Named after the scientific name for a killer whale and accurate to less than a millimeter, a new camera system developed by NEK is making waves in 3-D modeling.
The OrcaM system involves a large sphere, likened by one viewer as a giant maw, inside which one places the desired object for 3-D scanning. Once the object is placed inside, the sphere is sealed shut and the seven cameras and lights go to work. The cameras take simultaneous high-definition photos of the object at different angles. Serving to define the object’s geometry, various combinations of lights illuminate the object differently for every shot, capturing the finest details. After the photo processing, computer processing of the image creates the 3-D model. Observers say the end result is a highly impressive agreement of the real object.
U.S. Air Force launches the fourth Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) military communications satellite. [Aviation Week – 01/20/2012]
Greece’s main telecommunications operator OTE to sell its communications satellite HellasSat to face cash crunch brought on by euro-zone debt crisis. [Total Telecom – 01/20/2012]
Unnamed Pentagon official says it will propose cancelling a Northrop Grumman satellite, an Army missile, and a light attack aircraft for the U.S.A.F. [SatNews – 01/20/2012]
Russian Space Agency Roscosmos in talks with European and U.S. partners on creation of manned research bases on the Moon. [SatNews – 01/20/2012]
United Nations telecom meeting approves next generation IMT-Advanced mobile technology that will make devices 500 times faster than 3G and is expected to show up on consumer’s smart phones in two years. [R&D Magazine – 01/19/2012]
MilSpace 2012 to be held in Vienna, Austria on March 27th and 28th, bringing together internationally-recognized Military Space experts from across Europe and the U.S. to discuss crucial topics, global issues, and partnering between the military and private sector in space ventures. [SatNews – 01/19/2012]
Eutelsat suspends presence of Roj TV on its satellites following verdict of Court of Copenhagen that Roj TV is an instrument of the Kurdistan Workers Party with respect to their financial, structural and operational ties. [Market Watch – 01/19/2012]
Emergency.lu, a rapid communications solution for global disaster relief and humanitarian missions, is deployed for the first time in South Sudan by SES partners SES TechCom, Hitec, and Luxembourg Air Rescue. [SatNews – 01/19/2012]
Hughes Communications gets license to offer National Long Distance (NLD) services in India, allowing it to provide satellite backhaul services to Telecom service providers of Cellular, Media & FM, and Broadband fixed and Wireless. [Telecom Tiger – 01/19/2012]
SkyBitz makes available satellite asset tracking solution that works anywhere on the planet using a modem jointly developed by SkyBitz and Iridium, and using the iridium network. [SatNews – 01/19/2012]
NewSat Limited signs $7.5 million of new contracts in first half of fiscal 2012 to provide satellite communication services across Australasia and the Middle East. [SatNews – 01/19/2012]
Carl Icahn buying up LightSquared debt, as the company fights the GPS industry for FCC approval for its network, which had received approval from a GPS industry group in 2004 as being able to co-exist with GPS when operated under proposed limits. [Forbes – 01/19/2012]
Recognizing serious risk from space debris, U.S. will work with Europe towards an international space code of conduct that does not restrict U.S. national security interests in space – Secretary of State Clinton’s press release. [Global Post – 01/18/2012]
U.S. Air Force authorizes production of a ninth WGS communications satellite pursuant to an agreement between the Air Force and Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and New Zealand. [Daily Breeze – 01/18/2012]
Nine national security spacecraft ranging from spy platforms to navigation birds, communication satellites, and weather observatories to be launched on Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets following a U.S. Air Force $1.5 billion booster purchase. [Spaceflight Now – 01/18/2012]
Solar array problem on Telstar 14R/Estrela do Sul-2 satellite results in $132.7 million insurance payment to Telesat. [Space News – 01/18/2012]
SES and MagtiCom, the Georgian mobile and telecommunication company, launch MagtiSat, Georgia’s first domestic DTH satellite platform. [SatNews – 01/18/2012]
Major African satellite communications provider Intersat Africa signs new partnership with major teleport services provider Belgium Satellite Services to expand operations and service delivery in the African and Middle East markets. [Developing Telecoms – 01/18/2012]
Globecomm gets contract to install its crew Wi-Fi service on 40 ships in the Schulte fleet of German shipowner Reederei Thomas Schulte. [SatNews – 01/18/2012]
LightSquared claims that GPS interference tests were “rigged,” using selected outdated GPS devices certain to fail. [Wireless Week – 01/18/2012]
DARPA’s Galileo program seeks to connect ground-based telescopes and astronomical communities with precise fiber optic controls which could enable identification of retired satellites from which antennas or arrays might be harvested and repurposed for new satellites. [SatNews – 01/17/2012]
U.S. adds Canada and four other countries as partners who will contribute $620 million toward $1 billion price of a ninth WGS satellite. [Chicago Tribune – 01/17/2012]
Dish Network, having recently added spectrum with acquisitions of DBSD and TerreStar, could be a target of AT&T now that merger with T-Mobile has fallen through. [Business Week – 01/17/2012]
O3b enters partnerships with series of industry leading vendors including General Dynamics, SATCOM Technologies, Comtech EF Data, Gilat, and previously announced partner ViaSat, to provide comprehensive range of customer access systems delivering throughputs from 1Mbps to 1 Gbps. [SatNews – 01/17/2012]
After a year in service, German Earth observation satellite TanDEM-X along with its twin TerraSAR-X have completely mapped the entire land surface of Earth for the first time; data is being used to create world’s first single-source, high-precision, 3D digital elevation model of Earth. [SatNews – 01/17/2012]
Azerbaijan is committed to launching three satellites in the next three years. [Trend – 01/17/2012]
O3b, backed by Google, to launch its revolutionary new satellite-broadband service in 2013. [gigaom – 12/17/2012]
Kratos to complete development and fielding of RAIDRS system for Air Force Space Command and Missile Systems Center. [Market Watch – 01/17/2012]
SES-4, which will be largest and most powerful in the SES fleet, arrives at Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan. [SatNews – 01/16/2012]
Top government officials say there are “no practical solutions” to GPS interference problems caused by LightSquared’s planned mobile broadband network. [Wireless Week – 01/16/2012]
SIS LIVE, operator of largest satellite uplink fleet in Europe, signs contracts for additional capacity on two Eutelsat satellites. [Market Watch – 01/16/2012]
Abertis Infraestructuras, after selling 16% stake in Eutelsat, and having at present 33% of Hispasat, wants to take control of Hispasat. [Bloomberg – 01/14/2012]
Mobile satellite communications growth surge precipitated by need for greater throughput and need to communicate anywhere, anytime – Ka band provides much higher throughput, but provides challenges in antenna tracking. [Milsat Magazine – January 2012 issue]
Last week, while many were awaiting news of fresh electro-gadgets from the CES in Las Vegas, The American Astronomical Society held its 219th meeting in Austin.
At the meeting, research was presented on a vast, one-billion-light-year-wide map showing lots of dark matter…
Astronomers have created a vast cosmic map revealing an intricate web of dark matter and galaxies spanning a distance of one billion light-years.
This unprecedented task was achieved not by observing dark matter directly, but by observing its gravitational effects on ancient light traveling from galaxies that existed when the Universe was half the age it is now.
Constructed by astronomers from the University of British Columbia and University of Edinburgh, this is the largest dark matter map ever built and took five years to complete.
The research was presented at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas, on Monday.
Dark matter pervades the entire observable universe, accounting for 83 percent of the mass of the cosmos. But as it does not scatter or radiate light (or any kind of electromagnetic radiation for that matter), we cannot see it. Naturally, this poses an interesting problem for astronomers hoping to map the stuff.
However, astronomers can indirectly observe dark matter as its mass exerts a gravitational force on the space-time surrounding it. As light travels from distant galaxies, it will be bent around gravitational distortions in space-time — much like the paths of marbles rolling across a bent sheet of plastic — being caused by the dense regions of dark matter.
With this in mind, the international team of astronomers analyzed light from 10 million galaxies in four different regions of the sky — all of which are around 6 billion light-years from Earth.
It was in the cards. Keeping Blockbuster retail outlets open for video rentals is not a good business. The future, my boy, is “streaming.”
However, if you convert parts of the store into a Dish Network service center, you may have a really good proposition on your hands. Via Reuters…
“We are committed to keeping the profitable stores open that are generating positive cash flow, but there are ones that aren’t going to make it,” Clayton said in an interview. “We will close unprofitable stores. We will close additional stores.”
Clayton would not give a time frame on the closings or say how many stores were currently unprofitable. Spokesman Marc Lumpkin said the closings will be on a “case by case” basis.
Clayton, who became CEO of Dish last year when billionaire Charlie Ergen stepped down to focus on Dish’s wireless strategy as chairman, said the stores that stay open will sell Dish subscriptions and may one day provide customer support for its television customers.
“If a consumer has a problem, just bring your box in and we’ll give you a new one so you don’t have to stay at home and wait for an installation,” he said.
Subscribers to Dish’s Latino service may also be able to pay their TV bills in stores in metropolitan markets, he added.
Dish has tried to tap the Blockbuster brand by unveiling a new Internet streaming service and a program to rent DVDs by mail, in a bid to challenge Netflix Inc.
If they buy Hulu and add wireless spectrum to serve their streaming business, Dish Network can be very well positioned in remaining a good business model.
Ericsson appointed to install end-to-end systems integration and deployment of mobile and satellite communications throughout shipping company Maersk’s vessel fleet. [Engineering News – 01/13/2012]
Russian Mars probe falling to Earth this weekend reinforces perception that the sky is falling, as portrayed in an IMAX movie that debuts this weekend as well. [msnbc – 01/12/2011]
FCC reviewing decades-old TV rules preventing cable and satellite companies from airing NFL games and other sporting events that are blacked out on local broadcast TV. [USA Today – 01/12/2012]
Iridium and KVH team to provide first seamless global broadband maritime satellite communications service. [Sat PR News – 01/12/2012]
Lockheed Martin Space Systems gets $283.5 million contact to begin building third and fourth satellites for next generation of the Global Positioning System. [Philadelphia Business Journal – 01/12/2012]
British satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellite Technology celebrates sixth year of operation of GIOVE-A satellite, initiating Europe’s ambitious satellite navigation program, though the satellite only had design life of 27 months. [SatNews – 01/12/2012]
Sea Tel, GVF, and SatProf collaborate to provide online training with interactive 3D models in a program to ensure high-quality marine VSAT terminal deployments. [SatNews – 01/12/2012]
LightSquared seeks probe of federal official involved in deciding whether the company can deploy its hybrid satellite-LTE network, saying he simultaneously serves on the board of a GPS company opposing the network. [PC World – 01/12/2012]
Comtech receives $1 million order for SATCOM equipment to support mobile backhaul for a Latin American mobile operator. [Market Watch – 01/12/2012]
United Launch Services gets $1.516 billion contract to support launch of nine government satellites. [SatNews – 01/12/2012]
Diversity and routing, inherent in the Hughes Spaceway satellite, allow the satellite to act more like a mesh network than the traditional satellite, representing a possible “game changer” for communications. [Emergency Management – 01/12/2012]
Director of Florida’s Cape Canaveral rocket range cites busy 2012 launch schedule as proof there is life after NASA’s shuttle program. [Florida Today – 01/11/2012]
RRsat offering capacity at attractive prices on HOTBIRD satellite video neighborhood, which hosts 13 premium platforms, over 600 pay-TFV channels, 500 fee-to-air channels, and over 100 HDTV channels. [SatNews – 01/11/2012]
Blue Sky Network announces that the Caribbean’s newest low fare airline, REDjet, will use its satellite tracking, fleet management, and automated flight following solutions hardware. [SatNews – 01/12/2012]
Russia space chief says some of nation’s satellites may have been sabotaged by foreign forces. {Washington Post – 01/10/2012]
Frequency Electronics announces follow-on contracts to provide timing and microwave frequency sources for the next two WGS satellites. [Market Watch – 01/10/2012]
ViaSat offering 12 Mbps/ 3 Mbps residential home broadband service it calls Exede, using its new ViaSat 1 satellite. [theverge – 01/10/2012]
Belgium Satellite Services and Intersat partner to expand operations and service delivery in the Middle East and African markets. [Business Wire – 01/10/2012]
LightSquared owner meets with FCC staffers in appeal for approval of commercial service over the company’s network. [Nextgov – 01/10/2012]
New National Space Academy is launched, supported by Inmarsat, to create network of outstanding teachers and space scientists to support space science. [SatNews – 01/09/2012]\
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to be first commercial American space transport vehicle to use solar arrays for powering sensors, heating and cooling systems, and communications with Space Station and SpaceX’s Mission Control Center. [SatNews – 01/09/2012]
Chinese ambassador announces that China will launch Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite, Tupac Katari, in December 2013. [Satellite Today – 01/09/2012]
Hughes IP BGAN M2M 9502 terminal requires less than 1W of power when idle, enabling satellite M2M communications for those off the grid and in other vulnerable locations. [SatNews – 01/09/2012]
Dish to bet big on whole-home DVR with three tuners, one set to record up to 8 days of Prime-time programs from 4 major networks, and capability to connect to up to 4 TVs in the house. [gigaom.com – 01/09/2012]
United Cargo begins accepting OnAsset SENTRY 400 FlightSafe asset tracking device for transport on its entire mainline jet fleet of more than 700 aircraft. [SatNews – 01/06/2012]
Remarkable rescue of U.S. military satellite – the Advanced Extremely High Frequency 1 satellite is successfully undergoing in orbit testing after 14 months and nearly 500 maneuvers boosted it into orbit after the Liquid Apogee Engine failure in August 2010. [Space – 01/05/2012]
China sees its ambitious space program, with 5-year plan including moon landing, and a satellite observation and global positioning system rivaling that of the United States, as means to increase its role as a world power. [AFP – 01/05/2012]
Nigeria sees Sat Comm as the way to go for broadband connectivity, coupling satellite capacity with new generation mobile technology for last-mile connectivity, and leveraging the recently launched NigComSat-1R technology. [The Nation – 01/05/2012]
Arianespace preparing for busiest year of flight activity ever in 2012, benefitting from availability of three launch vehicles – Ariane 5, Soyuz, and Vega – side by side in French Guiana. [SatNews – 01/05/2012]
ViaSat enters into new five-year deal with National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative that will bring 12 Mbps next-generation satellite broadband service (Viasat 1) to market within weeks. [Sacramento Bee – 01/05/2012]
Comtech Telecommunications gets $1.1 million SATCOM equipment order from European integrator for ground equipment to upgrade European Ministry of Defense satellite earth stations. [Market Watch – 01/05/2012]
Department of Defense wants to create new satellite and robotic system to repurpose and reuse retired satellites sitting in geostationary orbit over the earth. [Information Week – 01/04/2012]
Industry team led by Intelsat General conducts successful tests verifying interoperability of hosted UHF payload on Intelsat 22 (to be launched in a few months) with legacy UHF radios. [SatNews – 01/04/2012]
Just as crippled Russian satellite, Phobos-Grunt, threatens to fall from the sky, a new film “Space Junk 3D” will open in IMAX and other giant screen theaters, exploring the exponentially expanding ring of manmade debris that threatens orbits around the earth. [Sacramento Bee – 01/04/2012]
ITT Exelis gets $121 million contract to support Army wideband satellite communications centers. [UPI – 01/04/2012]
GeoEye works with Russian partner, ScanEx Research and Development Center, to provide millions of square kilometers of high-resolution satellite imagery to the Russian Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre, and Cartography. [SatNews – 01/04/2012]
Hackers plan a satellite network to keep Internet going in case of disaster that affects its availability. [Information Week – 01/04/2012]
DeLorne’s inReach is personal communication device offering consumer-affordable two-way satellite communication, message delivery confirmation, remote tracking, and SOS emergency capability anywhere in the world. [Sacramento Bee – 01/04/2012]
Russian satellite Phobos-Grunt, which was stranded in Earth orbit on the way to Mars, is expected to fall back to Earth next week. [SatNews – 01/03/2012]
Comtech Telecommunications gets $16.6 million of orders to support U.S> Army’s movement tracking system and Blue-Force Tracking-1 programs. [Market Watch – 01/03/2012]
Globalstar Europe Satellite Services signs distribution agreement with TS2 Satellite Technologies, who will act as National Distributor for mobile satellite voice and duplex data products to defense, government, and private sectors in Poland. [Sacramento Bee – 01/03/2012]
Gilat wins $16 million extension to contract with Colombia to provide rural communications satellite services. [Globes – 01/03/2012]
Inmarsat in talks with Bharat Sanchar Nigam of India to form partnership to provide satellite broadband services in remote areas of India, and to the Indian Defence forces. [The Hindo Business Line – 01/02/2012]
ATCi is selected by U.S. Defense Department to supply Ka-band networks designed for high throughput Ka-band satellite communication systems worldwide. [SatNews – 01/02/2012]
YahLive signs partnership agreement with Etisalat to collaborate on satellite broadcasting services, allowing UAE based companies to broadcast in HD format for the first time. [SatNews – 01/02/2012]
Orbcomm to purchase subsidiary of PAR Technology in order to expand its share of the market for tracking clients’ assets and cargo. [northjersey.com – 01/01/2012]
Over The Top (OTT) (Video over the Internet) services are coming to DTH markets around the world – Super Bowl to be available in near HD in 2012 – will 2012 be the year of convergence? [NSR Report – January 2012]
There’s a new “hero of the motherland” in Russia this week. Her name is Lana Sator. She used an old tunnel entrance to gain access to one of the world’s most important rocket factories.
She took lots of cool pictures over five nightly trips through the tunnels. The Russian government? Not happy about it. She published their letters, too.
Chinese government reveals five year space plan, including more space laboratories and human space flight. [Forbes – 12/30/2011]
ORBCOMM to acquire PAR hospitality technology and services company, increasing its customer base in its asset and cargo monitoring business. [NASDAQ – 12/30/2011]
Skycasters is awarded General Services Administration contract to provide Internet services to GSA government agencies. [Satellite Today – 12/30/2011]
Hughes seeks access to United States market from its Jupiter Ka-band satellite licensed in the U.K and located at the 97.1 degrees west orbital slot. [Satellite Today – 12/29/2011]
Russian Soyuz rocket successfully launches six Globalstar mobile-communications satellites. Space News – 12/29/2011]
Russia’s most recent Soyuz launch failure, sending what should have been the fifth Meridian satellite placed in orbit instead crashing back to Earth, may have serious impact on Russian military communications. [Strategy Page – 12/29/2011]
Global Marine Networks announces distribution agreement with Vobal Technologies, making VoIP services available to its maritime customers. [PR Web – 12/29/2011]
Starmax HD shuts down service via Hispasat, saying the shutdown will be temporary and it will return soon. [Satellite Today – 12/29/2011]
ORBCOMM and SpaceX improve launch plans for OG2 satellites, planning launch of first prototype on the first Cargo Re-supply Services mission in mid 2012. [MarketWatch – 12/28/2011]
Japanese satellite launch business faces cloudy future, with tough competition from Russia’s Proton and Europe’s Ariane. [Japan Times – 12/28/2011]
ATCi and ACORDE selected by U.S. Defense Department to supply Ka-band networks designed for high-throughput Ka-band satellite communication systems worldwide.
[Market Watch – 12/28/2011]
ORBCOMM prepares for launch of second AIS satellite, VesselSat2, with target date of January 10, 2012. [Market Watch – 12/27/2011]
Iran steps up its jamming of Western Persian-language television broadcasts, even as it has satellite access to dozens of countries for its state-run TV channels. [Newser – 12/27/2011]
SES-4 launch delayed 25 days due to Proton upper state technical issues, following loss of Russian Meridian military satellite. [Satellite Today – 12/27/2011]
Russian and wife narrowly escape being crushed by fragment of Russian Meridian satellite following launch failure. [Daily Mail – 12/26/2011]
Missing out on being in New York for the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square? Don’t go: downlink it!
LIVE coverage in North America…
Via Fiber in HD — Saturday, December 31, 2011; 5:55 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. EST — The New York Switch: PL-5C
Via Satellite in HD — Saturday, December 31, 2011; 10:00 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. EST
C-band: AMC 1, Transponder C24 SLOT A; Orbital Location 103-deg. West; Downlink Frequency 4171 Vertical, Bandwidth 18 MEG, FEC 3 / 4, Symbol Rate 13.0
Ku-band: AMC 1, Transponder K16 SLOT A, Orbital Location 103-deg. West, Downlink Frequency 12011 Vertical, Bandwidth 18 MEG, FEC 3 / 4, Symbol Rate 13.0
Technical Contact: Lenny Laxer 917-299-0205
…and Internationally…
Via Satellite in SD 16:9 — Saturday, December 31, 2011 – 11:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. EST (Sunday, January 1, 2012 0445-0515 GMT)
EUROPE: IS 905 61/61 slot A, Orbital Location 335.5-deg. East; Downlink Frequency 10958.5 Vertical, FEC 3 /4,Symbol Rate 6.1113; Bandwidth 9 MEG, Compression Tandberg 4:2:0, Video Standard PAL
LATIN AMERICA: IS 9 24C, Slot A, Orbital Location 58-deg. West; Downlink Frequency 4146.5 Horizontal, FEC 3/4,
ASIA: IS 5 23C, VIRTUAL CHANNEL 2, Orbital Location 169-deg. East; Downlink Frequency 4160 Horizontal, FEC 3/4,Symbol Rate 6.1113, Bandwidth 9 MEG, Video Standard PAL
AFRICA: IS10 15C, Slot B, Orbital Location 68.5-deg. East; Downlink Frequency 3836.5 Vertical, FEC 3/4,Symbol Rate 6.1113, Bandwidth 9 MEG, Compression Tandberg 4:2:0, Video Standard PAL
