Really Rocket Science

 "Zombie" satellite Galaxy 15 finally tamed – following loss of earth lock the satellite’s batteries drained; the Baseband Equipment command unit reset, and the satellite began accepting commands.
[Space Ref – 12/28/2010]

Arane 5 scheduled to launch Hispasat 1E and Koreasat 6 from Kourou on December 28.
[Space Ref – 12/28/2010]

KA-SAT successfully launched from Baikonur spaceport by Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket.
[ITAR-TASS – 12/27/2010]

TerreStar creditors agree to reorganization plan, allowing EchoStar to buy $125M of preferred stock as part of plan.
[Satellite Today – 12/27/2010]

German broadcaster ARD leases capacity from Eutelsat and SES to bring programming to German soldiers in Afghanistan.
[Satellite Today – 12/27/2010]

Pakistan to launch its first indigenously developed communications satellite in 2011 from a launch site in China.
[Associated Press of Pakistan – 12/27/2010]

An Indian Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying a telecommunications satellite is destroyed after veering off course.
[Space News – 12/27/2010]

Ahumanright.org wants to buy commercial satellite Terrestar-1 from its bankrupt operator to bring affordable internet to the World’s poor.
[Fast Company – 12/27/2010]

Six-ton Ka-Sat, bigger than recently launched Hylas, to serve customers in the so-called "hot-spots" of Europe, providing tens of millions of households with speeds generally up to 10Mbps.
[Press TVG – 12/26/2010]

Another NASA spinoff – inflatable antennas can be installed and de-installed quickly and support emergency satellite communication.
[Space Ref – 12/24/2010]

ViaSat receives $13.8M delivery orders from PM Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below that include installation and test of satellite ground station and control center equipment.
[Trading Markets – 12/24/2010]

China helps Bolivia fund its first communications satellite.
[News24 – 12/23/2010]

Globalstar takes delivery of two satellites from Thales Alenia Space.
[SatNews – 12/22/2010]

Harris to supply SAR military satellite payload.
[Satellite Today – 12/22/2010]

Norsat Ka-band BUC is used in antimatter study at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland.
[SatNews – 12/22/2010]

RapidEye’s first large scale mosaic, depicting all of Germany, is now for sale.
[SatNews – 12/22/2010]

Mexico pays Boeing $1B to build satellites for communications and security; Boeing to team with Orbital Sciences in meeting requirements.
[Fox Business – 12/21/2010]

Intelsat selects SatLink of Israel for iDirect VNO solution to provide its clients with managed hub services.
[Digital Producer Magazine – 12/20/1010]

Scientists hope to use Iridium satellite network, whose satellies carry magnetometers, to help predict solar storms and provide advisories to satellite operators.
[Scientific American – 12/20/2010]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

Lockheed Martin A2100 commercial communications satellite fleet achieves milestone of 300 years of cumulative successful in-orbit operations.
[PR-USA.NET – 12/18/2010]

Lockheed Martin is awarded a contract modification worth approximately $1.4B by the Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate for the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite.
[U.S. Air Force web site – 12/17/2010]

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace sign launch Service & Solutions contract for the Sentinel-1A satellite as part of the European program GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security).
[SatNews – 12/17/2010]

GVF (Global VSAT Forum) unveils a global initiative to facilitate delivery of state-of-the-art connectivity solutions in support of corporate-social-responsibility projects supported by the oil, gas, mining, banking, and other
enterprise sectors.
[SatNews – 12/17/2010]

Harris is awarded 30-month $42M contract by Sierra Nevada Corporation to supply antenna and radar electronics for satellite to provide military commanders in the field timely, high-resolution images of Earth’s surface.
[SatNews – 12/17/2010]

DISH Network delivers variety of 3D movies including "Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore," "The Last Airbender," "A Christmas Carol" and "Step Up 3D."
[SatNews – 12/17/2010]

Russia’s Mission Control Center loses contact with the International Space Station for about three hours on Thursday before resolving a fiber-optic network problem.
[SatNews – 12/17/2010]

Globalstar successfully tests new second generation satellite with its first commercial telephone call.
[SatNews – 12/16/2010]

Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation fully operational and complete with arrival of system’s fourth satellite in its final orbit position.
[SatNews – 12/16/2010]

NASA’s Mars Odyssey, which launched in 2001, will break the record Wednesday for longest-serving spacecraft at the Red Planet.
[SatNews – 12/16/2010]

India’s Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Fo6) is scheduled to launch the GSAT-5 Prime satellite on December 20.
[The Hindu – 12/16/2010]

RF Monoliothics ships one hyundred millionth surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter used in satellite digital radio receivers.
[SatNews – 12/16/2010]

Chambers Communications pulls its Oregon ABC affiliates from Dish Network’s system when the two are unable to reach agreement on rates, which Dish says Chambers wants to increase by 500%.
[hd-report – 12/17/2010]

Iridium expects falling equipment sales to hurt its 2011 revenue.
[Bloomberg – 12/16/2010]

Army’s first satellite in decades, a tiny nano-satellite, is slated for experiments to demonstrate technologies that will be used by a number of identical satellites.
[Signal Online – 12/16/2010]

DigitalGlobe wins three imagery supply contracts in China.
[Satellite Today – 12/16/2010]

According to NSR’s Government and Military Satellite Communications report just released, the industry will continue revenue gains until 2019 despite the imminent troop drawdown and complete withdrawal of allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[SatNews – 12/16/2010]

Canadian Space Agency and European Space Agency renew space science and technology partnership agreement through 2020.
[Satellite Today – 12/16/2010]

Initial tests of HYLAS 1 satellite have gone well as it makes "excellent progress" toward supplying satellite broadband services to consumers and businesses in the UK.
[Top10.com – 12/16/2010]

XINHUA’s CNC World English channel to reach out in Europe, Middle East, and Africa on Eutelsat’s HOT BIRD, EUROBIRD, and W7 satellites.
[PR Newswire – 12/16/2010]

Obama signs bill to prevent advertisers from abruptly raising the volume of TV commercials louder than regular programming.
[Washington Post – 12/16/2010]

Wikileaks accuses New Zealand government of spying on Fiji’s Military Forces using satellite monitoring facility in Waihopai Valley.
[fijivillage.com – 12/16/2010]

The Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) Demonstration satellites show ability to maximize defended areas through earlier tracking of launched missiles.
[SatNews – 12/15/2010]

Thales Alenia signs contract with Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales SA, ARSAT, tor supply payload for the second Argentine geostationary telecom satellite ARSAT-2.
[SatNews – 12/15/2010]

SES ASTRA wins CME as anchor customer for its 31.5 degrees East orbital position (ASTRA 1G + ASTRA 2C).
[SatNews – 12/15/2010]

RRSAT expands New York metropolitan area fiber connectivity.
[PR Newswire – 12/15/2010]

ViaSat and the Joint Program Executive Office for Joint Tactical Radio System integrate commercial mobile SATCOM networks with JTRS networks to interconnect air, land, and sea forces.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/15/2010]

China Great Wall Industry to deliver orbital communications satellite and ground application system to Bolivia.
[People’s Daily Online – 12/15/2010]

SES obtains $171.5M insurance policy covering construction and launch of QuetzSat satellite.
[Space News – 12/15/2010]

Boeing says antenna reflector on satellite built and launched for LightSquared has been successfully fully opened, resolving malfunction discovered after launch in November.
Bloomberg – 12/14/2010]

Orbital Sciences submits proposal to NASA in response to Commercial Crew Development-2 contract solicitation, for a "blended lifting body" vehicle to launch atop expendable launch vehicle.
[mfrtech.com – 12/14/2010]

Basic build-up of the milestone 200th Ariane for launch is now complete at the Spaceport in preparations for February launch of European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

NASA loses contact with the nanosatellite NanoSail-D, launched last week from the Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite (FASTSat).
[Satellite Today – 12/14/2010]

SES plans expansion in Africa with much needed additional capacity and new local offices and staff.
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

Arianespace reschedules launch of HISPASAT 1E and KOREASAT 6 to allow one customer to perform complementary checks on its payload.
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

Iran plans second spaceport.
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

Export-Import Bank of U.S/. approves $171.5M loan to support export of Ku-band broadcast satellite by Space Systems-Loral to SES S.A. of Luxembourg.
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

SES ASTRA signs capacity agreement with Ukraine’s Ukrkosmos for video delivery via its 31.5 degrees east orbital position.
[SatNews – 12/14/2010]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

Russian State Commission states that Proton M not at fault in loss of GLONASS satellites, but ILS, Khrunichev, Eutelsat, and Astrium KA-SAT mission team stands down for a week to review report.
[SatNews – 12/10/2010]

Obama administration proposes export control modernization.
[Satellite Today – 12/810/2010]

SatMAX Corporation announces master teaming agreement with Nsite which will provide another government contract avenue.
[SYS-CON Media – 12/10/2010]

MeshTV, experienced provider of end-to-end satellite transmission, upgrades streaming content service to allow multiple live streams to mobile devices.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/10/2010]

Mobexx adds satellite communications to Mentor Ranger in vehicle work alone system.
[MHW Magazine – 12/10/2010]

South Australian satellite ground station supports NASA mission, tracking SpaceX Dragon’s descent from low-earth orbit.
[IT News – 12/10/2010]

Marlink will provide Sealink VSAT service to GC Rieber Shipping, a global operator of vessels within the subsea, polar expedition, and marine seismic segments.
[SatNews – 12/10/2010]

IDC wins Supterflex receiver order worth $1.15M from unnamed pan-European content distribution company.
[Satellite Today – 12/10/2010]

BIG CBS Networks launches BIG CBS {Prime, first of three new English entertainment channels, on AsiaSat 3S.
[SatNews – 12/10/2010]

Cheese for Monty Python is mystery civilian payload carried by SpaceX Dragon in successful launch.
[SatNews – 12/09/2010]

The Army’s first satellite in 50 years rides into orbit aboard the Falcon SpaceX vehicle.
[al.com – 12/09/2010]

Milestone 200th Ariane under preparation for February Automated Transfer Vehicle mission, which will service International Space Station.
[SatNews – 12/09/2010]

FCC plans to seek greater role in disputes between programmers and cable and satellite distributors.
[LA Times – 12/09/2010]

Inmarsat names Globe Wireless’ Globe iFusion the 2010 Maritime Solution of the Year.
[SatNews – 12/09/2010]

LA Police department selects Spacenet satelllite service to help manage emergency situations across the city.
[Trading Markets – 12/09/2010]

OmniGlobe Networks EMEA is first company to receive full MENOS certification for Fast News Gathering terminal developed in close cooperation with Newtec and the Arab States Broadcasting Union.
[SatNews – 12/09/2010]

Geoeye to acquire Spadac, a geospatial predictive analytics company, for $46M.
[Satellite Today – 12/09/2010]

GeoSpatial Experts, developer of firs photo-mapping software package, introduces three new GPS Camera bundles designed for geotagging and mapping digital photographs.
[SatNews – 12/09/2010]

Thales Alenia Space will build W3D satellite for Eutelsat Communications.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/08/2010]

Cisco uses satellite router to make first VoIP call without the support of any terrestrial infrastructure to route the call.
[Urgent Communications – 12/08/2010]

NASA selects small business research and tech projects, including small satellite construction companies.
[NASA.gov – 12/08/2010]

Thuraya expands commercial partnership with Etilisat to provide IP and maritime service in the UAE.
[Zawya – 12/08/2010]

Vizada to supply VSAT equipment and lease Ku-band satellite capacity to European Union Rule of Law mission in Kosovo.
[Satellite Today – 12/08/2010]

Lockheed Martin-build BSAT-3b satellite begins service for Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation of Japan.
[PR Newswire – 12/08/2010]

Frequency Electronics contract for providing timing and frequency sources for satellites could exceed $30M with options.
[Satellite Spotlight – 12/08/2010]

FCC regulation of internet providers, allowing companies to bill customers according to amount of internet usage, could put brakes on online video industry, handing cable and satellite providers a victory.
[Washington Post – 12/08/2010]

Malfunction preventing deployment of antenna on LightSquared’s new satellite launched Nov. 14 may imperil discussions with companies for capacity on its new network.
[Bloomberg – 12/08/2010]

Newtec satellite modulators deployed in fleet  of one of largest European public broadcasters, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR).
[SatNews – 12/08/2010]

NASA ejects NanoSail-D nanosatellite from its Fast, Affordable Science and Technology satellite.
[Satellite Today – 12/08/2010]

OnAir has agreement with Solar Impulse to supply satellite broadband connectivity during its attempt to become first solar powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.
[SatNews – 12/08/2010]

Three GLONASS-M satellites launched earlier this week to complete Russia’s Global Navigation System failed to reach orbit, presumably falling into Pacific Ocean.
[Russia beyond the headlines – 12/07/2010]

Telespazio selects Arianbespace to launch Sicral 2 satellite in 2013.
[Satellite today – 12/07/2010]

Inmarsat launches satellite phones into Vietnam.
[DZ Times – 12/07/2010]

Echostar meets highest department of defense security requirements for satellite services.
[Marketwire – 12/07/2010]

Thrane & Thrane releases Aviator 200 airborne solution in Middle East.
[Satellite Today – 12/07/2010]

Comtech Telecommunications receives second 6-month contract extension to Movement Tracking System program with U.S. Army, to provide satellite airtime and equipment through July 2011.
[Globe Newswire – 12/07/2010]

Inmarsat reports that 30% of some 11,000 satcom terminals providing satellite services to government, commercial, and corporate aircraft are in business aircraft.
[Aviation Week – 12/07/2010]

Encompass Digital buys Ascebnt Media’s content distribution business.
[Satellite Today – 12/06/2010]

Thales Australia signs deal to supply satellite communications for Australia’s three new air-warfare destroyers.
[smh.com – 12/06/2010]

Sirius XM-5 satellite ready for service.
[Satellite Today – 12/06/2010]

Orbcomm declares new ground station at Hartebeeshoewk, west of Pretoria New Zealand, operational.
[engineering news – 12/06/2010]

Arianspace to launch Franco-Italian Milcom satellite in 2013.
[Space News – 12/06/2010]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, Telesat — all big satellite operators who continually try to get their stories out and reported on by the general business media, and, if they’re lucky, some broader medium. Doesn’t happen much, unless there’s a catastrophic failure during launch or in-orbit.

Along comes Kosta Grammatis with an idea to buy the Terrestar-1 spacecraft and move it from 111 West to a location assigned to Papua New Guinea, possibly 31.5 West over West Africa or something closer to home. So guess what happens. They put up a Web site to raise $150,000 to get it started.

Futurismic’s Paul Raven posts something on it yesterday,  Boing Boing picks it up, then Gizmodo.  Expect this to go viral in a way the major satcoms can only dream of.

But seriously, I doubt secured debtors such as EchoStar will let this baby go to another location. It’s in a good spot for broadcasting in the S-band. Free Internet? Good luck building modems for the masses. And each modem needs electricity, so get busy with power generation, too.

Let’s see just how big this gets.

 
IP-PRIME was killed by SES two years ago. Was that a smart move or not? Talk to the people out in the field and they think it could have worked. It was a solid technological solution to many video service providers in "the fly-over states." So you think the other remaining big IPTV enablers are making their "bucket lists" these days? Not quite.

Avail-TVN recently announced a deal with Verizon FiOS TV, so their wholesale model has gotten stronger over the last couple of years. As for FiOS TV, they apparently have stopped their fiber build-out altogether, focusing instead on turning up service for their current market of homes-passed. That doesn’t include neighborhood, unfortunately. No problem: I dumped DirecTV for DISH Network and I love the new offering from the 61.5 West orbital location.

So what’s FiOS TV up to? How will they expand? The likely answer is wireless. Not on their current CDMA network, but rather on the new LTE service, being turned up on Sunday. As it won’t be for phone traffic, figure it will eventually carry IPTV. Considering the Seattle market is expected to benefit from a 16 Mbps throughput, that’s just about perfect for HDTV channels (MPEG-4 H.264). Hey, they’re switched at the C.O., so why not? Customers don’t care whether it’s satcom, coax, fiber or wireless — as long as the signal comes through in HD, they’re good to go.

Perhaps Verizon has it right in stopping fiber builds and focusing instead on using LTE for video services. Hey, if DISH Network can stream live TV to iPads today, the future can surely rely on wireless.

Just don’t call me "Shirley."

More interesting news for O3b Network: $1.2 billion in funding. As reported by the WSJ…

 Satellite communications company O3b Networks said Monday it has raised $1.2 billion from a group of investors and banks, its final funding round before the launch of its global satellite broadband network.

O3b, which is backed by Google Inc., plans to launch its fiber-quality Internet service serving emerging markets in the first half of 2013, after securing $770 million of debt financing and $410 million of equity investment.

The firm’s name refers to the “other 3 billion” people in the world currently without access to broadband Internet.

“We are looking to connect the unconnected, now we can start to do that,” Chief Executive Mark Rigolle said in an interview.

The company already has around 10 customers for its service, who have signed deals valued at $500 million to $600 million to use its infrastructure, Mr. Rigolle said.

O3b is selling capacity on its network on a wholesale basis to Internet service providers and telecom companies. Mr. Rigolle said he expects the strongest long-term demand to come from mobile phone companies in emerging markets, which lack the fiber-optic infrastructure to offer their subscribers high-speed Internet access. O3b’s network will be able to offer “backhaul” connections in place of a fiber network.

Chicken & egg contingencies aside, this is a positive step for O3b. Or is it?

Yes, they’re fully funded for design, build and launch, but will it work well enough to really get some cash coming in? We’ll have to wait another two years to see whether that question will be answered. In real “Internet time,” two years is a very long time and things could change materially — especially in high-risk space-based ventures.

Curiously, this venture is still referred to as “backed by Google,” while SES will increase its ownership to 34%. And they only have to contribute US$75 over the next two years. Judging by the composition of its board of directors, SES seems to be in control here.

Considering the utter lack of connectivity in the regions where “the other 3 billion” people are situated, this is still a good idea. 100-millisecond latency is good enough. Add the possibility of micro-payments via mobile Internet, this could prove to be a real winner. Now hurry up and launch the spacecraft!

Courtesy of Bill McDonald…

Vox Telecom of South Africa will offer low-cost satellite broadband nationwide late next year, in partnership with Dubai-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat).
[Tech Central – 11/27/2010]

China successfully launches Zhongxing-20A communications satellite on Long March 3A rocket.
[Brahmand.com – 11/26/2010]

Ariane 5 ECA launches with HYLAS 1 and Intelsat 17.
[NASA Spaceflight.com – 11/26/2010]

Astrotech Wins Sixth NPOESS Contract for $35 Million.
[Satellite Today – 11/25/2010]

Otesat-Maritel of Greece becomes a Distribution Partner for Inmarsat’s Global Satellite Phone Services (GSPS) IsatPhone, the first satellite handheld by Inmarsat with global coverage.
[Wireless Week – 11/25/2010]

Russian Business Communications Provider Leases NSS-9 Capacity from SES.
[Satellite Today – 11/25/2010]

XM Canada and Sirius Canada Inc. merging; pushing for service in more vehicles and on more devices like smartphones and personal computers to better compete in audio entertainment industry.
[Winipeg Free Press – 11/25/2010]

China launches Shen Tong-1 military satellite via Long March-3A.
[NASA Spaceflight.com – 11/24/2010]

Russian Communications Administration to represent interests of Azerbaijan in the International Telecommunications Union.
[Trend – 11/23/2010]

FCC codifies legislation passed in spring of 2010 allowing DBS operators to provide out-of-market broadcast signals to households unable to receive in-market broadcasts over the air.
[Television Broadcast.com – 11/23/2010]

The U.S. Department of Defense’s STPSat-2 satellite has launched from the Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska on board a Minotaur 4 rocket.
[Satellite Today – 11/23/2010]

TerreStar Networks, in the midst of chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, launches new satellite phone called TerreStar GENUS, billed as the first combined cellular-satellite smartphone.
[International Business Times – 11/23/2010]

USA launches the biggest-ever spy satellite, to be used "to listen to the communications of potential enemies."
[World Aeronautical Press Agency – 11/23/2010]

XipLink optimizes satellite Internet delivery with three technologies – transport layer TCP Acceleration and optimization, HTTP Acceleration, and advanced data compression.
[TMCnet – 11/23/2010]

Energia, Russia’s Rocket and Space Corporation, says the Company will build a special orbital pod designed for sweeping-up satellite debris from near-Earth space.
[Satnews – 11/23/2010]

KVH and Viasat double satellite capacity in North Atlantic for Mini VSAT maritime broadband service.
[Satellite Spotlight – 11/23/2010]

NASA’s Organism/Organic Exposure to orbital Stresses nanosatellite is successfully launched from Alaska Aerospace Corporation’s Kodiak Launch Complex.
[SatNews – 11/23/2010]

SpaceX gets first ever FAA license for commercial company to re-enter a spacecraft from orbit.
[SatNews – 11/22/2010]

Hughes Network Systems and Environmental Safety Systems International Corporation are equipping entire Hercules Offshore fleet of Class 120 to Class 230 liftboats in the Gulf of Mexico with Hughes satellite-based broadband maritime services.
[SatNews – 11/22/2010]

Global Marine Networks debuts GMN webXaccelerator for ship-to-shore and remote communications needs fishing, marine transport, cruise ships, offshore oil rigs, and first-response communications.
[SatNews – 11/22/2010]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

 There’s no question certain wireless markets are operating at peak capacity. U.S. operators such as AT&T simply can’t expand their bandwidth fast enough. This is especially true in New York and San Francisco. Verizon Wireless is hooking up their towers with 10 GB fiber connections. So what’s the solution after Verizon gets the iPhone on their network? LTE, no doubt.

But how much longer will that last? I suspect they’ll pin the network needle rather quickly. Is this when satcom comes in to help? The P-E folks at Harbinger and Nokia Siemens certainly hope so. They’ve got a nice chunk of change invested in LightSquared, a new wholesale play that just launched a spacecraft…

The ILS Proton Breeze M launched from Pad 39 at the cosmodrome at 11:29 p.m. today local time (12:29 p.m. EST, 17:29 GMT)  After a 9 hour 14 minute mission, the Breeze M successfully released the SkyTerra 1 satellite, weighing over 5.3 metric tons, into geostationary transfer orbit.  This was the 361st launch for Proton since its inaugural flight in 1965, and the 63nd ILS Proton launch overall. The Proton Breeze M launch vehicle was developed and built by Khrunichev Research and Production Space Center of Moscow, one of the pillars of the Russian space industry and the majority shareholder in ILS.

The SkyTerra 1 satellite, to be located at 101.3 degrees West, was built on the Boeing 702HP platform designed for geomobile services with an estimated lifetime of fifteen years. The SkyTerra 1 satellite features a 22-meter L-band reflector-based antenna — the largest commercial antenna reflector to be put into service. SkyTerra 1 will be among the first to combine satellite and terrestrial technologies for use in standard handsets and other devices. The 4G-LTE network offered by SkyTerra 1 will also be the first to provide wireless coverage to 100% of the population of the United States.

Here’s the spectacle…

LightSquared’s mission for SkyTerra-1 is to act as an ATC —  Ancillary Terrestrial Component. This may be the only way to make satcom pay for providing service to handhelds. Stay tuned, rocket scientists.

MEASAT signs agreement with  GlobeCast for provision of capacity in supporting delivery of Asian Games.

[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

Partners In Health (PIH) selects SES WORLD SKIES AMC-6 satellite to expand and enhance mission critical connectivity across Haiti.
[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

U.K. satellite ISP Bentley Walker launches C-band satellite internet services for customers in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
[Satellite Today – 11/12/2010]

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) repositions UK-DMC-1 spacecraft, nearing end of operational life, to reduce probability of generating space debris.
[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

Globecomm Systems wins African wireless managed services contract.
[Satellite Today – 11/12/2010]

Pactel International appointed to assist MEDINET Project in Vanuatu by providing internect connectivity to medical facilities in remote regions of country.
[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

SatLink Communications launches iDirect Evolution to enhance its data services across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

Gateway Communications wins AfricaCom award for ‘Best Pan-African Initiative.’
[SatNews – 11/12/2010]

Orbital Sciences successfully test fires liquid fuel AJ26 engine that will power first stage of Taurus II space launch vehicle.
[SatNews – 11/102/2010]

Raytheon secures over $2B in U.S. government space and military contracts in October.
[Via Satellite’s Military Satcom Extra – 11/11/2010]

SES WORLD SKIES signs NSS-5 capacity agreement with Vizada Networks for telecommunications network backup across Africa’s Sub Saharan region.
[SatNews – 11/11/2010]

U.S. Department of Defense awards contracts to Iridium for upgrading satellite communications gateway in Hawaii to support migration to next generation satellites.
[Market Watch – 11/11/2010]

Satellite communications company SatCom Group Holdings Plc acquires Abbey Technologies GmbH of Switzerland.
[SatNews – 11/11/2010]

Riverbed Technology acquires government satellite network optimization specialist Global Protocols.
[Satellite Today – 11/11/2010]

ND Satcom is awarded "Citrix Ready Partner" status at Citrix Synhergy user conference in Berlin for its innovative XWARP satellite cloud computing solution.
[SatNews – 11/11/2010]

Net Insight and ATCi partner to enhance quality transportation of services via satellite and fibre-linked components across America.
[TV Technology – 11/11/2010]

UK space sector profits strong, with key role played by satellite broadband.
[Top 10 – 11/10/2010]

Scheduled Noivember 14 launch of SkyTerra 1 satellite major step for LightSquared in building next generation nationwide satellite/terrestrial wireless network.
[SatNews – 11/10/2010]

NASA selects 13 companies for potential awards in developing next-generation heavy-lift launch vehicle.
[Satellite Today – 11/10/2010]

TCS wins indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $325M to replace U.S. Military Sealift Command’s commercial satellite communications systems.
[Satellite Today – 11/10/2010]

Ultra Communications partners with Polatis on U.S. Air Force program to develop space-qualified optical switching.
[Market Watch – 11/10/2010]

Military budget cut threats posed by election results receive mixed reactions from satellite industry.
[Via Satellite’s Military Satcom Extra – 11/09/2010]

Hughes Communications gets a number 1 ranking based on revenue growth in part due to satellite broadband success – mirroring VSAT successes of the 1980’s.
[Business Week – 11/09/2010]

Lockheed Martin’s BSat-3b broadcasting satellite, built for Broadcasting Satellite System (B-Sat) of Japan, is launched by Arianespace on an Ariane 5-ECA.
[Via Satellite’s Military Satcom Extra – 11/09/2010]

Harris Corporation agrees to acquire Schlumberger Global Connectivity Services.
[Sat PR News – 11/09/2010]

Ka-band terminal technology has fallen behind the capability of the available Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) space segment – Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, President of Global Government Services at Inmarsat..
[Via Satellite’s MIlitary Satcom Extra – 11/09/2010]

Hughes Network Systems planning launch of Juptier satellite in 2012, with over 100 gigabits per second of capacity for broadband with downlink speeds as high at 20 Mbps.
[CNET – 11/09/2010]

Harris Corp. wins $64 million third-year option for its Network and Space Operations and Maintenance (NSOM) program contract with the U.S. Air Force.
[Via Satellite’s Military Satcom Extra – 11/09/2010]

Eutelsat Communications has signed a ten-year agreement with Egyptian satellite company Nilesat for five transponders at the 7 degrees West orbital position.
[Broadband TV News – 11/08/2010]

Thuraya to launch post-paid mobile satellite services in Libya.
[AME Info – 11/08/2010]

Astrium launches range of innovative satcom products designed to optimize network efficiency, maximize bandwidth, and increase mobility for their end-users.
[SatNews – 11/08/2010]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

Spacecraft re-entry over the South Pacific? Sorry, that won’t happen any time soon. Eutelsat’s W3B spacecraft, launched on 28 October 2010, developed a huge propellant leak and was rendered useless soon thereafter. Instead of a planning scuttling into the South Pacific Ocean, that Spacebus 4000C3 will be in orbit for decades. Via Space News…

 The Eutelsat W3B satellite declared a total loss less than 24 hours after its Oct. 28 launch because of a leak in its propulsion system will spend the next 20 to 30 years in its parking orbit following ground teams’ inability to guide it into a controlled atmospheric re-entry, satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space said Nov. 5.

The company said that it has rendered the satellite inert to the extent possible — emptying its helium pressurization tank and whatever fuel remains in liquid state and can be discharged, as well as draining its batteries — to minimize the likelihood that W3B explodes on contact with any orbital debris it may encounter in its elliptical orbit.

Too bad they couldn’t ram it into Galaxy 15, the world’s favorite zombie satellite.

But seriously, this is a real bummer for all the people who worked on this mission for years at Eutelsat, Ariane and Thales. I remember Astra 1K and it was depressing. Reminds us that this rocket science business is very complex and carries high risks across the board.