WBMSAT News Bits February 25, 2011

ATTENDING SATELLITE 2011?  Send me an email if you’d like to meet.  Bill

Discovery chases International Space Station after lifting off on its final mission.
[R&D Magazine – 02/25/2011]

Astrium ATV-2 executes perfect automatic docking maneuver with International Space Station and is on target to accomplish ISS supply and orbit-raising mission.
[SatNews – 02/25/2011]

Libya blocks satellite phone signals.
[UK International Business Times – 02/25/2011]

Russia and Israel set up joint group to focus on development of communications satellites.
[TMCnet – 02/25/2011]

Worldwide communication networks growing exponentially on consumer demand and commercial requirements, relying on infrastructure including satellite communications.
[PR Newswire – 02/25/2011]

New Paradise Datacom 80W X-band high power amplifier delivers 56W of WGS linear power in small package with Gallium Nitride transistor technology.
[SatNews – 02/25/2011]

Canadian company Advantech Wireless receives significan orders for new 900 Watt and 1600 Watt Ku-band outdoor solid state amplifier systems.
[SatNews – 02/25/2011]

Miteq introduces ultra compact HPA designed for airborne operation in 6-18 GHz range with 100W out at flange.
[SatNews – 02/25/2010]

Dish Network chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen professes no current plans for wireless spectrum it has been trying to amass for past few months, though it has value as investment and strategic play.
[Multichannel News – 02/24/2011]

Hughes Communications to increase its satellite coverage in India.
[India Times / Economic Times – 02/24/2011]

NASA’s Glory satellite launch delayed for at least a week as crews still troubleshoot problem that caused launch to be scrubbed at last minute.
[Santa Maria Times – 02/24/2011]

Russian Glonass-K navigation satellite launch delayed.
[SatNews – 02/24/2011]

New Army Wideband Satellite Communications Operations Center at Wahiawa Annex of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii dedicated.
[Star Advertiser – 02/24/2011]

Dish Network’s fourth quarter earnings rise 41% in spite of losing subscribers for third straight quarter.
[Wall Street Journal – 02/24/2011]

4G LTE won’t destroy GPS; will LightSquared?  (No – both GPS and LTE have to work).
[PC Magazine – 02/24/2011]

Lou Altman, CEO of BWCS, specialist consultancy focused on TMT sector and GlobaFone, to Speak at Train Communications Systems 2011.
[Benzinga – 02/24/2011]

Vizada launches Pharostar, a proprietary VSAT fixed satellite communications service added to its maritime broadband portfolio.
[SatNews – 02/24/2011]

Inmarsat to launch new Dynamic Telemetry Service via FleetBroadband later this year.
[SatNews – 02/24/2011]

Yahsat partners with Boeing and Astrium to provide secure airborne satellite communications capability.
[Zawya – 02/23/2011]

New Mexico’s bet on space tourism hits snag; governor wants to privatize Spaceport America, saying taxpayers have payed their fair share.
[NY Times – 02/23/2011]

Hapag-Lloyd is first to deploy Stratos’ new FBBPlus Managed Broadband service.
[PR Newswire – 02/23/2011]

KTs signs alliance agreement with SpeedCast to deliver global maritime network services via SpeedCast’s global Ku-band network.
[SatNews – 02/23/2011]

Inmarsat subsidiary Segovia wins NATO’s Communications Information Services Consultant Support Services indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for professional and technical services to International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
[SatNews – 02/23/2011]

RRsat providing 3D delivery of Fashion TV programming on three satellites.
[Street Insider – 02/23/2011]

DirecTV swings to fourth-quarter profit on subscriber growth based on takeaways from cable rivals.
[Wall Street Journal – 02/23/2011]

Abu Dhabi to launch first satellite next month.
[Khaleej Times – 02/23/2011]

Newcom International’s Office Without Borders package provides turnkey mobile office for Oil & Gas sector.
[TechZone – 02/23/2011]

Satellite Spotlight award presented to iDirect’s SatManage network management.
[Satellite Spotlight – 02/23/2011]

Lightsquared closes $586 million in additional debt financing from USB and JP Morgan, bringing debt financing over last 7 months to more than $2 billion.
[Wireless Week – 02/22/2011]

Air Force concerned about Lightsquared interference – general suggests company’s licenses should be pulled.
[DSL Reports – 02/22/2011]

Boeing to begin selling commercial satellite capacity.
[Wall Street Journal – 02/22/2011]

Astrium wins contract to provide AirPatrol airborne satcom terminals to Canadian Department of National Defence.
[Defense World – 02/22/2011]

Yahsat signs contract with Astrium to manage operations, training, and maintenance for ground systems of UAE Armed Forces’ new military satellite communications system.
[AME Info – 02/22/2011]

DVB Steering Board approves DVB-3DTV specification which will be sent to European Telecommunications Standards Institute for formal standardization.
[SatNews – 02/22/2011]

USAF successfully demonstrates over-the-air, low-data-rate communication between orbiting Milstar satellite and the family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals.
[SatNews – 02/22/2011]

Space Florida and Bigelow Aerospace agree to work together to pursue and identify foreign and domestic companies that could use Bigelow’s expandable, orbital space complexes.
[SatNews – 02/22/2011]

Swedish students’ rocket takes off on 11 minute flight to 80.6 km altitude with four experiments from students all over Europe.
[SatNews – 02/22/2011]

R&M Energy selects Stratos Global for BGAN-based SCADA network.
[PR Newswire – 02/22/2011]

Yahsat’s first satellite Y1A, built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, is shipped from Astrium facilities in Toulouse, France to Kourou, French Guiana launch site.
[SatNews – 02/21/2011]

European Commission urges member states to remove obstacles to introduction of satellite broadband as a matter of "urgency."
[eweek Europe – 02/21/2011]

White House requests $47m to convert politically grounded climate satellite into observatory to monitor space weather and warn of solar storms.
[SpaceFlight Now – 02/21/2011]

First four Globalstar Second Generation satellite have been successfully position, marking start of service for this new constellation.
[SatNews – 02/21/2011]

GeoDecisions picks Orbcomm for global satellite and cellular data communications for its Web-based portal GeoILS.
[Trading Markets – 02/21/2011]

Research and Markets adds report "Satellite Communications – an Essential Wholesale Infrastructure" to their offering.
[Business Wire – 02/21/2011]

NSR Webinar March 31 – The Earth Observation Market:  Good Business or Public Service?
[NSR webinar details]