Archive for January, 2014

We Support Ukrainian Democracy

Saturday, January 25th, 2014

pravoslavni

From an American living in Kyiv, Ukraine, on the morning of 25 January 2014…

Good morning USA. As of 14:30 Kyiv time, Saturday. First: There was no clearing of Maidan.
I wish I had better news but the situation in Ukraine continues to escalate and is extremely fragile. I’ll try to keep this update to the facts…mainly reported on Ch.5, and identify rumors as such. I’ll let the conclusions and speculation as to what happens next be up to you.

ANOTHER ACTIVIST DEAD
45 year old Roman Senyk, from western Ukraine died from injuries sustained in the 22.Jan Berkut attacks on Hrushevskoho Street. His ‘chest cavity’ was operated on twice and his arm was amputated.

THE COURTS HAVE BEEN BUSY
17 Automaidan Participants have been sentenced to 2 months in prison
2 to home arrest (including a 72 year old activist)

MAIDAN IS SPREADING ACROSS THE NATION
Regional Administration Buildings (Like state government/governor’s offices in the US) are being forcefully taken over by protestors. The situation is evolving rapidly.
7 out 26 Oblasts (Regions) are now controlled by the “Narod” (the People).
11 are besieged/blockaded by protesters.
5 have active protests at their doors
2 are quiet (Donetsk and Luhansk)

KYIV MAIDAN – FIRES AND PITCHFORKS
In Kyiv, the tire fires have been burning since last night. Activists that get covered with water from government firehouses are receiving changes of clothes brought to them right to the front lines by other activists. Channel 5 showed footage of tires and supplies of pitchforks, yes pitchforks, being unloaded from activist cargo transport vehicles. Retired Gen. Hrytsenko recommended that those who have registered firearms, wear them on their person if they go to Maidan as the govt is snatching people left and right. He poses the question: “Why should we not defend ourselves?”
Rumor: on Hrushevskoho, activists have spotted police entering the back entrance of “Dim Ukrainy” (Ukrainian House) on European square. It has long been rumored that this building is packed with Berkut. The protesters are completely exposed, from the rear, on that side of European Square. There are no barricades there to protect them or to slow an attack.

MILITIA UNITS RESIGNING
So far I can confirm entire militia units in Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, and Vynnytsia have flipped and apologized to the Narod. (Keep in mind there are officers from Yanukovych in all regions threatening defectors with Military Tribunals if they resign). Rumors: Founder of PoR resigned (?), many judges are resigning (?)

THE GOVERNMENT
Yanukovych spoke on TV last night with a tragic and sad disposition [no comment or i’d have to use expletives] about people suffering. How willing he is to talk to the opposition to reach a peaceful solution. How the opposition is rejecting his appeals. How he will be forced to take legal measures, etc…

The leader of Automaidan, Bulatov, has still not been found. The other Automaidan guys have offered 10,000 USD for information leading to finding him.

People keep disappearing from the streets and hospitals (Doctors are getting SBU phonecalls asking for reports about patients). Seven students (art/film students) were snatched off the street – not on Maidan. Status unknown. Three men were arrested during the night for having tires in their cars.

Zakharchenko (Interior Minister/top cop) released information (words) that one police officer has been killed by Maidan activists and two have been kidnapped and are being held in the Kyiv City Admin Bldg controlled by activists. Maidan is denying this information.

Zakharchenko stated that negotiations with Maidan activists have proved futile. That the activists are accumulating fire arms. He said he is being forced to take action by all methods at his disposal.

SIGNS OF RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT
A military analyst reviewed activist debriefs after torture and intimidation sessions and identified Russian FSB techniques used in Chenya and other countries. Those released activists reported strange regional Russian accents.

DID I MENTION IT’S COLD?
I know many of you in America have also been experiencing bitter cold. It’s REALLY cold here. -20, -21deg C (-5 degF). The kind of cold where the inside of your nostrils freeze with each inhale. Where the three layers you are wearing feel paper thin. Where the rubber soles of what you thought were badass, sh** kicking, boots freeze so solidly that it feels like you are ice-skating. Where your exposed face between your scarf and hat feels numb within minutes. NOTE: some of the automaidan guys were forced by Berkut to kneel in the snow two nights ago for 1.5 hours without their coats. The protesters have incredible RESOLVE and attitude.

The NAROD needs your prayers and support now more than ever.
SLAVA UKRAINI!!


WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 01/24/2014

Friday, January 24th, 2014

NASA’s latest communications satellite, TDRS-L, gets a lift into space on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket using a Russian designed RD-180 first stage engine. [CBS News – 01/24/2014]

Sentinel-1 satellite – Credit: ESA artist concept – Space News

Europe mounts defense of radar satellite spectrum against wireless broadband incursion. [Space News – 01/24/2014]

Space Travel file image

President Obama signs new spending bill including money to continue NASA’s human space exploration program, bringing back Project Constellation. [Space Travel – 01/24/2014]

Illustration only – Space Daily

Sierra Nevada reserves Atlas rocket for 2016 Dream Chaser test flight. [Space Travel – 01/24/2014]

Virgin Galactic reaches significant milestone in testing of new family of liquid rocket engines for LauncherOne, its small satellite launch vehicle. [Space Travel – 01/24/2014]

Small lander named Philae – Credit: ESA artist concept – Space News

ESA managing expectations for small lander to be launched from comet-chaser satellite Rosetta for attempt to latch onto Comet 67P by harpoon in November 2014. [Space News – 01/24/2014]

Airbus Defence and Space to build ground segment for France’s net-generation optical and infrared reconnaissance satellite system and maintain it for 12 years. [Space News – 01/24/2014]

GVF-EMP Conference – Creating the New “New” Verticals – Air, Water, Surface & Rail – coming to London February 11th and 12th will analyze “seamless connectivity” for today’s communications users. [SatNews – 01/24/2014]

ILS to launch Yamal 601 satellite for Russia’s Gazprom Space Systems in 2016. [Via Satellite – 01/23/2014]

Global Satellite Broadband Communication in Public Safety market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.45% over the period 2014 – 2018 in new report added to Research and Markets offering. [Yahoo Finance – 01/23/2014]

India’s satellite communication sector has experienced significant growth over past five years driven by demand from DTH payTV platforms and growing telecommunication needs in the country according to Euroconsult report. [SatNews – 01/23/2014]

Location Based Services (LBS) ,market in Asia Pacific region set to grow at CAGR of 32.98% over the period 2013-2018 according to new report by Research and Markets, but lack of knowledge among users could challenge the growth. [Satellite Markets & Research – 01/23/2014]

RFIEUI and IRG announce a merger helping the two groups to better serve the industry and combat satellite interference together. [Satellite Evolution Group – 01/23/2014]

NASA expected to miss congressional deadline for releasing call for proposals for concepts for Discovery-class planetary science missions later this year. [Space News – 01/23/2014]

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Gates says Pentagon believed PLA acted alone without knowledge of civilian Chinese leadership in 2007 Anti-satellite test. [Space News – 01/23/2014]

Spot 6 image of Bora Bora, French Polynésia. Credit: Astrium image – Space News

France to make older Spot optical Earth observation images available to researchers for free. [Space News – 01/23/2014]

SES selects Xstream to enhance Video on Demand platform. [Via Satellite – 01/23/2014]

Inmarsat Government finalizes agreement to be a Value Added Reseller for Inmarsat Global Xpress as a cleared company under a proxy agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense. [Via Satellite – 01/23/2014]

Telered and MEASAT provide TV services in Philippines. [Via Satellite – 01/23/2014]

GS Group survey shows high demand for quality digital TV in Pakistan, but reveals problems influencing the quality of TV services. [Via Satellite – 01/23/2014]

U.S. Navy accepts three MUOS ground stations built by General Dynamics. [The Wall Street Journal – 01/23/2014]

NSSLGlobal opens teleport in Perth, Australia. [Satellite Evolution Group – 01/23/2014]

Afghanistan drawdown that began in 2011 has led to diminishing growth in the global land mobile satcom market. [NSR report – 01/22/2014]

Telesat majority owner Loral Space & Communications explores a sale of the Canadian satellite communication services company. [Chicago Tribune – 01/22/2014]

ATK MegaFlex. Photo: ATK – Via Satellite

ATK demonstrates MegaFlex Solar Electric Propulsion solar array for NASA. [Via Satellite – 01/22/2014]

ILS president says it is too early to say if launch market is oversaturated. [Via Satellite – 01/22/2014]

U.S. Southern Command embarks on ambitious international CubeSat program, turning to the Naval Postgraduate School for evaluation of the micro satellites. [SIP Trunking Report – 01/22/2014]

Sierra Nevada Corp to announce expansion plans for its Dream Chaser Space System. [R&D Magazine – 01/22/2014]

Environmental & Safety Systems International spins of ESSI Communications division to create BlueTide Communications Corporation, focused on satellite communications for energy, maritime, and yacht leisure markets. [Via Satellite – 01/22/2014]

Alphasat’s high-frequency hosted payload set to begin experiments. [Via Satellite – 01/22/2014]

Digitaria International selects Signalhorn to provide satellite communications services to passengers and crew aboard fleet of twelve luxury vessels operated in the Americas, Mediterranean, and South African markets. [telecompaper – 01/22/2014]

MTN signs new agreement with Carnival Corporation extending partnership providing Internet services to customers and crew aboard several of their cruise ships. [Via Satellite – 01/22/2014]

New report added to offering of Research and Markets, “Analysis of Global Wireless Backhaul via Satellite Market,” discusses expected growth in the market in various regions, and key drivers for satellite backhaul. [Business Wire – 01/21/2014]

NASA and Roscosmos to sign new transportation services contract by summer. [Space News – 010/21/2014]

Gilat Satcom and Gilat Satellite Networks to supply fixed and on-the-move satellite services to the Israeli government. [Yahoo Finance – 01/21/2014]

Spacebel signs commercial contract to supply Vietnam with VNREDSat 1b, an Earth observation system made in Belgium set to launch in 2017. [Via Satellite – 01/21/2014]

Badan SAR Nasional selects Thuraya Telecommunications to provide satellite communications to improve search and rescue efforts in Indonesia. [National Post – 01/21/2014]

Globalstar launches industry’s lowest cost and most accessible prepaid service thoughout EMENA. [CIOL – 01/21/2014]

Telstra Global launches new Points-of-Presence increasing its global Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network in Western Europe and the American Midwest. [Via Satellite – 01/21/2014]

LiveTV and Eutelsat agree to launch new Ka-band satellite connectivity for airlines in Europe. [Yahoo Finance – 01/21/2014]

HISPASAT now offers HIGH TV 3D across Europe. [SatNews – 01/21/2014]

Australian Defense Force selects ViaSat terminal for data link network management. [Via Satellite – 01/21/2014]

With new HTS systems launching over next year or two, FSS C-band capacity might get lost in the mix, but it is not going anywhere, adding another 55 TPEs of capacity over the next ten years. [NSR Report – 01/20/2014]

SpeedCast re-branding positions it in a top five position in the international satellite telecommunications service provider market. [University Chronicle – 01/18/2014]

President of Astrium Services Government (now part of the Airbus group) calls the “Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA)” procurement strategy for the U.S. military dangerously flawed. [Via Satellite – 01/17/2014]

NASA Tech Briefs article discusses photonic laser thrusters for spacecraft maneuvering. [NASA Tech Briefs – January Issue]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services


No Comment

Friday, January 24th, 2014

From Ukraine, Russain FSB dressed as riot police in Kyiv.


Big Bang Monday: Whiteface

Monday, January 20th, 2014

Great photo by Mark Deff of Whiteface Mountain in New York, near Lake Placid and Site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics.

Who could forget beating the Soviets in hockey?


WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits – 01/17/2014

Friday, January 17th, 2014

 

Space Daily file photo

NASA Space Launch System could make ‘outside the box’ science missions possible. [Space Travel – 01/17/2014]

Marines build field-based command and control center for satellite and radio operations at Camp Hansen, Okinawa as part of pre-deployment communication exercise. [dvids – 01/17/2014]

GOES R – Lockhedd Martin artist’s concept – Space News

Omnibus bill fully funds primary NOAA satellites, but does not fund an adjunct satellite intended to host instruments that cannot fit on NOAA’s primary polar-orbiting platforms. [Space News – 01/16/2014]

NASA’s New Horizons – SatNews file image

Screaming through space at nearly one million miles a day, NASA’s New Horizons, launched in 2006, draws closer to its target Pluto, with encounter to begin in January 2015. [SatNews – 01/16/2014]

GATR Technologies spins diminished military spending into opportunity with latest $440 million contract. [Via Satellite – 01/16/2014]

Amid growing sentiment that U.S. military must adopt new ways of operating in space to cope with new threats and declining budgets, top executive with Lockheed Martin says the company must change as well. [Space News – 01/16/2014]

Harris Broadcast acquires Imagine Communications, a digital video solutions company that delivers bandwidth-efficient services with prime video quality for online applications and TV Everywhere. [Via Satellite – 01/16/2014]

Celebrity Solstice – Celebrity Cruises – Space News

KVH plans to debut multicast service intended to replace longstanding practice of sending DVDs by mail to ports in advance of ship arrivals. [Space News – 01/16/2014]

ILS to launch Eutelsat 9B satellite in 2015. [Via Satellite – 01/16/2014]

Dish and Southwest Airlines extend partnership and “TV Flies Free” promotion – through December 31, 2014 customers using iOS, Android, and other Internet-ready devices can get 20 live TV channels free, and VOD. [SatNews – 01/16/2014]

Thuraya Telecommunications launches latest version of Thuraya SatSleeve for Android-based smartphones. [Via Satellite – 01/16/2014]

Viking Satcom deploys ground station equipment to support SES’s new SES 6 satellite. [Via Satellite – 01/16/2014]

Free NSR webinar February 12 – “Satellite Manufacturing and Launching: The Dawn of a New Era.” [NSR – February 12 2014]

Government & Military Satcom – pessimistic views overshadow many opportunities for solutions that address military requirements of lower budgets while at the same time offering more bandwidth. [NSR – 01/15/2014]

Satellite Today file image

Boeing Space Surveillance system helps U.S. Air Force reduce satellite loss by 66%, detecting potential threats more quickly and allowing operators to take early action if necessary. [Via Satellite – 01/15/2014]

SpaceX drives sharp increase in projected launches at Cape Canaveral, which plans to support up to 21 rocket launches in 2014, a 50% increase from 2013. [Space News – 01/15/2014]

ViaSat sees future in aeronautical and maritime broadband markets. [Space News – 01/15/2014]

Members of Netherlands Parliament want Minister of Defense to explain the exact purpose of equipment owned by the American Defense Ministry in Burum, Friesland. [NLTimes – 01/15/2014]

KVH doubles capacity of global C-band beams as its mini-VSAT broadband customers increase reliance on broadband connectivity. [The Wall Street Journal – 01/15/2014]

Planning to connect your car to the Internet by satellite – Kymeta and UIEvolution. [Via Satellite – 01/15/2014]

GSLVD 5 liftoff – Space.com

Indian launch of GSAT-14 communications satellite validates technology of ISRO’s indigenous GSLV-D5 rocket. [Space.com – 01/14/2014]

Military & Aerospace image

Air Force searches for companies in the industry able to upgrade GPS satellite waveform generators. [Military & Aerospace – 01/14/2014]

General Shelton tells George Washington University students that space is the “ultimate high ground,” fundamental to the economy. [Milsat Magazine – January issue]

Boeing tests new anti-jamming technology making it easier and cheaper for the U.S. military to send secure communications via current satellites that do not have their own anti-jamming capability. [UPI – 01/14/2014]

The first of two Intelsat launches by ILS in 2015 will be Intelsat DLA-2, also known as Intelsat 31. [Via Satellite – 01/14/2014]

C-COM receives new orders from Russian reseller AltegroSky for additional iNetVu auto-deploy antenna systems. [Yahoo Finance – 01/14/2014]

Tethers Unlimited is testing new propulsion method that might greatly improve access to as well as capability of CubeSats. [Via Satellite – 01/14/2014]

RigNet and Harris CapRock target energy businesses in Houston Texas, naming Houston as its Americas regional headquarters. [Houston BizBlog – 01/14/2014]

ViaSat’s Fly-Fi premiers on JetBlue Airways, offering new in-flight high-capacity Wi-Fi, opening the skies to business passengers needing faster internet while traveling. [U-T San Diego – 01/14/2014]

Singapore Technologies Electronics wins $468 million in 4Q 2013 contracts for intelligent transportation, satellite communications, and advanced electronics and information communications technologies. [Via Satellite – 01/14/2014]

Fifth Lockheed Martin MUOS secure communications satellite completes assembly and enters system test. [Yahoo Finance – 01/13/2014]

2013 was an unprecedented year for satellite broadband access services with record subscriber growth – NSR forecasts the global satellite broadband assess market will add over 4.3 million net new subscribers in coming ten years. [NSR – 01/13/2013]

Technavio report projects global satellite broadband communication in the Public Safety market to grow at a CAGR of 8.45% in the 2013 – 2018 period. [SBWire – 01/13/2014]

TDRS L – Credit: Walter Scriptunas II – Spaceflight Now

NASA’s next-generation TDRS L satellite mounted atop Atlas 5 rocket in preparation for launch on Thursday, January 23. [Spaceflight Now – 01/13/2014]

SpaceX may pick Texas over controversial Merritt Island launch site. [Space News – 01/13/2014]

NASA/JPL Lunar Lasercomm OCTL Terminal. Credit: NASA/JPL – Novuslight

Future commercial prospects for laser satellite communication could include providing “broadband access to remote parts of the world without having to dig thousands of kilometres of trenches to lay down optical fibres.” [Novus LIght – 01/13/2014]

Comtech receives $4.4 million contract to provide upgrade to Brazilian Military satellite network. [CiOL – 01/13/2014]

Cloud Front Group and Saratoga Data Systems announce availability of Flume software protocol that transmits data up to 5-100X faster than TCP and 3X faster than SCPS acceleration protocol over satellite communications. [IT Business Net – 01/13/2014]

MTN pioneers new iDirect X7 high-performance satellite modem on the Norwegian Breakaway, dramatically improving the efficiency and throughput of the vessel’s communications system. [SatNews – 01/13/2014]

Bently Walker extends reach across Africa and the Middle East using Avanti’s HYLAS 2 satellite. [Satellite Spotlight – 01/13/2014]

Raytheon to develop strategic SATCOM system to link nuclear forces to national command authorities. [Military & Aerospace – 01/10/2014]

WBMSAT satellite communications consulting services


Fishing For Space Junk

Wednesday, January 15th, 2014

Nitto Seimo Co.’s Koji Ozaki holds wire woven with a converted fish-net weaver in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. (Mainichi)

Great experiment the http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140112p2a00m0na005000c.html have been working for 10 years: using a big net to capture space debris and then bundling it to plunge it into the atmosphere to get rid of it.

Japanese researchers will make the world’s first attempt to remove space debris with aluminum netting thanks to a small company here that produces fishing nets.

Nitto Seimo Co. was contacted by JAXA researcher Satomi Kawamoto in April 2004, asking if it could make a net using metallic string.

“I’d sought cooperation from various manufacturers but they’d turned me down one after another,” she recalled. “I was desperate.”

The engineers at Nitto Seimo, whose main products are fishing nets, were unsure why such a net was necessary but decided to accept the request anyway.

Most space waste, found in high concentrations at altitudes of 700 to 1,000 kilometers, comprise parts of manmade satellites and rockets that were launched into space in the past. About 100 million pieces in total are said to exist, and because they travel at extremely high speeds, a collision with a space aircraft could cause a major disaster.

There are about 22,000 pieces of space debris at sizes 10 centimeters or larger — considered dangerous — and researchers have a grasp on trends in their movement. As for smaller waste, however, there are too many of them now to take any measures. Since a 2009 collision between an American artificial satellite and a Russian satellite, the pace at which the volume of space junk is increasing has accelerated. However, only a few pieces of waste have been thus far successfully retrieved with the use of satellites.

The method proposed by JAXA entails attaching wire netting to large debris to generate a magnetic field, reducing its speed over a span of about a year and thereby dropping it toward Earth. Because most of the debris is expected to burn up from frictional heat when it enters the atmosphere, it is believed to be the least costly method.

To ensure the wire’s strength, Kawamoto asked that the wire be made into nets about 10 centimeters wide.

“For 10 years after we accepted the job, we continued working on it out of pride for our work even though it didn’t lead to sales,” said Koji Ozaki, a technical expert at Nitto Seimo. The 0.1 millimeter aluminum wire that was supplied to Nitto easily broke and was hard to weave, and at times the company could only produce 1 meter of netting when the order was for 100.

Nitto workers applied their know-how of fish netting to repeatedly convert machines used to weave fishing nets, and in 2007, was jointly granted a patent with JAXA. In 2009, the company completed the conversion of a fish-net machine into one used specifically for manufacturing wire netting for the removal of space debris.

Pretty awesome idea. Let’s see if it works. Remember: it’s called “space” for a reason — there’s a lot of it out there.

Might be a good idea for a reality TV show. Fishing. Space. Junk. It’s got all the right stuff.


Big Bang Monday: Space Face!!

Monday, January 13th, 2014

space_face

The “space face,” courtesy of our friends at BigBangPrints.com

Ever since I saw the HELIX Nebula and how it so closely resembles an EYE, I’ve always wanted to compose a FACE using only nebula imagery. Well, HERE IT IS!

I used the Orion, Sharpless, Butterfly (for the bow tie), Helix, Hand of God, and Thor’s Helmet nebulae.


WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 01/13/2014

Monday, January 13th, 2014

 

Cygnus berthing with ISS – NASA Photo – Space News

Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Cygnus space capsule berths with International Space Station on re-supply mission. [Space News – 01/13/2013]

China’s space policy is open to the world, according to the new chief of China’s space industry. [Space Mart – 01/13/2013]

Iran is preparing to orbit three new home-made satellites in the future, according to Vice-President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Shariatmadari. [Space News – 01/13/2013]

Boeing completes first of two 702HP geomobile satellites, Centenario. for government of Mexico. [Space Daily – 01/10/2014]

Sky Perfect JSat selects SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to launch JCSat-14 communications satellite in 2015. [Space News – 01/10/2013]

KVH surpasses 100-vessel mark in 10-year contract to supply next-generation satellite communications to U.S. Coast Guard cutter fleet, with 29.2 terabytes of data and over 835,000 VOIP minutes provided thus far. [SatNews – 01/10/2014]

SpaceShipTwo – Space News

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceshipTwo reaches highest altitude to date in rocket-powered test flight over Mojave desert. [Space News – 01/10/2013]

Falcon 9 v1.1 appears to have met U.S. Air Force’s requirements to bid for national security launches and challenge the market incumbent, United Launch Alliance. [Space News – 01/09/2013]

Nextgov file photo

Obama administration extends International Space Station support another four years. [Nextgov – 01/09/2013]

STPSat3 – Ball Photo – Space News

U.S. Air Force takes control of STPSat-3. [Space News – 01/09/2013]

Launch of Orbital Science’s Antares mission following one-day delay raises awareness of space weather-induced flight risks. [Via Satellite – 01/09/2014]

Sea Launch Launch – Space News

Energia chooses Sea Launch to launch the AngolaSat telecommunications satellite and the Energia 100 broadband satelli8te in 2016 in a dual-satellite mission. [Space News – 01/09/2013]

Lockheed Martin gets $3.9 million contract to track orbital debris. [Via Satellite – 01/09/2014]

Comtech gets $4.4 million contract from Brazilian military to upgrade its satellite network. [Yahoo Finance – 01/09/2014]

Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates gets $4 million deal for European communications satellite subsystem. [4-traders – 01/09/2014]

Hughes teams with Aruba Networks to provide retail Wi-Fi service. [Via Satellite – 01/09/2014]

Cobham Satcom and Comtech EF Data partner to provide collaborative maritime solutions. [Via Satellite – 01/09/2014]

X Class Solar Flare – NBC News

Huge solar flare causes Orbital Science’s Antares team to scrub ISS resupply mission. [NBC News – 01/08/2013]

Zinwell Corp is developing a new satellite digital outdoor unit (D-ODU) using MaxLinear’s channel stacking system on chip (SoC). [Via Satellite – 01/09/2014]

Use of satellite imagery is strongly related to economic growth – Asia good example as one of the most dynamic regional EO markets over the past five years. [NSR – 01/08/2014]

GATR Technologies wins $440 million contract with U.S. Army for inflatable satellite communications antennas. [BusinessWire – 01/08/2014]

Dish withdraws $2.2 billion bid to buy bankrupt LightSquared, as trial got underway over whether Dish’s Charles Ergen had unlawfully bought LightSquared’s debt in effort to take over the company. [Reuters – 01/08/2013]

ESA’s Gaia spacecraft reaches operational orbit. [Via Satellite – 01/08/2014]

Global Eagle plans expansion of in-flight connectivity across South Asia. [Via Satellite – 01/08/2014]

Spacecom to broadcast African CHAN football championships via Amos 5 satellite. [Via SAtellite – 01/08/2014]

Entropic announces first fully-integrated set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip for satellite receivers and IP clients. [Via Satellite – 01/08/2014]

Thaicom 6 launch – SpaceX – Via Satellite

SpaceX successfully completes second GEO communications satellite launch, delivering Thaicom 6 into orbit. [[Via Satellite – 01/07/2014]

Mars One plans two, or possibly three, communications satellites for the Red Planet. [Via Satellite – 01/07/2014]

Arian 5 on pad at ZL-3 node – Via Satellite

Arianespace postpones launch of Ariane 5 ECA mission, citing need to change-out unspecified equipment on the VA217 Ariane 5 ECA launcher. [Via Satellite – 01/07/2014]

Sea Launch photo – Via Satellite

Sea Launch Zenit 2S rocket completes inspection, preps for April launch. [Via Satellite – 01/07/2014]

Computer Security firm analysis states that VSAT terminals may pose a soft target for hackers, finding more than 10,000 terminals of 3 million investigated to be using default passwords or having open ports. [Computer World – 01/07/2014]

SES and EUTELSAT complete sale of Solaris Mobile to Echostar. [Market Watch – 01/07/2014]

Broadcom announces new Outdoor Unit (ODU) satellite chipset that enables wider range of services to more subscribers without additional dish installations. [Market Watch – 01/07/2014]

West African mining company uses satellite/cellular terminals to track mine vehicles where no other means of communications are available. [Directions Magazine – 01/07/2014]

ISRO launch – Via Satellite screen shot

ISRO completes successful GSLV D5 launch of GSAT 14 satellite. [Via Satellite – 01/06/2014]

Thales Alenia Space awarded Astrium contract for Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution (ME). [Via Satellite – 01/06/2014]

Pleiades satellite.(Image from smsc.cnes.fr)

France-UAE satellite deal shaky after U.S. spy tech discovered onboard. [RT – 01/06/2014]


Follow The Pocket

Thursday, January 9th, 2014

The Pocket Drone by AirDroid. Follows you — and your smarty pants phone — everywhere. Almost.

Carries a GoPro to film it all, too.

Relax, it’s just a prototype. Put your excitement to work with their Kickstarter campaign.


WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits 01/03/2014

Saturday, January 4th, 2014

Navman Wireless adds satellite communications option to its OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking platform.
[Construction Equipment Guide – 01/04/2014]

Inmarsat PLC completes acquisition of Globe Wireless.
[The Wall Street Journal – 01/03/2014]

Columbus ISS (NASA Photo) – Space News

European Space Agency says that by late 2015 it will reduce its annual space station operating costs by 30% compared with 2010.
[Space News – 01/03/2014]

Mexican Oil and Gas reform opens up satellite opportunity for Jaba satellite engineering.
[Via Satellite – 01/03/2014]

Liberty Media reaches for control of SiriusXM satellite radio.
[LA Times – 01/03/2014]

Bolivian state-owned telecommunications company Entel establishes contact with the country’s first communications satellite, Tupac Katari, orbited in December.
[Hispanically Speaking News – 01/03/2014]

Eutelsat closes transaction to acquire 100% of share capital of SATMEX.
[The Wall Street Journal – 01/02/2014]

SpaceX rocket on pad (Space photo) – SatNews

SpaceX delays launch of Thaicom-6 by at least 3 days to allow launch team to resolve issue with Falcon-9 v1.1 rocket’s fairing.
[SatNews – 01/02/2014]

Amos 4 (IAI photo) – Via Satellite

Spacecom’s Amos 4 satellite concludes testing, prepares to enter commercial service.
[Via Satellite – 01/02/2014]

Soyuz 2.1v rocket – Via Satellite

New Soyuz 2.1v rocket completes first successful launch, carry8ing an AIST student built microsatellite and two SKRL 756 radar calibration spheres for the Russian Ministry of Defense into orbit.
[Via Satellite – 01/02/2014]

Airbus Defence and Space, formerly named Astrium, congratulates SpaceX for retaining focus on cost efficiency without veering off into fascinating but unnecessary engineering challenges.
[Space News – 01/02/2014]

Entropic Communications gets patent for “Method and Apparatus for Cross Polarization and Cross Satellite Interference Cancellation.”
[4-Traders – 01/02/2014]

CHIRP on SES-2 – Space News

U.S. Air Force targets 2016 for CHIRP follow-on.
[Space News – 01/02/2014]

Given the seriousness of the space debris problem, the Secure World Foundation discusses the need for space situation awareness among satellite operators.
[Via Satellite – 12/31/2013]

China puts into service its high-definition Earth observation satellite Gaofen 1.
[Via Satellite – 12/31/2013]

EIAST engineers. Photo: EIAST – Via Satellite

UAE announces plans to launch first domestically-built satellite in 2017.
[Via Satellite – 12/31/2013]

NASA artist’s concept showing the kinds of land surface data DESDynI mission will collect – Space News

Joint mission with India considered as NASA looks for savings in Earth science missions.
[Space News – 12/31/2013]

Energia completes full cycle of ground tests on Earth Observation Satellite EgyptSat 2, to be launched in April 2014.
[Via Satellite – 12/31/2013]

A Coronal Mass Ejection, or CME, as captured by NASA’s SDO Telescope. Photo: NASA – Via Satellite

UK to invest approximately $7.6 million in space weather forecasting system to protect technology from solar activity.
[Via Satellite – 12/30/2013]

China says it will have 30 satellites in its Beidou navigation system by 2020 to improve accuracy to within inches to better compete with the U.S. GPS.
[GPS Daily – 12/30/2013]

Gazprom Space Systems’ board of directors unanimously approves several long-term company goals for development until 2020. including continued construction and sustainment of fleet of Yamal satellites..
[Via Satellite – 12/30/2013]

Newsat gets Malaysian satellite regulator’s confirmation with respect to the use of the orbital slot 91.5 degrees East for the Jabiru-1 satellite.
[4-Traders – 12/30/2014]

New report published by Reportbuyer.com, “Global Fixed Satellite Service Market 2012 – 2016,” forecasts the market to grow at a CAGR of 5.44% over the period.
[Yahoo Finance – 12/30/2013]

AEHF satellite – Lockheed Martin photo – Space News

Lockheed gets $116 million for AEHF launch support.
[Space News – 12/31/2013]

House Energy and Commerce Committee announces plans to use 2014 to begin process leading to an update of the Communications Act for the digital age.
[The Washington Times – 12/29/2013]

New law precludes Russian satellite monitor stations in U.S. unless Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence certify they will not be used to spy.
[New york Times – 12/29/2013]

Euroconsult believes High Throughput Satellite (HTS) services are poised for record-breaking growth, with 33 HTS systems to be launched over the next three years (31 have been launched over past decade).
[Via Satellite – 12/27/2013]

Skybox Imaging releases first high resolution HD video images from SkySat 1.
[Via Satellite – 12/27/2013]

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