Really Rocket Science

Federal court upholds regulations that require cable TV companies to make sports programming and other channels they own available on equal terms to rival TV providers such as satellite companies.
[Reuters – 03/12/2010]

The U.S. Navy says launch of next-generation MUOS communications satellites will be delayed until September 2011; military space officials search for options deal with gap in critical tactical mobile communications.
[Spaceflight Now – 03/12/2010]

CapRock Government Solutions expands coverage on its pre-packaged satellite subscription service, CommandAccess™, with the finalization of its commercial X-band network with military-grade features for secure voice, video, and data communications.
[Satellite Today – 03/12/2010]

Goonhilly in the UK, once the largest teleport in the world with over 60 operational antennas, will close visitor center for an unspecified length of time, according to BBC.
[BBC News – 03/11/2010]

Globalstar, Inc. receives a substantial order for the initial delivery of more than 15,000 SPOT Satellite Communicators from DeLorme.
[CNN Money – 03/11/2010]

A coalition of cable and satellite companies ask the FCC to mandate that disputes with broadcasters be settled by arbitration, to prevent broadcasters from charging big fees for retransmission.
[USA Today – 03/10/2010]

SkyTerra adds data capability to its MSAT-G2 mobile satellite radio equipment with new software, expanding applications of SkyTerra’s mobile satellite equipment for government and enterprise customers.
[Market Watch – 03/10/2010]

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. and Orbit Technology Group announce integration of their products for Satellite Communications On-The-Move (SOTM) solutions to serve mobile requirements of a wide range of industries.
[CNN Money – 03/10/2010]

GE – Satlynx is re-named GE – Satcom, the final step for the company as they become a fully integrated GE business brand identity.
[SatNews – 03/08/2010]

SkyTerra announces the roll-out of its new radio software, developed by Hughes, that enables data capability on its MSAT-G2 mobile satellite radio equipment.
[Market Watch – 03/10/2010]

Starling Advanced Communications of Israel is introducing the StarPack, a single-case, fly-away antenna providing two-way, high-speed Ku broadband satellite communications from anywhere on earth.
[RF Globalnet – 03/10/2010]

Globecomm Systems announces the company’s subsidiary has received a $34 million-plus increase in a contract from a major U.S. Government prime contractor; the contract is valued at up to $127 million over four years.
[TMCnet – 03/09/2010]

A satellite radio company increases its subscriber uptake by getting its system installed in 60% of new cars, compared to 50% last year, and choosing the car models carefully to enhance the probability of car owners subscribing to the service.
[CNN Money – 03/09/2010]

SkyBitz® and Iridium announce a strategic partnership that will position Iridium as the first-ever provider of two-way global MSS for SkyBitz, integrating the SkyBitz Global Locating System (GLS) technology with the recently announced Iridium 9602 satellite data transceiver.
[CNN Money – 03/09/2010]

NASA launches interactive online Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) simulation in an effort to excite young people about space and NASA’s missions.
[The Orange County Register – 03/09/2010]

The Ministry of Defence has extended a deal with EADS to use a fourth SkyNet satellite of EADS subsidiary Paradigm to provide communications and data to troops in the field. The total value of the deal is now £3.5 billion.
[Computer World UK – 03/09/2010]

Globecomm Systems Inc. acquires Carrier to Carrier Telecom BV and Evolution Communication Ltd. for
about $15 million in cash as it expands its geographic reach.
[Business Week – 03/08/2010]

The Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a new $10.2 million task order through the Integrated Topside program to help develop advanced satellite communications systems for submarines.
[Defense Systems – 03/08/2010]

Harris receives a Navy deal worth $10.7 million for computer systems for naval frigate vessels using 1.3-meter satellite communications terminals that have 10-times the bandwidth currently available, and operate on both X- and Ku-band frequencies.
[Orlando Sentinel – 03/08/2010]

Two areas of the national broadband plan likely to cause controversey are its goal to provide 100 Mbps service provided to 100 million U.S. homes by 2020 and its effort to get broadcasters to give up 500 MHz of spectrum for the use of wireless providers.
[TMCnet – 03/08/2010]

The U.S Army may be signaling to have at its disposal a variety of applications, particularly for sending goods, managing supply and support troops with more rich features, perhaps video or large data file transfers. But will this be the end of military narrowband tracking and M2M services?
[NSR Report -"Scenarios in Asset Tracking and Situational Awareness " –  March 2010]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

 It was bound to happen: using an "app phone" in a combat zone. We’ve seen the DishPointer app in use in Aghanistan, and it probably won’t be long before a "tough" unit is out for warfighters in the field. Sure, there must be some proprietary software to keep it secure, but does it have to be so complicated?

Now the U.S. Army is throwing its considerable weight behind it with their "Apps for the Army" program:

Ever since we launched Apps for Democracy for DC’s Office of the CTO back in September 2008 the world has been a-buzz with “Apps for” contests. We recently released a guide for how to create your ownin order to make this kind of innovation method more accessible to people around the world. There are now about a dozen of these innovation contests being run by cities, national governments and various non-profits.

Today I’m happy to announce a new Apps initiative – one which iStrategyLabs has been contracted to create with the Army’s CIO/G6. A special thank you goes out to Tim O’Reilly – who envisioned this program and served as an advisor/connector to make it happen. Below you’ll find full details from the Army’s official media advisory (download as .DOC), and a summary is as follows:

1. A media and bloggers’ roundtable will take place March 3 at 1:30 pm in the Pentagon, Room  1E462.  Lieutenant General Jeffery Sorenson (Army CIO) will discuss Apps for the Army and take questions. To attend the roundtable in person, or if you plan to call in, please contact: Ms. Ashley McCall-Washington at 703-614-1649 or [email protected]
2. The competition runs from March 1st to May 15st 2010
3. There are 40 employee cash awards totaling $30,000 for mobile and web apps
4. Only 100 initial teams can participate
5. Awards will be announced in June, with public demonstrations at LandWarNet
6. Registration forms and other details can be found on AKO: http://www.army.mil/ciog6/armyapps
7. Forge.mil will serve as a collaborative software repository
8. RACE – a cloud based development sandbox will be provided. Participants can access a Windows server, Linux server and mobile app emulation software for Android and Blackberry. iPhone apps will need to be developed outside of RACE.
9. MilBook’s Apps for the Army group will serve as the core collaboration space for all participants
10. If you’re on twitter, use the hashtag #apps4army to follow the conversation

Video summary…

Cool approach by reaching to developers with real cash prizes.

For more on what’s happening out there, it’s always a good idea to keep up with Wired’s Danger Room:

In the military’s vision of future, the real trick will be getting information down to the individual soldier on the battlefield. Now the Army plans to test a smartphone for soldiers that will have mobile applications that could — in theory — access everything from technical manuals and maintenance records to maps and cultural intelligence.

In a discussion yesterday with reporters, Maj. Gen. Keith Walker, director of the Army’s Future Force Integration Directorate at Fort Bliss, Texas, said that around 200 soldiers would receive an “iPhone-like device” with digital apps installed.

Walker said the devices would have “various apps for system maintenance, instruction manuals — that we can all remotely upgrade. Also, we’re working to allow soldiers to have a distributed way of getting feedback to us on the equipment, where they can do Wikipedia-style upgrades to tactics, techniques and procedures, and comments on performance of hardware and software.”

Further down the road, Walker said he could envision tactical applications, like an app with GPS capability that could pinpoint the user’s location, or a digital tool that would allow troops to analyze terrain.

“This initiative we are moving out on,” Walker said. “We will see this happen this year.”

It’s part of a larger project called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications. While there is not yet a definite plan to procure and field a combat iPhone, troops at Fort Bliss will experiment with the handset to test ways that some of these new technologies might actually be integrated into the force.

It’s not the only experiment underway at Fort Bliss. Soldiers of the service’s 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss are testing and evaluating pieces of the Army Brigade Combat Team Modernization plan — a more streamlined successor to the service’s now-defunct Future Combat Systems program. Other items being tested include a common controller, a Nintendo-style control that can be used to maneuver both the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle robot and the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (affectionately known as the “flying beer keg”).

 Need some imagination? Check out these gadgets and robots…

 Leave it to the folks at SAIC to commercialize a system for tsunami warnings developed by NOAA. They just announced a big sale to the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services:

The SAIC Tsunami Buoy systems will be deployed at locations in the Bay of Bengal and off the northwest coast of India near the Makran subduction zone. These systems represent a part of a larger network of tsunami buoy systems that will provide the entire region with critical data to assess the magnitude of tsunamis generated in the Indian Ocean. The eastern Bay of Bengal, one of the most seismically active regions in the world, is near the origin of the Boxing Day mega-tsunami that claimed over 220,000 lives in 2004. 

"The deployment of these STBs will provide the Indian regional tsunami forecast center with a foundation of reliable and technologically sound deep-water tsunami assessment systems," said Tom Baybrook, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager. "SAIC looks forward to a long term relationship with INCOIS supporting their extensive tsunami assessment network."

The STB system consists of three subsystems: a surface communications buoy, a buoy mooring, and a bottom pressure recorder. The bottom pressure recorder includes a highly accurate sea floor pressure sensor which can detect earthquakes and sea level changes. Acoustic communications transmits the pressure data to the surface buoy which then relays the data by satellite communications to oceanographic forecast centers for analysis. Once processed, the data can provide real-time assessments of the characteristics of the tsunami in deep water. This data is then used with forecast models to predict the height of the wave and inundation when it arrives at a particular coastal location.

How does it work? Check out NOAA’s DART specs.

Satcom saves lives. More power to them!

Launcher concern causes delay of the European Space Agency’s Cryosat-2 mission.
[Space News – 02/19/2010]

Spain will provide technology expertise for a communications satellite to be built for the Norwegian army.
[SatNews – 02/19/2010]

European Space Agency panel puts off decision whether to participate in Japanese-let infrared space telescope pending further discussion regarding Japan’s commitment to the project.
[Space News – 02/19/2010]

GSA and DISA initiate 10 year $5 billion dollar government wide procurement that will cover purchases of commercial satellite services and hardware by the military and government agencies.
[SatNews – 02/19/2010]

Thales Space reports 3% decline in space-based revenue, but a sharp increase in new orders.
[Space News – 02/19/2010]

BusinessCom, a global satellite telecommunications service provider, launches Advantage IP VSAT service, based on Ku-band IO satellites, covering more than 18 countries in the Middle East and parts of Asia including Iraq and Afghanistan.
[SatNews – February 19, 2010]

Crew aboard International Space Station relocate cupola from Tranquility’s forward port to new location facing the Earth, resulting in a "phenomenal view."
[Spaceflight Now – 02/19/2010]

Thales Alenia Space ships second ComSatBw satellite to the Kourou spaceport for a launch on March 24 by an Ariane 5 ECA.
[ASD News – 02/18/2010]

Eutelsat switches planned launch this year of its W3B satellite from a Chinese Long March vehicle to a European Ariane 5 rocket amid concerns about insufficient supply of non-U.S. components to allow export of the satellite to China.
[Space News – 02/18/2010]

Settlement apparently reached in dispute between SES and Boeing over claim that Boeing violated violated a contract to rebuild a large SES-owned satellite destroyed during a 2007 launch failure.
[Space News – 02/18/2010]

Spot LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globalstar Inc., begins shipping the new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger to its customers and retail partners.
[SatNews – 02/18/2010]

exactEarth Ltd., the data services subsidiary of COM DEV International Ltd., signs $1.4 million contract with Canadian Space Agency to provide data collected by its AIS nanosatellite.
[SatNews – 02/18/2010]

AXIO-NET, a subsidiary of Astrium Services, will provide satellite positioning data to be used in construction of a motorway and rail link between Germany and Denmark.
[Space Daily – 02/18/2010]

Members of the Air Force Joint Functional Component Command for Space at Vandenberg AFB provide satellite communications and navigation services in support of relief efforts in Haiti.
[SatNews – 02/18/2010]

Space Micro to develop space communications hardware compatible with wide variety of existing communications systems, and is not susceptible to damaging effects of radiation.
[SatNews – 02/18/2010]

Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple, to deliver opening keynote address at MILCOM 2010.
[SatNews – 02/18/2010]

President Obama tells astronauts aboard the International Space Station that he is committed to space, in spite of having scrapped the Constellation program to return to the moon.
[Space Travel – 02/18/2010]

EchoStar subsidiary Sling Media announces that Bell TV will license SlingGuide to deliver advanced TV search, remote scheduling, and recording services to its customers.
[SatNews – 02/17/2010]

Tremendous expense of all aspects of the satellite industry to be addressed at Satellite Finance Forum sponsored by Futron Corporation and Access Intelligence March 15.
[SatNews – 02/17/2010]

Latitude Technologies Corp. announces IONode 100 onboard system integration product and Air Tanker Information System software to provide system monitoring and data distribution when connected to Iridium-based SkyNode product.
SatNews – 02/17/2010]

Motorola files with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming that GHL Acquisition of Iridium last year constitutes "change of control" and demands $24.7 million in cash from Iridium or it will deny Iridium technology required to build replacement satellites.
[Space News – 02/16/2010]

Solaris Mobile, Dublin-based operator of new pan-European hybrid satellite and terrestrial wireless networks, announces development of mobile gateway device allowing reception of S-band services on smart phones.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

MapMart introduces free downloadable MapMart On-Demand Toolbar for ESRI ArcMap which allows ArcMap users to highight any area within their GIS project and instantly search MapMart database for matching geospatial data sets.
SatNews – 02/16/2010[

GMV successfully tests satellite ground segment of World Space Observatory Ultraviolet mission, an international project led by Russian Space Agency ROSCOSMOS.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

GlobeCast teams in Vancouver, BC, provide services including playout, live positions, and HD/SD delivery of Olympic Winter Games content to clients from around the world.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010

Nagravision announces that their conditional access system was selected by SkyLife, the only DTH pay TV service provider in Korea.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

SkyTrac is selected by Aerospace Consortium FZE of Dubai to supply SATCOM/flight following solutions for Aerospace’s diverse fleet of airplanes and helicopters.
[Shepard — 02/16/2010]

Orbit Technology Group receives order from Lockheed Martin for advanced tracking antenna solution for flight tests.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

SES S.A. reports 25% growth in earnings per share for period ending December 31, 2009.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Boeing ships the first Global Positioning System IIF satellite from El Segundo, CA to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Groupo Televisa of Mexico agrees to purchase 30% share of Mexican telecommunications unit of NII Holdings for $1.55 billion in cash.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

25 U.S. companies to participate in International Trade Administration’s first trade mission to Algeria and Libya include AAE Systems, Inc., a satellite equipment manufacturer and turnkey communications solutions provider.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

SES, seeking to refocus the satellite industry’s approach to managing and preventing RF Interference by engaging with 15 other satellite operators on a series of initiatives, adopts GVF’s Installation Training Program in order to help prevent RF interference.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposes introducing the Glonass navigation system throughout the country’s regions to be used on trains, aircraft, water and public transportation.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Newtec shows broadband potential of Sat3Play at Neureus workshop, attended by representatives of the European Commission, who agreed that satellite Internet should play a vital role in an integrated approach to reaching full broadband access across all of Europe.
[SatNews — 02/16/2010]

The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association will hold its first Regional Chapter Meeting of Satellite Professionals on March 4th in Wilmington Delaware.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Small Scottish company Selex Galileo wins funding to complete development of an orientation system for satellites.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Iran reveals development of new Simorgh space booster and three new satellites, including an imaging satellite which may provide Iran with rudimentary space reconnaissnce capability.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Israel Defense Force plans to equip all infantry and armored brigades with ground based satellite antennas developed by Gilat Satellite Networks which can relay information during operations behind enemy lines.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

U.S. Air Force’s second geosynchronous Space Based Infrared Systems satellite completes successful first BaseLine Integrated System Testing at Lockheed Martin Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, CA.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

Legislation to renew the satellite television law governing transmission of broadcast signals by U.S. DTH providers dies in U.S. Senate as cuts are made to make underlying jobs legislation more targeted.
[SatNews – 02/16/2010]

SES, in middle of largest satellite-buying spree in its history (15 new satellites to be launched between 2010 and 2014), says the new capacity will continue to earn about $1.5 million per year in transponder lease revenue, and that SES will slow down capital spending next year.
[Space News – 02/12/2010]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

The Army’s planned satellite frequency changeover from Ku- to Ka-band may seem insignificant; however, this small change represents a multibillion dollar transition.
[Satellite PR News – 02/05/2010]

Astrium has been awarded a follow-on contract for the delivery of a second set of subsystems to the Turkish Navy’s Milgem satellite communications program…
[Satellite Today – 02/05/2010]

Solaris Mobile signed a corporate partnership with European car rental company Europcar
[Satellite Today – 02/05/2010]

EADS North America has received a five-year contract to provide commercial radar satellite data to the U.S. government’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for use in intelligence, military and homeland security applications.
[SatNews – 02/04/2010]

International Launch Services gets ready to launch the Intelsat-16 satellite aboard a Proton M/Breeze M rocket on February 11th at 7:30 p.m., EST.
[SatNewa – 02/04/2010]

Harris, prime contractor and systems integrator for the 10 year $736M Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – Series R Ground Segment, expands its Washington DC presence with new 24,000 sqaure foot facility for the contract.
[SatNews – 02/04/2010]

White House plans to dismantle the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) program and split it between separate projects.
[Satellite Today – 02/04/2010]

Space X’s Dragon Program completes testing, demonstration.
[Satellite Today – 02/04/2010]

Eutelsat firmly denies Georgian Public Broadcaster’s claims that its offer of W2A capacity instead of W7 capacity will inconvenience GPB’s Russian customers, since Russian customers would have to purchase linear antennas for either spacecraft.
[PR Newswire – 02/04/2010]

ViaSat receives additional orders for its LinkWayS2 satellite modem systems to support U.S. government networks.
[SatNews – 02/04/2010]

Northrop Grumman Corporation selected by ITT Corporation to provide flight cryocoolers for the sensor payloads for two international weather satellites to reduce thermal noise in the space-based sensors.
[SatNews – 02/04/2010]

Technical problems on the W2A satellite have been a major setback for Solaris Mobile.
[Satellite Today – 02/04/2010]

SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) has announced the availability of a free application for BlackBerry(R) smartphones,
[SatNews – 02/04/2010]

Orbital Sciences Corporation announces strong support for the Obama Administration’s new direction for the country’s civil space programs.
SatNews – 02/03/2010]

TechniSat, known in Germany for digital receivers and a provider of IDTVs, is expanding into the French market and has set up TechniSat Digital France E.U.R.L. in the French capital, Paris.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

Stratos Global Corporation is supplying Inmarsat BGAN mobile satellite communications service to University of California San Diego (UCSD) researchers to support their ambitious archaeological survey in remote Mongolia.
[SatNews  – 02/03/2010]

Orbital Sciences Corporation announces strong support for the Obama Administration’s new direction for the country’s civil space programs.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

Reportlinker.com has a new market research report available in its catalogue — Satellite Transponders – International Technology & Market Trends.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

Iran successfully launches a home-produced satellite on the Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) satellite launcher.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

TechniSat, known in Germany for digital receivers and a provider of IDTVs, is expanding into the French market and has set up TechniSat Digital France E.U.R.L. in the French capital, Paris.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

Stratos Global Corporation is supplying Inmarsat BGAN mobile satellite communications service to University of California San Diego (UCSD) researchers to support their ambitious archaeological survey in remote Mongolia.
[SatNews – 02/03/2010]

ViaSat on new trajectory following deal to create satellite-based high speed internet.
[Xconomy – San Diego – 02/03/2010]

Iran unveils three new satellites and satellite carrier.
[Al Bawaba – 02/03/2010]

It’s not going to be business as usual — that is perhaps the only definitive thing the Space Foundation can say about President Obama’s FY 2011 NASA proposal, released on February 1st.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

Dan Losada, Senior Director of the Defense & Intelligence Systems Division at Hughes, will discuss ]ow shipboard satellite communications are critical to maintaining net-centric operations during missions at the SIA SATCOM User’s Workshop.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

NASA streams video from International Space Station.
[Information Week – 02/02/2010]

KVH opens Singapore office to support growing Asia region and commercial sales.
[PR Newswire – 02/03/2010]

In an effort to recover and reinvest in our nation’s businesses, NASA has awarded $50 million through funded agreements to further the commercial sector’s capability to support transport of crew to and from low Earth orbit.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

Mega Hertz, Inc. joins the ViP-TV™ Reseller Program of EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

International Datacasting Corporation receives a $2.8 million CDN contract from the Canadian Department of National Defence, (DND) for the continued operation of Canadian Forces Radio and Television, (CFRT).
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C.to deliver its ViP-TV(TM) video transport service to BTC Broadband, a provider of whole home telecommunications services in Oklahoma.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

atrexx offers to restore the services of Intelsat-4 customers after the satellite experienced an anomaly resulting in the switching off of the communication payload to conserve battery power.
[SatNews – 02/02/2010]

Russia is preparing to launch a Progress cargo spaceship on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.
[Space Travel – 02/02/2010]

Intense public debate on how rapidly Himalayan glaciers are shrinking highlights importance of satellites in monitoring glaciers worldwide.
[Space Mart – 02/02/2010]

India is building a spacecraft for mobile applications that will enable satellite phone use without depending on foreign companies.
[Space Mart – 02/02/2010]N

Gilat Satellite Networks, Ltd.’s Bandwidth Optimizer (BWO) solution has been successfully deployed at hub sites in Asia.
[Satnews – 02/01/2010]

White House proposed budget cuts NPOESS program in half; directs NOAA and Air Force to continue developing their own weather observatories.
[Spaceflight Now – 02/01/2010]

Rascomstar-Qaf will launch a new satellite in May, two years after launching their Rascomstar-QAF1 that is expected to cease functioning by the close of 2010.
[SatNews – 02/01/2010]

Intelsat 4 experiences anomaly; Intelsat and Boeing work together to identify cause; Intelsat works with customers to identify restoration capacity.
[Business Wire – 02/01/2010]

Obama budget extends U.S. involvement in the International Space Station to 2020 or beyond.
[Space Travel – 02/01/2010]

Shuttle Endeavour to deliver a new technological module, Tranquility, to the International Space Station for its U.S. segment.
[Space Travel – 02/01/2010]

Next generation weather environmental satellite marks significant milestone with delivery and beginning of integration for a key science instrument.
[Space Mart – 02/01/2010]

Strong bipartisan congressional rebuke against Obama plan to kill NASA’s moon-bound Constellation program.
[Space.com – 02/01/2010]

Obama kills moon program; endorses NASA support for the commercial space program.
[NASA – 01/31/2010]

ORBCOMM AIS data used to help rescue two yachters in distress, and in detecting low power search and rescue transponders from space.
[TMCnet – 02/01/2010]

Thuraya helps rural communities to improve communications, often facilitating access to satellite services in areas usually not penetrated by traditional terrestrial networks.
[AME Info – 01/31/2010]

Pentagon’s recent announcement that it will buy 50 more extended range UAVs sends signal that more Communications-on-the-Move (COTM) for UAVs will be needed in the coming years.
[NSR Report – February 2010]

U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awards two of three contracts for radar data to foreign companies; data for all three awards came from foreign satellites.
[NSR Report – February, 2010]

Supporting the Warfighter: Adapting to the Changing Paradigm of the Defense Market This article discusses how businesses will need to change the way they do business with the military under the mounting budget pressures on the military.
[Microwave Journal – January 2010]

WBMSAT PS – Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Think Mongolia is technologically challenged? Think again, rocket scientists. They’re jumping all over the Internet and the authorized Apple reseller in Mongolia, MCS Electronics, also happens to be one of its hip ISPs. They’ll be selling iPads in no time via their IT Zone shops.

What do they use to hook up their customers across the vast Asian steppe? Satellite, of course. They’ve got their own teleport and they’ve just signed up with Canada’s Telesat for a chunk of space on Telstar 18.

Telesat, the world’s fourth largest fixed satellite services operator, announced today that Orbitnet LLC of Mongolia (ORBITNET) has signed a multi-year agreement for Ku-band capacity on Telesat’s Telstar 18 satellite.  ORBITNET is a leading provider of advanced Internet solutions in Asia and is using Telstar 18 to bring broadband connectivity to business, government, and cellular operators in the region.

"Broadband satellite services combine the reliability, high speed and cost effectiveness that make them an ideal solution to meet the growing needs of developing Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Mongolia," said Sukhbaatar Pagvajav, Technical Director of ORBITNET.  "Our company began using Telstar 18 in 2008 and our customers are very impressed with the quality of service we have been able to deliver.  ORBITNET’s business in Mongolia is going well.  We have expanded into Bhutan and Kazakhstan and look forward to bringing broadband satellite services to more countries in 2010."

"The coverage and capabilities of Telstar 18 are ideal for meeting the needs of Asian broadband providers like ORBITNET," said Nigel Gibson, Vice President, International Sales for Telesat.  "Telstar 18 is one of the most versatile satellites in the region with C-band that connects Asia to the Americas and Ku-band to serve video broadcasters and broadband networks.  We see good opportunities for continued growth in Asia with Telstar 18."

Typical customer quote, followed with a happy quote from the guy who gets the commission.

Why do we consider MCS Electronics "hip?" Check out their TV spots and you might agree…

SES unveiled a brave new branding scheme yesterday for naming its future space assets. As one would expect, the Luxembourgeoise countryside was typically excited beyond imagination.

Take a deep breath, sit down and read on…

Consistent with its role within SES as the provider of global and American satellite capacity, SES WORLD SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), today unveiled its updated strategic satellite fleet development plan, as well as a new naming convention for future additions to the fleet that will leverage SES’ global reach and powerful brand.

Three new advanced satellites in various stages of development and construction by Orbital Sciences Corporation are intended to replenish and expand SES WORLD SKIES’ North American fleet and will be named SES-1, SES-2 and SES-3.

SES-1 is set for launch in the spring of 2010 and will replace AMC-2 and AMC-4 at the 101° West orbital slot. Further information on launch dates and slots for SES-2 and SES-3 will be published shortly.

NSS-14, currently under construction with Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in Q1 2011, has been renamed SES-4. It will replace NSS-7 and provide incremental capacity over the Atlantic Ocean with comprehensive coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NSS-7 will then move to replace NSS-5 at 340° East.

The C-band payload of the SIRIUS 5 spacecraft, also under construction with Space Systems/Loral and scheduled for launch in Q4 2011, will be named SES-5 and reside together with the Ku-band payload of SIRIUS 5 at 5° East.

The NSS-806 replacement satellite, under negotiation with vendors, will be named SES-6.

Finally, upon closing of the Protostar-2 acquisition announced late last year, the satellite will be fully integrated into SES WORLD SKIES global fleet and renamed following the same “SES” satellite naming nomenclature.

SES-2 and SES-3 will likely be replacements for AMC-5 and AMC-1, respectively. But why, you ask? Must be a simple explanation. Aha! Allow the CEO to expand on this…

Our fleet strategy is focused purely on meeting our customers’ growing demand for telecom, television and government services delivery with the most reliable and advanced satellites that carry the most trusted and financially secure name in the industry. SES WORLD SKIES is embarking on one of the most ambitious satellite deployment initiatives in the industry to meet the strong need for ubiquitous connectivity in virtually every corner of the world.

Got that, rocket scientist?

So take AMC-1 at 103 degrees West. It was originally called Satcom H-1, with H being "hybrid," as all the previous Satcoms were either C- or Ku-band. When Americom was a part of GE, Jack Welch asked "why not call it GE-1?" So they named all future birds "GE-something." Along comes Société Européenne des Satellites, buys the Americom division from GE Capital, and renames them all as "AMC-something." I was not the only one who advocated branding all as "Satcom" again (the name dates back to 1976, but never registered as a trademark). Would have been much cleaner then — and today.

Really, SES stands for Société Européenne des Satellites. There’s your branding.

"Telecommunications Without Borders" — the NGO that’s typically first to arrive at disasters with emergency communications technology — deployed its teams in Haiti within a couple of days of the devastating earthquake. Using Inmarsat’s BGAN terminals, they were part of many "satellites to the rescue" stories in the aftermath.

The British Journal of Healthcare Computing and Information gave this report:

Telecommunications experts from Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have been setting up communications networks in Haiti for the government, aid agencies and survivors of the 12 January earthquake.

TSF is funded by the UN Foundation and Vodafone Foundation and is working in co-ordination with UNICEF and the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams (UNDAC). The first TSF team arrived on Wednesday 13 January and a second team flew into Port-au-Prince from Santo Domingo with a UN rescue aircraft on Friday 15 January.

TSF has set up a satellite link, mostly dedicated to UNDAC teams and to emergency responders, and multiple broadband access points for phone and Internet use in the co-ordinating and logistics centres near the airport.

TSF teams are also providing IT support to the nustah (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti). This complex, located close to the airport, gathers all United Nations agencies and NGOs.

By Saturday January 16, TSF had set up three ‘humanitarian’ phone call operations around Port au Prince, allowing local people to phone relatives — 100% were international calls, mostly to the U.S.

 Obviously, the dominant satellite operators made satellite capacity available quickly, with dueling press releases from Intelsat and SES World Skies. But Eutelsat, the only geo satellite operator affiliated with TSF, was first on the scene.

A six-man team from TSF (Telecoms Sans Frontières) has already deployed a D-STAR terminal at the On Site Operations Coordination Center (OSOCC) of the United Nations Mission to Haiti near the airport in Port-au-Prince. It is at the disposal of OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and also the EC (ECHO). The satellite link is provided by ATLANTIC BIRD™ 1 and the Skypark teleport in Turin which is patching the terminal into the Internet backbone to provide DOIP and VOIP services.

 Satellite capacity is beneficial, but getting the links up and running — and communicating via the Internet — is critical. They ought to consider shipping modems and antennas. SES has a SurfBeam platform on AMC-9, but the coverage of Haiti is weak, so shipping these low-cost DOCSIS-based modems may not be the best idea. AMC-6, with an iDirect platform, does offer better coverage — but the TDMA-based modems cost much more.

So what? Send them out — with pre-configured link budgets, including look angles/pointing instructions for a selection of locations in Haiti. Look, you got the good P.R. already. Make it better with more telecom donations. I’m just sayin.

Hey, you could do worse. Look at Royal Caribbean.

 Pioneer came out with a smokin’ car radio — actually a super device — at CES last week. The AVIC-X920BT can do everything you can think of in a car.

Engadget picked up on one feature: streaming Pandora via your iPhone:

 Your car’s dash just got a tad bit more interesting with the introduction of Pandora music streaming in Pioneer’s latest navigation unit. The double-DIN in-dash device exploits your iPhone’s cellular connection to glean tunes from the ether and comes with a 6.1-inch display, Bluetooth, 3D video accelerator, and 4GB of built-in memory expandable by MicroSD.

Interesting. I do that with my iPhone, too. Slacker, Last.fm and many other apps let your stream audio. Do I lose signal? Sure I do. Not as much as with satellite radio under tree cover, however. Pandora is essentially free. Sirius XM is not.

The folks at TheStreet.com see more than just a neat product. They see the beginning of the end for Sirius XM:

 A long-feared, potential threat to Sirius XM Radio has become real for many tech-sector observers, prompting them to wonder whether the satellite radio company has reached the beginning of its end.

At last week’s kick-off of the 2010 annual Consumer Electronics Show, one of the world’s largest tech-trade shows, Pioneer unveiled a new car stereo that can detect Pandora Internet radio settings from iPhones or iPods — which could then be translated into convenient access for the users to their favorite Pandora channels while driving.

Pandora’s potential has been tantalizing from the moment it was launched in 2000, much of it owing to its Music Genome Project — an ongoing compilation of painstakingly-detailed musical data analysis that Pandora has been using to create customized music stations for individual users.

Through the project, the company has steadily added listeners every year, doubling to more than 40 million in 2009, compared to Sirius’ roughly 18 million subscribers as of December.

Through Pandora, users can access tunes via their Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile phones.

Ted Cardenas, a Pioneer director of marketing, told the Wall Street Journal that he sees the creation as an opportunity to reach out to an entirely new group of consumers. This has led some observers to conclude that the new Pioneer AVIC-X920BT will threaten the very survival of Sirius, once it becomes available to the market in March.

The choice for the marketplace will therefore be one between a selection of free, Internet radio programming automatically customized to one’s personal tastes versus the subscription-based services of a commercial-free satellite radio company.

Sirius currently offers various subscription packages ranging from about $13 to $20 a month.

Drivers and car owners have represented a large portion of Sirius’ subscriber base, given that vehicles come with the radio installed. Therefore, much of Sirius’ profits have been tied to the success of the auto-industry, which has yet to make a full recovery.

 The poll agrees with what I think: Sirius XM will hold on to their subscribers.

Audio streaming to mobile devices is a good alternative, but it’s not a substitute for satellite radio. No cell service, no audio stream. With satellite radio, you get it everywhere.

 When we first wrote about the DishPointer AR Pro app a few months ago, this is one of the instances where it can become an indispensible tool for field technicians: quickie site surveys.

Here’s a real example from Afghanistan:

I found out about this thing while doing research to find out the directions to a bird while here in Afghanistan. I stumbles across DishPointer’s website, which was a lifesaver, and saw mention of this app. As soon as I got back to where I could access the market I made sure to get this app. I can’t begin to say how wonderful it is. Being over here, we don’t have any birds that are actually for us. We use Hotbird 6&7, which are for Europe. This App still helps me see if I have line of sight and it helped to align a dish in no time. (I know you see the difference in time in the pics, We had a bad LNB that was making it more difficult to get a good signal.)

The fact that the app stores all the birds for offline use is a truly wonderful thing out here. If I had this before, I could’ve been able to tell within 5 minutes that one of the sites we were at was simply not able to see the bird. We could’ve been in a dangerous location for a mere 15 minutes instead of the 3 days we were there trying to no avail. From now on anytime I go out for an install I’ll make sure my phone is part of my toolbag, and of course this app will be installed.

Getting a site survey done quickly in a combat zone using a $20 app? That’s the type of cost-benefit analysis we like to see.

The DishPointer AR Pro is available via iTunes App Store.