Really Rocket Science

Lots of fakes out on YouTube. The above video is for real, hopefully, and deserves a look.

And you can always trust our friends at NASA. Take, for example, today’s APOD…

Perseid Meteors and the Milky Way 
Image Credit & Copyright: Jens Hackmann

Explanation: Where will the next Perseid meteor appear? Sky enthusiasts who trekked outside for the Perseid meteor shower that peaked over the past few days typically had this question on their mind. Six meteors from this past weekend are visible in the above stacked image composite, including one bright fireball streaking along the band of the background Milky Way Galaxy. All Perseid meteors appear to come from the shower radiantin the constellation of Perseus. Early reports about this year’s Perseids indicate that as many as 100 meteors per hour were visible from some dark locations during the peak. The above digital mosaic was taken nearWeikersheim, Germany.

Growing Gallery: Perseid meteor shower image

Over 300 meteors captured in this one…

Roskosmos launches investigation into latest Proton rocket failure, establishing an inter-agency commission for the investigation.
[Satellite Today – 08/10/2012]

UK offers aid to Syrian opposition including satellite phones, medical supplies, and body armor.
[Washington Post – 08/10/2012]

Cobham wins contract to supply electronic systems to Boeing’s Wideband Global SATCOM satellite programme.
[ShareCast – 08/10/2012]

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says ” . . . we can not stand this any longer” of the continuing failures of Proton launches causing loss of prestige and money for Russia’s space program.
[msnbc – 08/09/2012]

Most recent failure of Proton rocket will delay launch of Dish Network’s EchoStar XVI satellite.
[FierceCable – 08/09/2012]

NASA signs agreement to use services of the Space Data Association, established by commercial satellite operators to improve safety and efficiency of space operations.
[SatNews – 08/09/2012]

Spinning Enhance Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instrument aboard the MSG-3 satellite captures its first image of Earth.
[SatNews – 08/09/2012]

Northrup Grumman joins the Hosted Payloads Alliance, joining aide variety of companies that support increasing role for defense and commercial contractors in helping government agencies find timely and cost effective ways of acquiring space assets and services.
[SatNews – 08/09/2012]

Gilat Satellite Networks announces that Argentina’s Servicio Satelital S.A. has selected Gilat’s SkyEdge II Hub and broadband satellite platform to upgrade its existing network and provide support to hundreds of new sites.
[SatNews – 08/09/2012]

Maxwell Technology’s SkyeMax product offering affordable satellite internet access to South Africa’s farming and rural communities.
[SatNews – 08/09/2012]

Failure of the launch of Telkom 3 and Russian Express MD2 may indirectly affect launch of Ukraine’s Lybid satellite.
[Sinoptik – 08/08/2012]

Two telecommunication satellites lost in failure of Proton-M rocket booster – Telkom 3 of PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, and Russian Express MD2.
[redOrbit – 08/08/2012]

Intelsat sponsors Global VSAT Forum two-day training program for VSAT installers at Pacific Endeavor workshop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore.
[SatNews – 08/08/2012]

NASA selects three companies – Boeing, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corp – to develop space taxis to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.
[R&D Magazine – 08/07/2012]

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announces its SAT Corporation subsidiary has significantly increased its Interference Detection and Geolocation service coverage with two new sites in Maryland and Hawaii, and now covers 1,127 beams from 269 commercial satellites, almost 90 percent of the world’s FSS constellation.
[SatNews – 08/07/2012]

Sirius profit soars on $3 billion income-tax benefit.
[Market Watch – 08/07/2012]

AsiaSat announces signing of Dubai Media Incorporated to broadcast two free-to-air satellite channels throughout the Asia-Pacific region on AsiaSat 5.
[SatNews – 08/07/2012]

Gilat Satellite Networks showcases lightweight compact satellite communication solution for unmanned aerial vehicles.
[4-traders – 08/07/2012]

Ball Aerospace demonstrates military X0-band MMLCA mobile satellite communications system using phased array antenna.
[Satellite Today – 08/07/2012]

Bulgaria to launch domestic satellite for the first time in more than 20 years.
[Satellite Today – 08/07/2012]

NASA’s most advanced robotic explorer Curiosity steers itself through thin atmosphere and  lands successfully on Mars – NASA releases low-res video of descent.
[R&D Magazine – 08/06/2012]
[R&D Magazine – 08/07/2012]

Russia and UK discuss number of space projects, and Russian President Vladimir Putin says “We plan to launch several British satellites” while summing up his short visit to London.
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

Siemens CMT releases first Carrier ID Detection System (for combatting satellite interference) by successfully completing the upgrade installation of the latest SIECAMS version.
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

Thuraya IP now offers streaming speed of 512 Kbps, double the previous speed.
[telecompaper – 08/06/2012]

The 2012 DStv Eutelsat Star Awards want African students to answer the question “How can satellite technology help expand Africa’s horizons into the future?”
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

As we head into another peak sun cycle over the next two years, scientists are again pointing to a heightened risk that a whopping solar storm could knock out power grids, satellites, and communications.
[Insurance Journal – 08/06/2012]

Space Systems/Loral happy with launch of Intelsat 20 by Arianespace, as satellite deploys solar arrays on schedule and fires main thruster to complete travel to geostationary orbit.
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

SkyVision Global Networks acquires Afinis Communication SA, a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications and leading provider of connectivity solutions in francophone Africa.
[Telecom Tiger – 08/06/2012]

DigitalGlobe satellite earth observation photo shows scene of Olympic Village, London, before arrival of the masses.
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

SES announces multi-year capacity deal with Eurovision, increasing capacity to 54 MHz and using SES teleport and NSS-806 satellite to broadcast London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to audiences in Latin America.
[SatNews – 08/06/2012]

Hylas 2, recently launched by Avanti, to offer high speed data across MEA and caucasus.
[ITP.net – 08/06/2012]

India to launch three satellites in September and two more by the end of this year. [SatNews – 08/06/2012]

Israeli legal organization states ‘telecommunications giant admits it violated Iran sanctions’ as it interprets letter from Inmarsat senior vice president explaining the company’s provision of satellite communications to Iranian oil tankers.
[Israel Hayom – 08/05/2012]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Here’s a time-lapse video of three new antennas being installed at the Sunset Beach East Station in Hawaii. They’re likely tracking antennas, as the O3b spacecraft will be LEOs.

Dig the “happy antenna dance” at the end.

SES and Astrium put together a video of how and why a spacecraft gets built, launched and operated.

Here’s the short version…

And here’s the long version…

Want to see the raw footage? Yeah, that’s here, too…

SpaceX wins $440 million NASA contract to develop successor to the Space Shuttle and transport American astronauts into space.
[SatNews – 08/04/2012]

Globecomm Systems gets multiple infrastructure contracts from a foreign government worth $3.7 million.
[SatNews – 08/04/2012]

Two communications satellites, Hylas 2 and Intelsat 20, successfully launched aboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in 50th straight successful launch.
[Space News – 08/03/2012]

United Launch Alliance scrubs launch of Atlas V from Vandenberg carrying National Reconnaissance Office NROL-36 payload, with new launch no earlier than August 14.
[SatNews – 08/02/2012]

Futron announces publication of fifth-anniversary edition of 2012 Space Competitiveness Index: A Comparative Analysis of How Countries Invest in and Benefit from Space Industry.
SatNews – 08/03/2012]

Hoping the FCC will allow it to use spectrum next to satellite radio services for LTE following its agreement with Sirius XM, it announces plans to acquire NextWave Wireless and its spectrum licenses.
[arstechnica – 08/02/2012]

Indra wins Hispasat contract to develop and implement ground control systems for new Amazonas-3 satellite.
[SatNews – 08/02/2012]

As refugees flee in Mali, they are using BGAN and IsatPhone Pro to keep in touch with loved ones complements of Inmarsat-sponsored emergency communications agency Telecoms Sans Frontieres.
[SatNews – 08/01/2012]

Three initial customers of Intelsat’s Epic line of high-throughput mobile communications, Panasonic Avionics, Harris CapRock, and MTN Satellite Communications, have booked $500 million in capacity over 10 years.
[Space News – 08/01/2012]

Norsat gets final acceptance from NATO’s NCI agency of dual Ku- and X-band portable satellite terminals customized to meet their specifications, following stringent in-field testing.
[Market Watch – 08/01/2012]

TeleCommunication Systems gets $19 million U.S. Army order for SNAP deployable satellite systems equipment and support.
[Market Watch – 08/01/2012]

ATK announces expanded product line of small, agile satellite buses designed for wide range of missions in civil, national security, and commercial applications.
[SatNews – 08/01/2012]

MTN Government Services is awarded contract supporting Department of Defense to provide Re-deployable Secure Operations Center.
[SatNews – 08/01/2012]

Harris receives $10 million order from Government of Canada for multiband manpack radios and satellite terminals.
[SatNews – 08/01/2012]

EUMETSAT Metop-A polar-orbiting satellite completes 30,000th orbit, having travelled more than 1.35 billion kilometres since 2006 launch.
[SatNews – 08/01/2012]

Satellite communications terminals becoming increasingly small and mobile, making it possible for warfighters on the front lines to receive critically needed brigade-level information at the platoon level.
[Military Aerospace – 07/31/2012]

Air Force awards Boeing contract to produce 10th WGS satellite.
[Avionics – 07/31/2012]

ESA begins investigating feasibility of new approach for European access to space, aimed at making Europe’s launch services fully self-sufficient over the long haul.
[SatNews – 07/30/2012]

DigitalGlobe partners with Enough Project to provide imagery and analysis services to monitor eviden=ce of bombings, razed villages, and possible threats to civilians in Sudan in the Satellite Sentinel Project.
[SatNews – 07/30/2012]

COM DEV of Ottowa, Canada, delivers two instruments for the largest, most complex, and most powerful telescope ever built, the James Webb telescope, to be launched in 2018 as Hubble successor.
[SatNews – 07/30/2012]

Telkom of South Africa unveils SpaceStream Home, an IP based communication solution making use of the latest satellite technology.
[SatNews – 07/30/2012]

Under supervision from NASA Ames, inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California build Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployers for mounting cubesats on variety of launch vehicles and flinging them into orbit at right time.
[SatNews – 07/30/2012]

Boston area firms work on Department of Defense program called Phoenix, built on the bold vision of recycling rather than replacing satellites.
[boston.com – 07/30/2012]

inReach two-way satellite communicator that interfaces wirelessly with Android and Apple smartphones, and provides text messaging over Iridium satellite network, assists aircraft pilots.
[Thomasnet – 07/30/2012]

Inmarsat responds to letter from Shurat Hadin (Israel Law Center) regarding equipment provided for Iranian maritime vessles.
[SatNews – 07/29/2012]

SPAWAR selects Astrotech Corporation to provide payload processing services for second MUOS satellite.
[SatNews – 07/29/2012]

Russia launches classified military satellite and three civilian satellites.
[UPI – 07/28/2012]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Sorry, Euro-hipster communists: the moon landings weren’t faked by the U.S. government. The folks behind the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) recently released images showing the Apollo landings’ flags were still standing, except for Apollo 11. Buzz Aldrin said they knocked it down as they left the Moon’s surface.

From the LROC images it is now certain that the American flags are still standing and casting shadows at all of the sites, except Apollo 11. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin reported that the flag was blown over by the exhaust from the ascent engine during liftoff of Apollo 11, and it looks like he was correct! The most convincing way to see that the flags are still there, is to view a time series of LROC images taken at different times of day, and watch the shadow circle the flag (see movie below; the flag is just above the LM descent stage).

Some of the images from the Apollo landings are stunning — and for real!

Surrey Satellite Technology announces successful launch of exactView-1 satellite aboard Soyuz launcher.
[Directions Magazine – 07/27/2012]

Communications payload on MUOS satellite passes in orbit tests.
[Defense Systems – 07/26/2012]

China successfully launches Tianlian I-03 satellite, completing the country’s first data relay satellite network system.
[SatNews – 07/26/2012]

Dubai-based Sky-Stream selects two satellites operated by Eutelsat for capacity to support increasing demand from maritime and energy sectors.
[Market Watch – 07/26/2012]

SES signs long-term renewal with the U.K’s Channel 5 for one transponder.
[SatNews – 07/26/2012]

Norsat releases Satellite Locator application for iPhone on the App Store.
[Market Watch – 07/26/2012]

U.S. Export-Import Bank approves $1.2 billion to finance export of American-made telecommunications satellites to Mexico and Australia.
[Aerospace Manufacturing and Design – 07/25/2012]

TeleCommunication Systems gets $7.3 million funded U.S. Army order for SNAP deployable satellite systems equipment and support.
[Market Watch – 07/25/2012]

Intelsat announces partnership with Harris Caprock using Intelsat’s new Epic platform to service remote sites.
[IT Web – 07/25/2012]

MTN to deliver more than 2 gigabits per second to Caribbean cruise ship and yacht customers, using Intelsat EpicNG broadband connectivity.
[Market Watch – 07/25/2012]

GMV receives contract for MEASAT-3b communications satellite control center.
[Space Daily – 07/25/2012]

NASA’s Odyssey satellite orbit is successfully adjusted so it can provide prompt confirmation of Rover landing in August.
[SatNews – 07/25/2012]

Large inflatable heat shield for re-entry of vehicles into the atmosphere successfully survives hypersonic test by NASA.
[R&D Magazine – 07/24/2012]

Roscosmos launches group of five satellites aboard Soyuz-FG carrier rocket after regulatory delays.
[Satellite Today – 07/24/2012]

Globecomm announces receipt of $17 million contract from U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic for commercial-off-the-shelf satellite network and communications equipment and other services.
[EON – 07/24/2012]

Al Jazeera Networks (AJN) and Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, sign a Memorandum of Understanding to promote closer co-operation between the two companies in building out AJN network to reach rest of world.
[SatNews – 07/24/2012]

Frontier will be distribution partner for HughesNet Gen4 service, offered on the Echostar XVII satellite with faster broadband speeds.
[Telecompetitor – 07/24/2012]

NASA’s Landsat, the longest running earth-imaging satellite, turns 40.
[Nextgov – 07/23/2012]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Telespazio signs $200 Million deal with Italian Ministry of Defense as prime contractor to build high-resolution Earth observation military satellite system.
[Satellite Today – 07/20/2012]

Astrium wins contract to supply telecommunications products for NewSat’s Jabiru-1 satellite, to be built by Lockheed Martin.
[SatNews – 07/20/2012]

Avanti launches Pay-As-You-Go satellite broadband service across Europe, offering a high-speed Internet connection with no monthly subscription fees.
[Tech Week Europe – 07/20/2012]

RRsat signs contract with English Club TV Network Limited for distribution of its TV channel to Asia via the MEASAT satellite.
[SatNews – 07/20/2012]

SES to present newest developments in the satellite industry with series of seminars accompanying the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 7-11, 2012.
[SatNews – 07/20/2012]

SES announces that satellite has become the leading TV infrastructure in Europe, reaching approximately 84 million European households, and more than 1200 HD channels are available worldwide on the SES fleet of 50 satellites.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

United Launch Alliance completes crucial milestone in development and certification of the Atlas V launch vehicle for human spaceflight.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

ViaSat to provide UHF satellite network with new Integrated Waveform for more efficient use of satellite capacity  for the Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence.
[Market Watch – 07/19/2012]

iStreamPlanet and Haivision announce availability of the Go-Live Package live streaming and cross platform video playback solution for the London Olympics, to deliver premium HD video experience over the Internet.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

ESA selects e-GEOS to process satellite data from the Matera Space Center and support the operational activites of the Sentinel system.
[Satellite Today – 07/19/2012]

Russia invites India to participate in development of Glonass satellite navigation system.
[Satellite Today – 07/19/2012]

DigitalGlobe satellite imagery reveals a Syrian neighorhood ablaze, caused by the civil war violence.
[SatNews -07/19/2012]

Honeybee Robotics delivers hinges for deploying solar arrays to the National Space Organization in Taiwan for the new FORMOSAT-5 imaging satellite.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

Russia’s projected manned spacecraft capable of flights to the moon will not fly until 2018 according to head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

ATIS announces work effort to find technologies to provide backup to GPS for time and frequency transport and delivery for communications systems, needed because of susceptibility of GPS system to interference and jamming.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

Three-part NSR webinar to examine the value of each maritime target market, including its relative demand in terms of bandwidth and in-service units.
[SatNews – 07/19/2012]

Proposal for privatisation of AsiaSat fails in vote of independent shareholders and cannot be put into effect.
[SatNews – 07/18/2012]

Thuraya launches roaming service in USA in partnership with T-Mobile.
[SatNews – 07/18/2012]

U.S. Navy’s first next-generation narrowband tactical satellite communications system, MOUS, has completed on-orbit testing.
[UPI – 07/18/2012]

Launch of Russia’s “Nauka” multirole laboratory module for International Space Station set back from end of this year to end of next year due to technological and organizational problems at the Khrunichev Space Center.
[SatNews – 07/18/2012]

NASA to launch and deploy large inflatable heat shield aboard rocket travelling at hypersonic speeds to demonstrate lightweight yet strong inflatable structures for entry into atmospheres of Earth or other worlds.
[SatNews – 07/18/2012]

Intelsat announces Panasonic Avionics Corporation has contracted for as much as 1Gbps of capacity on the Intelsat EpicNG satellite platform to be used in delivery of aeronautical consumer broadband and live TV.
[SatNews – 07/18/2012]

Two satellite passengers, HYLAS 2 and Intelsat 20, for Arianespace’s next heavy-lift Ariane 5 mission scheduled for August 2nd, are undergoing final preparations at Spaceport in French Guiana.
[SatNews – 07/17/2012]

ISRO ready to ship GSAT-10 communication satellite to Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana in preparation for September launch.
[Satellite Today – 07/17/2012]

NASA selects SpaceX to launch the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Jason-3 spacecraft in December 2014 aboard a Falcon 9 v1.0 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
[SatNews – 07/17/2012]

Globalstar beginning to turn around after resolution of litigation over delayed satellite deliveries which caused  troubles meeting employee count required by agreement to relocate to Louisiana from California.
[WWLT V – 07/17/2012]

Ball Aerospace & Technologies STPSat-3 spacecraft built for U.S. Air Force will host five payloads and a de-orbit module when in launches in 2013.
[SatNews – 07/17/2012]

TeleCommuication Systems receives $11.3 million in additional funding to support deployed communications systems for U.S. Marine Corps.
[Market Watch – 07/17/2012]

Gilat Satcopm establishes new Point of Presence facility in Sierra Leone.
[SatNews – 07/17/2012]

Satellite operators led by Eutelsat, Intelsat and SES, complete process of adapting earth station information tables to implement Carrier ID in time to guarantee quality of DVB satellite transmissions of the London Olympics.
[Sacramento Bee – 07/17/2012]

India’s Isro enhancing capacity in terms of rockets, satellites, and ground-based systems to meet growing demand for enhances services in communications, broadcasting, remote-sensing and navigation.
[First Post – 07/17/2012]

Launch of first Azerbaijani communication satellite is put off for January-February 2013.
[ABC.AZ – 07/17/2012]

NovelSat launches NS3000 modem that can achieve data rates of up to 716Mbps with bandwidth increases of between 20 and 50% over DVB-S2 alternatives.
[SatNews – 07/17/2012]

Barger Corporation announces purchase of one of largest and most expensive non-military communications satellites from the European Space Agency, at 19,000 lbs., of the Envisat class, and costing $2.1 billion.
[rushpr News – 07/16/2012]

Soyuz spacecraft launches from Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with NASA, Russian, and Japanese astronauts bound for International Space Station.
[SatNews – 07/16/2012]

ESA takes control of MSG-3 satellite following successful series of in-orbit tests.
[SatNews – 07/16/2012]

SES, Northrop Grumman, and NATO join forces for NATO’s Joint Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance  system.
[SatNews – 07/16/2012]

European Broadcasting Union gives more than 70 EBU Members up to eight MPEG 4 decoders each to ensure flawless access to 12 HD multilateral signals for the London Olympic Games, saying goodbye to SD signals.
[SatNews – 07/16/2012]

Canadian Defence Department tests Astrium Services’ AirPatrol satellite communications system for coastal surveillance system.
[Ottawa Citizen – 07/16/2012]

NASA’s Launch Services Program selects United Launch Alliance’s Delta II launch vehicle for three future missions; Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, July 2013; Soil Moisture Active Passive, October 2014, and Joint Polar Satellite System-1, in 2016.
[SatNews – 07/16/2012]

Liberty’s Malone plans to spin off Sirius XM and DirecTV.
[Satellite Today – 07/16/2012]

July-August 2012 issue of Satellite Executive Briefing highlights spirited debate at GVF Conference on Broadband Maritime.
[Satellite Markets – July-August 2012]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services

Excellent piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the Higgs boson discovery. Here’s the lead…

It took a very large village to find the Higgs boson — one with 10,000 scientists and engineers who came from 600 institutions in more than 100 countries. In the variety of languages one hears at the European Organization for Nuclear Research near Geneva, better known as CERN, it resembles the Olympic Village. But its common language is physics, not sports, and CERN differs from the other village in another important way: It aims to advance science through international cooperation; matters of national pride are left at the door.

Meanwhile, out at UC Berkley, it was standing room only in the Chan Shun Auditorium to hear physicists explain WTF all this excitement is about. Full video…

The Wikipedia entry says it best…

Proof of the Higgs field (by confirming its boson), and evidence of its properties, are seen as likely to greatly affect human understanding of the universe, validate the final unconfirmed part of the Standard Model as essentially correct, indicate which of several current particle physics theories are more likely correct, and open up “new” physics beyond current theories. On 4 July 2012, the CMS and the ATLAS experimental teams at the LHC independently announced that they each confirmed the formal discovery of a previously unknown boson of mass between 125–127 GeV/c2, whose behaviour so far was “consistent with” a Higgs boson, while adding a cautious note that further data and analysis were needed before positively identifying the new particle as being a Higgs boson of some type.

Yes, it’s something to get excited about, but cool your electrons as we await confirmation.

This Kickstarter project has a ways to go, so give up a few bills for the guy…

Here’s how it all started…

It’s scheduled to go up via SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2013.