodafone, and ORBCOMM’s satellite  network, to support dual-mode SmartTraxx shipment monitoring, reporting, and  alerts solution.
[TMCnet – 10/17/2011]

WBMSAT satellite communications systems consulting services

Don’t mess with farmers — especially soybean farmers. They farmed $38.9 billion last year and now they’re getting together with 12 other national farmer groups to pick a fight with LightSquared.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) and a coalition of 12 other national producer groups that represent American farmers and all major crop commodities are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct additional targeted testing to ensure that any potential commercial terrestrial services offered by LightSquared will not cause harmful interference to Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) operations utilized by farmers to facilitate the production of an abundant and dependable food supply. In the agricultural sector, GPS-based technologies are responsible for an estimated $19 billion in higher annual farm revenue, in addition to considerable safety and environmental benefits. Thus, much is at stake for precision agriculture and this is why comprehensive testing is so important.

It would be totally unacceptable to expect the GPS community including government users, farmers, and other taxpayers to bear any cost for replacing equipment that ceases to function properly if solutions are found enabling LightSquared to move forward. Any costs associated with retrofitting or replacing GPS receivers must be borne by LightSquared.

“As users of GPS precision equipment in agricultural applications, we believe this additional testing is imperative,” said ASA First Vice President Steve Wellman, a farmer from Syracuse, Neb. “We need to know with certainty that any modifications and proposed solutions will work for new and existing precision agriculture equipment.”

Get in line, soy boys!

Interesting how LightSquared gave it a completely different spin…

This week, we received a strong endorsement of our view that LightSquared and GPS can co-exist from several of the country’s leading agricultural organizations: the American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sugar Alliance, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Farmers Union, National Potato Council and the Western Growers Association. These groups signed a joint letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees calling for them to work to ensure that the agricultural sector receives the benefits of LightSquared’s network alongside GPS. “We believe that both of these technologies have great potential to drive economic development in rural America and a reasonable agreement should be reached to allow for their future success,” the organizations wrote.

The soy boys aren’t endorsing you, so don’t interfere with GPS.

Defense Information Systems Agency proposes completely new approach to commercial satcom buying practices by creating Assured SATCOM Services in Single Theater program.
[Defense Systems – 10/14/2011]

From Skyterra to present day LightSquared – tiny satellite company takes gutsy risks in ambitious plan for nationwide wholesale satellite/terrestrial LTE network, finds itself embroiled in political partisan and lobbying battle.
[National Journal – 10/14/2011]

KORE makes available their KORE Global Connect M2M network delivering cellular and satellite services complemented by Iridium satellite services, enabling ubiquitous global coverage.
[SatNews – 10/14/2011]

Viasat airborne satellite communications systems exceed 500,000 operational flight hours; over 200 satcom equipped government aircraft transmitting ISR and C2 in theater.
[MarketWatch – 10/14/2011]

October 20 launch of Europe’s first Galileo navigation satellites will also mark the first Russian Soyuz rocket launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
[SatNews – 10/13/2011]

Charlie Ergen moving to fashion Dish Network into media empire based on delivery of video and data, leveraging acquired assets such as Hughes Communications and Blockbuster, and targeted online TV service Hulu.
[Business Week – 10/13/2011]

Eutelsat Board of Directors proposes Jean-Martin Folz as Board member; if elected he will be appointed by the Board as Chairman of Eutelsat, to succeed Giuliano Berretta.
[SatNews – 10/13/2010]

Orbcomm successfully launches VesselSat1, an Automatic Identification Service (AIS) enabled satellite built by OHB affiliate LuxSpace Sarl, onboard Indian Space Research Organization rocket.
[Satellite Today – 10/13/2011]

Two companies working on “remote robot gas stations” that could extend life of aging satellites running out of fuel.
[Space.com – 10/13/2011]

KVH bundles TracPhone V3 hardware with 1 GB data plan in special 3-year mini-VSAT broadband package in bundle promotion.
[MarketWatch – 10/13/2011]

Emerging Markets Communications announces first HD on demand pay as you go satellite videoconferencing service available for deployment to Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia (soon to include China and Central and South America).
[AMEinfo – 10/13/2011]

ORBCOMM and Locas Traxx to enable shipment tracking and monitoring solution.
[MarketWatch – 10/13/2011]

Connectify announces strategic partnership to offer Iridium AxcessPoint Connect to the mobile communications market.
[MarketWatch – 10/13/2011]

Home2US renews long-term capacity agreement on SES-1 and adds six new television networks and five new radio channels from Greece and Cyprus to its DTH lineup.
[MarketWatch – 10/13/2011]

French Navy patroller Cormoran to use Vizada’s satellite broadband connection and airtime for everything from surveillance to crew welfare.
[SatNews – 10/13/2011]

Netherlands plans to join the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) program to increase its satellite communications capacity.
[Aviation Week – 10/12/2011]

Indian Space Research Organization uses strategic delay to avoid possible encounter with space debris; accomplishes successful launch of four satellites, including Indo-French Megha-Tropiques.
[SatNews – 10/12/2011]

Lockheed Martin successfully completes end-to-end system test of first MUOS satellite, whose payload will provide immediate 16-fold increase over legacy UHF satellite communications in number and capacity of satellite links.
[PR Newswire – 10/12/2011]

Fort McMurray, Alberta to become major gateway for satellite broadband in Canada, as Xplornet Communications announces completion of 4G satellite ground station.
[Canada Newswire – 10/12/2011]

General Dynamics SATCOM technologies chooses Wavestream’s 16 Ka-band amplifier for their Model 20 Satcom-on-the-Move terminal.
[SatNews – 10/12/2011]

Eutelsat announces successful launch of W3C satellite by a Longh March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, Eutelsat’s 2nd launch in 2 weeks.
[TMCnet – 10/11/2011]

United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket placed atop its Cape Canaveral pad for the next Delta 4 launch which will carry the 4th WGS satellite aloft in January 2012.
[Spaceflight Now – 10/11/2011]

Canadian Telesat satellite outage blamed on software error.
[Satellite Spotlight – 10/11/2011]

Sofradir wins key contract to supply technology to new European Union Earth observation satellites.
[Satellite Today – 10/11/2011]

Spacenet Mexico launches digital cinema distribution network powered by iDirect’s Evolution platform.
[PR Newswire – 10/11/2011]

NASA releases interactive educational video game called NetworKing that allows players to “build” complex communications systems and gives an insider’s perspective into how astronauts, mission controllers, and scientists communicate during space missions.
[MarketWatch – 10/11/2011]

RRSAT offers customers 26% data rate increase using NovelSat3G-Sat modulation technology.
[The Street – 10/11/2011]

Expand Networks to demonstrate innovative satellite network optimization techniques that dramatically increase bandwidth efficiency at SATCON NY,
[SatNews – 10/11/2011]

Globecomm to discuss “File-based Distribution Over Satellite” at SATCON NY.
[Business Wire – 10/11/2011]

Satcom Direct includes Aircare Access(R) assistance 24/7 tele-medical support in suite of business aviation services.
[San Francisco Chronicle – 10/11/2011]

European Commission adopts decision meant to allow it to “adopt appropriate enforcement measures” in use of 2 GHz MSS spectrum as deadlines for 2 operators to deploy services there expired in May.
[EUROPOLITICS – 10/10/2011]

Hughes Europe will provide satellite communications support to the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness project in Turkey.
[Satellite Today – 10/10/2011]

Satcom Direct launches Satcom Integration, offering consulting services, products, custom integration, and software applications.
[Digital Journal – 10/10/2011]

WBMSAT satellite communications systems consulting services

动画演示“天宫一号”发射全过程

China’s Tiangong-1 is set to launch into low-earth orbit today, with the hopes of some day building a space station to rival the ISS.

Do they have a plan to dominate space? Not really. Dr. Morris Jones of Australia explains all in Space Daily…

This module is a small space laboratory with a single docking port. It is not the first module of a large Chinese space station, as some media reports are saying.

Tiangong 1 will test some of the technologies that will be used to build a large Chinese space station in the future, but it is not even a prototype of the modules that will be used to build the station.

Tiangong 1 will be used as a rendezvous and docking target for the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft, which will launch before the end of this year. China has never docked two spacecraft before. Shenzhou 8 will stay docked with Tiangong 1 for about three weeks, and will then send its descent module to a soft landing back on Earth.

If all has gone well with this flight, we can expect Shenzhou 9 to fly to Tiangong 1 in 2012, this time with astronauts aboard. They will live aboard the laboratory and their docked Shenzhou spacecraft for a short mission, then come home. Later in 2012, the Shenzhou 10 mission will also fly to Tiangong 1, delivering its second (and probably final) crew.

At this stage, we don’t know how many astronauts will be aboard Shenzhou 9 or 10. A maximum of three crewmembers can fly aboard one of these spacecraft. It’s possible that there will be two or three astronauts on these expeditions. At least one of the missions is expected to carry China’s first female astronaut.

Tiangong 1 is a vital step in China’s quest to develop a space station, but it must be seen as an intermediate program. Two more Tiangong laboratories are expected to be launched by China in the years ahead, gradually testing more technology for the space station.

Tiangong 3 is expected to have more than one docking port, and will possibly see another regular Tiangong module docked with it before a crew is launched there.

When China’s space station is finally assembled in orbit around 2020, the Tiangong spacecraft will see a new lease of life. It will be refitted to serve as a cargo carrier, delivering food and other supplies to the astronauts aboard the space station.

Yes, it’s a wonderful program, and we’ve been waiting a long time to see Tiangong fly. But please don’t confuse it with the next step in China’s space program. When the final space station is built, it will eclipse the modestly sized Tiangong laboratory in terms of size, performance and achievements.

Good luck!

Convenient launch window for QuetzSat-1 launch on Friday, and you can watch it live from the Baikonur Cosmodrome via Proton/Briz-M on 29 September 2011 @ 18:32 GMT (00:32 a.m. local time on 30 September 2011; 20:32 p.m. CEST, 14:32 p.m. EDT).

In North America, DISH Network Channel 101, and via C-band on AMC-3 at 87 degrees West, C4, downlink frequency 3780.0 MHz, vertical polarization, service ID 136201.

In Europe, Astra 19.2 degrees East, transponder 1.037, downlink frequency 11023.25 MHz, horizontal polarization, symbol rate 22.0 MSym/s, FEC 5/6, service ID 5232, service name QuetzSat-1 Launch.

A webcast is available via ILS Launch, beginning 20 minutes prior to launch window opening.

Go QuetzSat. Go Proton.

Nice to see Sea-Launch’s return to service after all that bankruptcy business in 2009.

Sea Launch AG has successfully launched the ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 7 broadcast satellite from the Equator on the ocean-based Odyssey Launch Platform, marking its first mission for Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) and its awaited return to launch operations following re-organization in late 2010.

The Zenit-3SL rocket carrying the ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 7 spacecraft lifted off at 13:18 Pacific Daylight Time (20:18 GMT/UTC) on September 24 from the launch platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude in international waters of the Pacific Ocean. One hour and seven minutes later, the Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the satellite, weighing approximately 4,600 kilograms (10,141 lbs.) and built by Astrium, an EADS company, into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 7 degrees West Longitude. Operators at the Hartebeesthoek ground station near Pretoria, South Africa acquired the spacecraft’s first signals from orbit shortly after spacecraft separation. All systems performed nominally throughout the launch mission.

Here’s the video, with dual English and Ukrainian countdown in the beginning, followed by the camera operator trying to keep the rocket in the frame while out at sea…

First global map of salinity of ocean surface produced from data  collected by NASA’s Aquarius, aboard the Aquarius/SAC-D  satellite/observatory.
[SatNews  – 09/23/2011]

RRsat expands backup and disaster recovery with Spacecom, acting as  Spacecom’s remote and mirror Earth station for telemetry monitoring, tracking,  and commanding (TT&C) and In-Orbit Testing (IOT).
[SatNews –  09/23/2011]

U.S. Department of Defense tracks NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite as its orbit decays, expecting to predict when – and possibly where – it will  re-enter the atmosphere.
[SatNews –  09/22/2011]

SES-2 satellite built by Orbital, with CHIRP hosted payload, successfully launched from French Guiana.
[Market Watch – 09/22/2011]

Japan launches new military Information Gathering Satellite known as  Optical-4, with primary mission to provide early warning of impending hostile  launches (prompted by 1998 North Korean missile launch).
[SatNewqs –  09/22/2011]

Two vessels receive Inmarsat-sponsored award recognizing extraordinary  courage and seamanship for their rescue of a party of 64 students from sinking  Canadian tall ship Concordia.
[SatNews –  09/22/2011]

Eutelsat’s ATLANTIC BIRD 7 satellite set for September 24 launch.
[Market Watch – 09/22/2011]

Defense Department’s 1000 lb., $150M 10-channel high power UHF satellite set  to launch September 27 from Kodiak, Alaska – expected to free troops in the  field from carrying heavy radio equipment and fiddling with antennas.
[Stars and Stripes – 09/22/2011]

Sea Launch, now 95% owned by Russian aerospace giant Rocket & Space Corp.  Energia and headquartered in Switzerland, set to launch its first rocket Friday  in over two years – ATLANTIC BIRD(TM) 7 for Eutelsat.
[LA Times – 09/22/2011]

Virgin Galactic unveils new $8M Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar  (FAITH) at Mojave Air and Space Port for final stages of production of  WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo.
[SatNews –  09/22/2011]

Thrane & Thrane to manufacture broadband terminals for Inmarsat’s Global  Xpress network.
[Reuters – 09/22/2011]

India seeks to disable satellite phones at the border to fight terrorism.
[ars technica – 09/22/2011]

Ariane 5 lifts off from French Guiana with Arabsat 5C and SES-2 one day after  being delayed by local strike by French Guiana workers.
[xinhuanet  – 09/21/2011]

China receives first contract in Europe to build communications satellite for  Belarus and launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
[Satellite Today – 09/21/2011]

South Africa’s one and only satellite, Sumbandila, out of contact with its  Mission Control and not downloading any images since being hit by blast of solar  radiation in July.
[SatNews –  09/21/2011]

LightSquared claims filter developed by high-precision GPS receiver  manufacturer Javad GNSS will fix problem of potential interference by  LightSquared planned LTE network, can be adapted for receivers already in the  market, and won’t make devices more expensive for consumers.
[Wireless Week – 09/21/2011]

Following successful trial on one of its LNG tankers, MOL LNG Transport Co.  Ltd. is adding the KVH TracPhone V7 satellite communications system and  mini-VSAT Broadband service to three of its LNG tankers.
[SatNews –  09/21/2011]

MTN Satellite Communications and Sensory International partner to deliver  global VSAT services and connectivity to superyachts.
[Market Watch – 09/21/2011]

Harris opens new and totally advanced center for manufacturing of tactical  radios and assured communication systems.
[SatNews –  09/21/2011]

General Dynamics receives FCC license for its Coms-on-the-Move terminals  enabling continuous access to private- and government-owned communications  satellites while on-the-move in vehicles.
[PR Newswire – 09/21/2011]

UtiliSat joins Satellite Industry Association as Associate Member.
[space ref –  09/21/2011]

Eutelsat and MultiChoice Africa Announce Winners of the First DStv Eutelsat  Star Awards in competition by over 800 students from across Africa.
[Sacramento Bee – 09/21/2011]

Gilat subsidiary Spacenet gets renewal contract valued at up to $27M from  U.S. retail giant for critical network solutions and potential store expansion.
[Market Watch – 09/21/2011]

NASA expects 26 of heaviest metal parts of a 20-year-old research satellite,  which should break into more than 100 pieces as it enters the atmosphere this  week, to reach Earth – but no one knows where.
[R&D Magazine – 09/20/2011]

Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket successfully launched with a military  purpose spacecraft aboard.
[SatNews –  09/20/2011]

Satmex signs multi-year multi-transponder lease agreement with Telefonica  subsidiary Media Networks Latin America.
[SatNews –  09/20/2011]

Ratheon fields first AEHF satellite communications terminals to U.S. armed  forces tactical units.
[Space Daily – 09/20/2011]

NewSat Jabiru-1 contracts reach $279M with latest $40.2M contract with  Quicklink Communications.
[Satellite Today – 09/20/2011]

Marlink and Sea Tel team up to provide satellite communications for third  Kaisei expedition seeking viable solutions to problems associated with marine  debris in North Pacific Gyre.
[Maritime Executive – 09/20/2011]

Vizada and ARINC renew partnership to deliver mobile satellite services to  commercial, government aviation customers.
[Military & Aerospace – 09/20/2011]

Gilat to supply VSATs for e-Education program in Latin American country.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/20/2011]

Zhongxing-1A satellite carried aloft by Long March-3B from Xichang Satellite  Launch Center in Sichuan Province, China.
[SatNews –  09/19/2011]

Senate Appropriations Committee approves $500M in funding for commercial  spaceflight as part of NASA’s 2012 budget.
[Satellite Today – 09/19/2011]

LightSquared CEO claims U.S. politicians using company as a pinata after  being denied opportunity to testify at U.S. House Armed Service Committee  hearing.
[Satellite Today – 09/19/2011]

Military communications satellite launched by China.
[Spaceflight Now  – 09/18/2011]

Component crunch slows delivery of Ka-band communications satellites as only  two companies manufacturing Ka-band TWTs, L-3 and Thales, are unable to keep up  with demand.
[Space News – 09/16/2011]

Low-cost Disaster Warning Dissemination System conceived by India Space  Research Organization can reach general public in local languages with early  warnings of potential weather dangers using satellite-based Direct-to-home  television broadcasts.
[Microwaves&RF – September 2011]

WBMSAT PS  satellite communications systems services

Say it ain’t so, Joe.

DISH Network’s Blockbuster brand will unveil a streaming service on Friday, via the Denver Business Journal…

CEO Joe Clayton and Blockbuster President Michael Kelly are scheduled to unveil the service from San Francisco in a press conference dubbed “A Stream Come True” (held via Ustream web streaming service, appropriately enough).

Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH), which rarely underplays a promotional opportunity, promises the service will be “the most comprehensive entertainment package ever!”

In addition to having the webstreaming technology that Blockbuster used, Dish Network has been rumored to be bidding for the online video service Hulu.

Whatever the outlines of the new Dishbuster service, it’s likely to salt Netflix’s recent wounds.

Shortly after buying Blockbuster, Ergen said the purchase wasn’t meant to knock Netflix from the top spot in movie-streaming, because Netflix likely had an insurmountable subscriber lead.

Last week, though, Netflix forecast actually losing subscribers this quarter, and falling 1 million short of its third-quarter projections.

On Monday, the 24 million-subscriber company surprised observers and sent its stock price lower by announcing it’s splitting the company — Netflix will focus exclusively on online movie streaming, and a new wholly owned subsidiary, called Qwikster, will carry on Neflix’s legacy business of shipping DVDs to subscribers by mail.

You put in three years of work into designing, planning and building a spacecraft. You test, test and test again. You select a dependable launch vehicle and schedule it. Lots of time and money goes into this kind of rocket science.

Final campaign begins and then, 30 days later, it’s launch day. Attendez une minute! The Union des Travailleurs Guyanais (UTG) decides to strike. That’s right: the Trade Union of French Guiana Workers has caused Arianespace to postpone the launch indefinitely.

The Trade Union of French Guiana Workers (UTG) initiated a strike within the TELESPAZIO company making unavailable certain means of measurement in the Space Center which are absolutely necessary for an Ariane launch. Consequently, Arianespace and CNES have decided to adjourn the launch.

Pay them what they want and get on with it! Somebody at Telespazio France is gonna get slapped.

Satellite operators SES SA and Telesat Holdings may need to stick to  partnerships to expand in fast-growing emerging markets as acquisitions are  often blocked by politics.
[Bloomberg – 09/16/2011]

Avanti Communications announces contract win for UK rural broadband supply.
[Proactive Investors – 09/16/2011]

Space Systems/Loral’s Viasat-1 Ka-band satellite arrives at Kazakhstan’s  Baikonur Space Center launch base.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/16/2011]

SES S.A. contracts with Osterreichischer Rundfunksender of Austria for a  fourth transponder at 19.2 degrees East to launch two new public broadcasting  channels in Austria.
[SatNews –  09/16/2011]

Space Weather research report states that solar superstorm could kill  majority of in-orbit weather, telecommunications, and military satellites in  less than a year.
[Satellite Today – 09/15/2011]

NASA selects designs of new heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule for ferrying  cargo, equipment, and science experiments to Earth’s orbit and beyond, as well  as serving as backup for transportation services to International Space Station.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

U.S. National Reconnaissance Office gets hit with budget cuts but preserves  science and technology funding used to develop unique capabilities including  advanced satellites, six of which have been launched in last seven months.
[Federal Times – 09/15/2011]

Weathernews Inc. of Tokyo, Japan sets date for launch of WNISAT-1 from the  Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia for next September – satellite will monitor ice  conditions in the Artic Sea.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

House Armed Services Committee hearing delves into LightSquared LTE plans and  potential interference with military GPS systems – FCC Chairman chooses not to  appear.
[Washington Post – 09/15/2011]

Eutelsat extends agreement with Russian Satellite Communications Company for  satellite control from Dubna.
[Market Watch – 09/15/2011]

European Space Agency and Arianespace sign contract for launch of BepiColombo  spacecraft, designed to explore planet Mercury.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

New Iridium personal services package includes capability to use Iridium  satellite communications device together with your smart phone in areas where  there is no wi-fi or cellular phone service.
[digital energy – 09/15/2011]

Globecomm Systems gets contract to host the enhanced and extended GSM  wireless network of Chariton Valley Wireless Services of Northeast Missouri.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

TCS does it again- $9.3M order from U.S. Army for SNAP deployable satellite  systems upgrades and spares equipment following earlier $20.7M in funding for  equipment and field services support of SNAP systems. .
[Market Watch – 09/15/2011] – [Market Watch – 09/14/2011]

ViaSat receives delivery order valued at approximately $27.6M for  Multifunctional Information Distribution System – Low Volume Terminals from the  Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

Gilat U.S. subsidiary Spacenet Integrated Government Solutions wins third  U.S. government contract to provide satellite communications services.
[Globes – 09/15/2011]

Northrop Grumman signs three-year agreement to become leased services  provider and network services distribution partner of Inmarsat’s satellite  services around the world.
[Emoney Daily – 09/15/2011]

Euroconsult 8th annual awards go to:  Global Satellite Operator of the  Year – Inmarsat; Strategic Transaction of the Year – EchoStar Corporation;  Regional Satellite Operator of the Year – AsiaSat; Broadband Satellite Operator  of the Year – Hughes Communications.
[SatNews –  09/14/2011]

European Space Agency shut down the second European Remote Sensing satellite  ERS-2 after 16 years of providing data for thousands of scientists and projects.
[SatNews –  09/14/2011]

FCC wants further tests of LightSquared’s proposed mobile broadband network  as concern mounts over possible interference with GPS.
[Mobiledia – 09/14/2011]

Sirius XM CEO expects significant revenue growth in 2012 after company raised  subscription fees for first time in about a decade.
[LA Times – 09/14/2011]

KVH to unveil new 1-meter TracVision(R) HD11 marine satellite TV system for  global HD with digitally programmable multi-beam Universal World LNB.
[Market Watch – 09/14/2011]

U.S. Navy announces plans to launch September 27 the Tactical Microsatellite  (TacSat)-4, funded by Office of Naval Research and developed by Naval Research  Laboratory to allow service members around the world to use handheld radio for  mobile communications in the field without having to set up a satellite antenna.
[Stars & Stripes – 09/13/2011]

Worries about Russian rocket reliability delay launches of U.S. and French  satellites and crew rotation for International Space Station.
[The Hindu –  09/13/2011]

Graduate students at Purdue designing and building rocket engine that could  land a vehicle on the moon.
[R&D Magazine – 09/13/2011]

Farstaed Shipping signs 5-year satellite communications contract with Harris  CapRock Communications for 53 offshore supply vessels.
[Market Watch – 09/13/2011]

Comtech receives $12.1M in orders for broadband high-power amplifiers to  un-named U.S. contractor.
[Bloomberg  Business Week – 09/13/2011]

Eutelsat aims to improve quality assurance standards for satellite TV ahead  of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
[Cable – 09/12/2011]

Hughes is awarded extension contract for U.S. Air Force study of commercial  communications satellite systems capabilities.
[Market Watch – 09/12/2011]

LightSquared forges ahead with another wholesale agreement, with VoX  Communications.
[Market Watch – 09/12/2011]

Arabsat announces that all necessary technical and logistics requirements for  global distribution of Saudi League matches in Europe and the U.S. have been  finalized.
[SatNews –  09/11/2011]

Thuraya IP, world’s smallest satellite high throughput solution, attracts  praised from British and French Ministries of Defence, will be showcased at  upcoming DSEi exhibition in London.
[Teletechwire – 09/11/2011]

LightSquared says it can avert interference problems with GPS systems by  limiting power levels and adjusting height and tilt of antennae.
[Kansas City Star – 09/10/2011]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services