Archive for September, 2011

WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 09/16/2011

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Satellite operators SES SA and Telesat Holdings may need to stick to  partnerships to expand in fast-growing emerging markets as acquisitions are  often blocked by politics.
[Bloomberg – 09/16/2011]

Avanti Communications announces contract win for UK rural broadband supply.
[Proactive Investors – 09/16/2011]

Space Systems/Loral’s Viasat-1 Ka-band satellite arrives at Kazakhstan’s  Baikonur Space Center launch base.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/16/2011]

SES S.A. contracts with Osterreichischer Rundfunksender of Austria for a  fourth transponder at 19.2 degrees East to launch two new public broadcasting  channels in Austria.
[SatNews –  09/16/2011]

Space Weather research report states that solar superstorm could kill  majority of in-orbit weather, telecommunications, and military satellites in  less than a year.
[Satellite Today – 09/15/2011]

NASA selects designs of new heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule for ferrying  cargo, equipment, and science experiments to Earth’s orbit and beyond, as well  as serving as backup for transportation services to International Space Station.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

U.S. National Reconnaissance Office gets hit with budget cuts but preserves  science and technology funding used to develop unique capabilities including  advanced satellites, six of which have been launched in last seven months.
[Federal Times – 09/15/2011]

Weathernews Inc. of Tokyo, Japan sets date for launch of WNISAT-1 from the  Yasny Cosmodrome in Russia for next September – satellite will monitor ice  conditions in the Artic Sea.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

House Armed Services Committee hearing delves into LightSquared LTE plans and  potential interference with military GPS systems – FCC Chairman chooses not to  appear.
[Washington Post – 09/15/2011]

Eutelsat extends agreement with Russian Satellite Communications Company for  satellite control from Dubna.
[Market Watch – 09/15/2011]

European Space Agency and Arianespace sign contract for launch of BepiColombo  spacecraft, designed to explore planet Mercury.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

New Iridium personal services package includes capability to use Iridium  satellite communications device together with your smart phone in areas where  there is no wi-fi or cellular phone service.
[digital energy – 09/15/2011]

Globecomm Systems gets contract to host the enhanced and extended GSM  wireless network of Chariton Valley Wireless Services of Northeast Missouri.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

TCS does it again- $9.3M order from U.S. Army for SNAP deployable satellite  systems upgrades and spares equipment following earlier $20.7M in funding for  equipment and field services support of SNAP systems. .
[Market Watch – 09/15/2011] [Market Watch – 09/14/2011]

ViaSat receives delivery order valued at approximately $27.6M for  Multifunctional Information Distribution System – Low Volume Terminals from the  Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command.
[SatNews –  09/15/2011]

Gilat U.S. subsidiary Spacenet Integrated Government Solutions wins third  U.S. government contract to provide satellite communications services.
[Globes – 09/15/2011]

Northrop Grumman signs three-year agreement to become leased services  provider and network services distribution partner of Inmarsat’s satellite  services around the world.
[Emoney Daily – 09/15/2011]

Euroconsult 8th annual awards go to:  Global Satellite Operator of the  Year – Inmarsat; Strategic Transaction of the Year – EchoStar Corporation;  Regional Satellite Operator of the Year – AsiaSat; Broadband Satellite Operator  of the Year – Hughes Communications.
[SatNews –  09/14/2011]

European Space Agency shut down the second European Remote Sensing satellite  ERS-2 after 16 years of providing data for thousands of scientists and projects.
[SatNews –  09/14/2011]

FCC wants further tests of LightSquared’s proposed mobile broadband network  as concern mounts over possible interference with GPS.
[Mobiledia – 09/14/2011]

Sirius XM CEO expects significant revenue growth in 2012 after company raised  subscription fees for first time in about a decade.
[LA Times – 09/14/2011]

KVH to unveil new 1-meter TracVision(R) HD11 marine satellite TV system for  global HD with digitally programmable multi-beam Universal World LNB.
[Market Watch – 09/14/2011]

U.S. Navy announces plans to launch September 27 the Tactical Microsatellite  (TacSat)-4, funded by Office of Naval Research and developed by Naval Research  Laboratory to allow service members around the world to use handheld radio for  mobile communications in the field without having to set up a satellite antenna.
[Stars & Stripes – 09/13/2011]

Worries about Russian rocket reliability delay launches of U.S. and French  satellites and crew rotation for International Space Station.
[The Hindu –  09/13/2011]

Graduate students at Purdue designing and building rocket engine that could  land a vehicle on the moon.
[R&D Magazine – 09/13/2011]

Farstaed Shipping signs 5-year satellite communications contract with Harris  CapRock Communications for 53 offshore supply vessels.
[Market Watch – 09/13/2011]

Comtech receives $12.1M in orders for broadband high-power amplifiers to  un-named U.S. contractor.
[Bloomberg  Business Week – 09/13/2011]

Eutelsat aims to improve quality assurance standards for satellite TV ahead  of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
[Cable – 09/12/2011]

Hughes is awarded extension contract for U.S. Air Force study of commercial  communications satellite systems capabilities.
[Market Watch – 09/12/2011]

LightSquared forges ahead with another wholesale agreement, with VoX  Communications.
[Market Watch – 09/12/2011]

Arabsat announces that all necessary technical and logistics requirements for  global distribution of Saudi League matches in Europe and the U.S. have been  finalized.
[SatNews –  09/11/2011]

Thuraya IP, world’s smallest satellite high throughput solution, attracts  praised from British and French Ministries of Defence, will be showcased at  upcoming DSEi exhibition in London.
[Teletechwire – 09/11/2011]

LightSquared says it can avert interference problems with GPS systems by  limiting power levels and adjusting height and tilt of antennae.
[Kansas City Star – 09/10/2011]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services


What’s This Button For?

Thursday, September 15th, 2011


In spacecraft operations, the last thing you want is a ground controller who decides following the standard operating procedure is for idiots. Not sure if that’s what happened at the Ciel-2 TT&C facility, but something bad did, causing the spacecraft to go into safe mode.

The customer, DISH Network, leases capacity from SES, who leases from Ciel Satellite Group, owners of the spacecraft, acknowledged the anomaly…

DISH Network restored all affected television channels for its customers Wednesday morning after experiencing a temporary interruption of service on some of its channels overnight.

The interruption mainly affected high definition channels to a portion of DISH Network customers. Standard definition channels were largely unaffected resulting in a majority of DISH Network customers not being affected at all.

The interruption began at approximately 5 p.m. ET Tuesday and involved the Ciel2 satellite, which is operated by SES at 129 degrees West Longitude through a Canadian subcontractor and leased to DISH Network. SES has attributed the anomaly to human error in its ground operation of the spacecraft. According to SES, there is no issue with the health of the satellite.

I’m glad I’m in the eastern arc and unaffected by this outage. I feel sorry for the folks in Saskatoon — those who committed the “human error” in question. The spacecraft lost its orientation and therefore automatically went into safe mode, a near total shutdown. Afterwards, it take a few hours to turn on the tubes.

WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 09/09/2011

Friday, September 9th, 2011

SES S.A. presents new brand identity and logo as operating units merge into single entity, with independent subsidiary SES Government Solutions to market to U.S. government.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

New unified approach and identity of merged entities forming SES S.A. outlined by CEO of SES Government Solutions.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

Iridium adds new services to “personal mobile satellite communications” product, including extending beyond satellite phones to include enabling a Wi-Fi hotspot capability for connecting devices.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/09/2011]

Launch of ViaSat-1, delayed in August due to Proton Breeze-M failure, is now scheduled for October.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

MIT led NASA GRAIL moon mission, twin spacecraft set to precisely map moon’s gravitational field, suffered launch delay yesterday due to high winds.  Re-scheduled to launch today, Friday September 9,
[R&D Magazine – 09/09/2011]
the launch is scrubbed a second time.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

Skyware Global debuts new Cielo Ka-band product range with world’s first truly integrated Ka-band VSAT transceiver.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

International Datacasting announces debut of IDC Systems & Solutions, offering comprehensive end-to-end systems integration for broadcasters.
[SatNews – 09/09/2011]

Satellite operators SES SA and Intelsat SA push services such as military drones in preparation for biggest increase in satellite capacity in at least 10 years (more than 200 commercial communication satellites to be launched by 2020).
[Bloomberg – 09/08/2011]

Orbit of NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite decays, with re-entry into atmosphere expected by late September or early October.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

Satlink Communications’ live trial of Novelsat’s 3G-SAT NS3(TM) technology shows over 50% increase above DVB-S2 in bandwidth efficiency.
{MarketWatch – 09/08/2011]

TRACE selects Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD 9A satellite to broadcast its platform of HD channels across Europe and Middle East.
[PR Newswire – 09/08/2011]

Newtec signs contracts with Eutelsat’s Skylogic (for TOOWAY product), SES ASTRA (for ASTRA2Connect product), and African company SkyVine for the Newtec Sat3Play hub systems to provide two-way IP broadband services.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

Space Systems/Loral selected to provide two high-power satellites to Intelsat.
[Market Watch – 09/08/2011]

SES S.A. gets contract from GlobeCast for transponder on SES-4 as well as additional transponder on ASTRA-4A to launch two new broadcast platforms for sub-Saharan African region.
[MarketWatch – 09/08/2011]

TCS continues its successes with the U.S. military as the U.S. Marine Corp signs contract for integrated communications system that carries potential value of $139.8M.
[UPI – 09/08/2011]

Vizada expands Satcom portfolio to include new Iridium Extreme and Iridium AxcessPoint with location-based services like online tracking and emergency SOS notification.
[Market Watch – 09/08/2011]

Globecomm Systems is awarded two contracts from US Government customers valued at $12.8M, with options that could potentially increase value up to $66.6M for both contracts.
[Market Watch – 09/08/2011]

Emergency services professionals choose KVH TracPhone V3 Mini-VSAT for portable satellite communications.
[4-traders – 09/08/2011]

Marlink signs agreement with Wilson Ship Management to provide 80 of its ships with SCAP FleetBroadband on 36 month contract.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

C-COM debuts new 98cm iNetVue Ka-band antenna, tested by Gilat and fully integrated with Gilat’s SkyEdge II Ka-band terminals.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

ATCi tailors Simulsat transport system for European market.
[PR Newswire – 09/08/2011]

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory provides scientists with new information that energy from some solar flares is stronger and lasts longer than previously thought.
[R&D Magazine – 09/08/2011]

Sea&Space of Belgium signs for capacity on Telesat’s Telstar 11N to bring advanced broadband services to remote African communities.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

DIRECTV Latin America signs with Intelsat for capacity on two new satellites to expand its DTH offerings and provide backup and restoration services.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

Advanta Technologies joins list of companies signing wholesale-only compacts with LightSquared.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

Optimal Satcom awarded multi-year contract by Asia Broadcast Satellite to provide enterprise satellite capacity system to help manage ABS’ growing commercial satellite business.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

Work Microwave announces new-generation DVB-S/S2 modulator.
[SatNews – 09/08/2011]

British scientists attempt to revive only satellite ever launched by the British (in 1971) – Prospero was only launched because it was finished; Ministers had already pulled the plug on the Black Arrow project.
[Daily Mail – 09/07/2011]

SES and Gazprom agreement boosts Russian satellite capacity with relocation of Astra 1F satellite.
[Digital TV Europe – 09/07/2011]

Eutelsat and Eser Telekom announce agreement to expand reach of Tooway(TM) satellite broadband into Turkey and neighbouring countries.
[Market Watch – 09/07/2011]

Hughes ships Ka-band broadband satellite solution to YAHSAT.
[Market Watch – 09/07/2011]

Hispasat selects Arianespace to launch its new Amazonas-3 telecommunications satellite.
[SatNews – 09/07/2011]

GlobeCast cuts ribbon on new Rome teleport.
[Satellite Today – 09/07/2011]

New Globalstar satellites now providing improved voice and data service for North American customers.
[GlobeNewswire – 09/06/2011]

ORBIT aims to expand tracking and telemetry/satellite earth observation business in the U.S.
[Market Watch – 09/06/2011]

ViaSat wins contracts from Boeing for ground based beam forming system for Mexican satellite.
[Market Watch – 09/06/2011]

KVH mini-VSAT broadband service now available in South America to all subscribers, completing original global coverage plan for the maritime satellite communications network.
[Market Watch – 09/06/2011]

Broadcom announces entry into Out Door Unit market with Full-Band Capture Satellite Channel Stacker solution supporting 24 independent channels, delivering more HD streams, multi-room DVR and IP services throughout the home.
[Market Watch – 09/06/2011]

Independent mobile and satellite networks likely to benefit from AT&T’s antitrust woes, and Justice Department sues to prevent AT&T merger with T-Mobile.
[Seeking Alpha –  09/05/2011]

Pakistan Chairman SUPARCO confident that recently launched PAKSAT-1R has capacity to bring revolution to national education programme.
[Pak Observer – 09/05/2011]

Croatia’s KLasik TV joins AMOS satellite system.
[News on News – 09/05/2011]

Hong Kong-based telco PCCW Global and Vizada Networks team up to expand international terrestrial and satellite services coverage of both companies.
[Trade Arabia – 09/04/2011]

Inmarsat launches a price War and goes direct – the risks and the possible rewards.
[SatMagazine – September issue]

WBMSAT PS satellite communications systems services

Tonight: PTF11kly

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SUPERNOVA!!

Tonight, light from a white dwarf star that exploded 21 million years ago, give or take, and is brighter than all the stars in the universe combined, can be seen around the Big Dipper with a pair of binoculars. May your night sky be clear.

Here’s Peter Nugent, an astronomer and senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, with the details…

This is what you’re looking for, known as PTF11kly.

MiliDroids Need Satcom

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

There’s no question a Joint Battle Command-Platform Handheld will become an effective tool for the military. What is a JBC-P Handheld? That’s Army-speak for a smartphone running Android.

The device, known as a Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P Handheld, is the first developed under an Army effort to devise an Android-based smartphone framework and suite of applications for tactical operations. The government-owned framework, known as Mobile /Handheld Computing Environment, or CE, ensures that regardless of who develops them, applications will be secure and interoperable with existing mission command systems so information flows seamlessly across all echelons of the force.

This framework, originally prototyped by MITRE, is now being developed at the Software Engineering Directorate in Huntsville, Ala., with the JBC-P family of systems and is aligned with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Common Operating Environment, or COE strategy.

“Using the Mobile /Handheld CE Product Developers Kit, we’re going to allow the third-party developers to actually develop capabilities that aren’t stovepiped,” said Lt. Col. Mark Daniels, product manager for JBC-P. JBC-P, which will be fielded to both the Army and the Marine Corps beginning in fiscal year 2013, is the follow-on program of record for Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below/Blue Force Tracking, or FBCB2/BFT.

“That’s going to allow us to be interoperable across the entire family of systems of JBC-P, which would include the platforms, the aviation, the logistics community, the tanks, the Bradleys, the handhelds,” Daniels said.

As Danger Room reported on a wearable form factor(s), the core device will need to rely on secure communications in and out of the theater of operations. And for this, the DoD will need to tap into available commercial satellite capacity. Sure to please satellite operators, the folks attending the Army Satcom Users Workshop agreed.

All this chatter will be put to the test next month at Network Integrated Evaluation 12.1, a large-scale field exercise at Ft. Bliss in Texas and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.


The Moon Needs Some Press

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Just in time for the release of the movie Apollo 18, the folks who run the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera at Arizona State decided to share some images of Apollo 17 remnants.

That’s good P.R., rocket scientists.

Here’s the horror film’s trailer…

You know, that lunar roving vehicle is one sick set of wheels.

WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits September 2, 2011

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Two-foot-wide model of world’s first geosynchronous commercial communications satellite, Syncom, shares the stage at Boeing celebration of 50 years in the satellite business.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Stellar Group utilizes Newtec’s Flex ACM and three transponders on inclined orbit satellite to provide reliable high speed satellite link to camp of 40,000 in Afghanistan.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) pre3pares for launch of Megha-Tropiques advanced weather and climate satellite later this month aboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Orbital Sciences receives Commercial Space Transportation License from Federal Aviation Administration to conduct Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program demonstration mission in 2012.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

National Polar-orbiting Operational Environment Satellite System Preparatory Project satellite,. first of new generation of satellites to observe many facets of our changing Earth, arrives at Vandenberg for October launch.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Aljazeera invests in several Multimedia Exchange Network over Satellite TV interactive terminals from Newtec.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Comtech EF Data’s new LPOD to get deployed by U.S. Government under $1.2M satellite earth station equipment order from leading solutions provider.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

iPONT International and SES Astra to demonstrate glasses-free 3DTV on SES stand at IBC 2011.
[SatNews – 09/02/2011]

Orbital awarded $135M contract by NASA for Icesat-2 earth science satellite program.
[Reuters – 09/01/2011]

Inmarsat GX and Rockwell Collins team up to expand airborne connectivity for aeronautical industry.
[Satellite Spotlight – 09/01/2011]

Gaps in smart grid network communications technologies lead many utility companies to consider two-way satellite IP networks.
[Electric Light & Power – 09/01/2011]

Worried National Research Council committee urges NASA to place greater focus on space junk.
[Science Magazine – 09/01/2011]

Repaired Amos 5 satellite to be launched in December 2011.
[Globes – 09/01/2011]

Three men responsible for damaging Waihopai Valley intelligence gathering satellite dome in 2008 found liable for damages by High Court at Wellington, NZ
[NZ Herald – 09/01/2011]

New Euroconsult report says growth continues but slows as challenges emerge for the satellite communications sector.
[Broadcast Engineering – 08/31/2011]

Roscosmos considers returning the federal space program to the framework of the state defense order to ensure steady financing and reduce the number of accidents with space launches.
[SatNews – 08/31/2011]

Launch of China’s Tiangong satellite will be delayed due to failure of experimental orbiter SJ-11-04 to enter orbit following its launch last weerk.
[SatNews – 08/31/2011]

Hughes wins two orbital slots in Brazilian auction.
[PR Newswire – 08/31/2011]

Thuraya partners with SRT Wireless to redefine the future of satellite data transmission.
[MarketWatch – 08/31/2011]

LightSquared and Inmarsat join forces to support hurricane Irene emergency responders.
[Satellite Spotlight – 08/31/2011]

Expand Networks offers satellite optimization for reliable communications in disaster events.
[Satellite Spotlight – 08/31/2011]

American Family Radio chooses Ka You Communications and VSAT Systems to connect 156 of their transmitter sites to the Internet to comply with new Common Alerting Protocol for the Emergency Alert System.
[PR Newswire – 08/31/2011]

Gilat is selected to provide multi-million dollar SkyEdsge II broadband network and services for security communications in Latin America.
[MarketWatch – 08/31/2011]

Russia lifts suspension on launches of main Proton-M rockets, pointing to problem with Briz-M booster stage as cause of August 18 failed launch.
[Reuters – 08/30/2011]

Kratos wins $6M in contracts to provide critical SATCOM situational awareness products and value added services to the military, government and intelligence communities.
[MarketWatch – 08/30/2011]

Eutelsat Communications announces six-year distribution agreement between Skylogic subsidiary and Egyptsat, bringing satellite broadband to Egyptians.
[Broadband TV News – 08/30/2011]

RRsat signs with Spacecom for Amos-5 satellite remote and mirror earth station for telemetry monitoring, tracking, and commanding, and In-Orbit Testing of the satellite following its December launch.
[PR Newswire – 08/30/2011]

KVH and ViaSat enhance KVH’s Mini-VSAT Broadband network, doubling uplink speeds and implementing adaptive return-link technology.
[SatNews – 08/30/2011]

Vizada launches SkyFile C Store & Push to offer customers highly-reliable data reporting and polling services, enabling shipping companies to adhere strictly to international maritime law.
[SatNews – 08/30/2011]

Arianespace places hold on launch of Arabsat 5X and SES-2 in order to carry out supplementary checks on the ESC-A upper-stage cryogenic engine.
[SatNews – 08/30/2011]

One-day International satellite-industry forum organized by Global VSAT Forum and Satellite Interference Reduction Group will be held in Netherlands September 8 to target satellite interference.
[SatNews – 08/30/2011]

TSF lands in Tripoli, and establishes satellite links to benefit medical establishments and organizations charged with treating injured that have been evacuated.
[SatNews – 08/30/2011]

Dish Network unveils portable satellite TV antenna for tailgaters, campers, and customer engaging in other outdoor activities.
[Satellite Today – 08/30/2011]

Pakistan telco awards $134M satellite contract to NewSat.
[The Express Tribune – 08/30/2011]

As 6,500 cell sites in four states are knocked out by Irene, Army North coordinates with FEMA and dispatches defense coordinating officer teams equipped with Chevrolet Suburban Emergency Response vehicles with satellite communication systems.
[NextGov – 08/29/2011]

ViaSat completes Yonder mobile high-speed Internet coverage over South America.
[MarketWatch – 08/29/2011]

X Class solar flare of August 9, 2011 and subsequent disruption to Japan’s Kodama communications satellite illustrate the vulnerability of Earth’s communication systems to astronomical events – underscores need to prepare.
[PR Web – 08/29/2011]

Globalstar completes French authorization of new satellite constellation.
[MarketWatch – 08/29/2011]

Raytheon ground system passes launch test for critical Polar orbiting satellite.
[Ottawa Citizen – 08/29/2011]

Dish Network and DirecTV take opposite tacks, as Dish embraces diversification including launch of new LTE network, while DirecTV is “well-advanced on a debt-fueled share buyback.”
[DSL Reports – 08/29/2011]

T-Mobile rolls out new satellite backhaul-supported emergency voice service.
[Satellite Today – 08/29/2011]

Research satellite set for launch from Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska on September 27.
[Chron – 08/28/2011]

ISRO issues request for proposal seeking available satellite capacity to lease.
[SatNews – 08/28/2011]

Dish Network seeks FCC approval of TerreStar-DBSD merger.
[Space News – 08/26/2011]

Nigerian satellite launched August 17 returns first pictures.
[BBC News – 08/26/2011]

Russian cargo rocket bound for International Space Station with food and fuel fails and lands in Siberian forest.
[The New York Times – 08/24/2011]

Dish Network wants FCC to let it use Terrestar’s satellite spectrum to roll out LTE-Advanced, although the new standard is not yet ready.
[Wireless Week – 08/23/2011]