July 2009 Edition - MSS + Ground Stations | Teleports

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• Contents
• — BEAM —
• Teleports, Ground Stations + MSS
• SIA's State Of The Satellite Industry
• Euroconsult: Satellites To Be Built + Launched
• Near Earth: 2nd Annual Space Business Forum
• EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
• Emerging Apss Driving MSS Growth
• Geography On The Map — And Markets!
• Switching It Up—Moving Content To The Edge?
• MSS + Financing—Weathering The Coming Storm
• FOCUS
• The Forrester Focus
• Increasing Brand Value
• Linking The World's Communications
• Communicating With Australia
• Riding The Rails With The Internet—At 200 MPH!
• CORE TALK
• Satellite Deployment
• EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT
• David Ball, V.P., Intelsat
• CASE WORK
• GlobeCast Australia
• OP-ED
• Radford Rules: Chronicles Of SATCOM
• INSIGHT
• Australia's Space Effort
• Calendar Of Events
• Past News

June 2009 Satellite NewsVisit www.satnews.com for today's news

June 30, 2009
Raytheon Ratchets Up Airborne Antenna Advancement
During a recent flight test, Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) successfully demo'd breakthrough antenna technology that dramatically improves and delivers on the nexgen of airborne communications for wide-body aircraft.   Full Story

NASA Tanking On July 1st @ Kennedy Space Center
NASA will conduct a tanking test at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, July 1, to ensure repairs to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank were successful.   Full Story

Lockheed Martin Voices Its Approval Of L-3 Electrodynamics Euro Hawk Add-In
L-3 Electrodynamics (L-3 EDI), a division of L-3 Communications, has supplied its SRVIVR Cockpit Voice Flight Data Recorder (CVFDR) to Northrop Grumman for integration on its Euro Hawk variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system.   Full Story

Wavestream Wows General Dynamics + BUCs Into STTs
Wavestream Corporation has received orders totaling more than $50 million from General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, which uses Wavestream’s Ka-band SSPAs with integrated block upconverters (BUCs) on the Army’s new Satellite Transportable Terminals (STTs).   Full Story

Watch The ISS... For Yourself!
As America celebrates its 233rd birthday this holiday weekend, there will be an extra light in the sky along with the fireworks. Across the country, Americans will be treated to spectacular views of the International Space Station as it orbits 220 miles above Earth.   Full Story

A Moving Experience For VSD and AGS
VSD, LLC and AMERICOM Government Services, Inc. (AGS) have completed negotiations effecting transition of programmatic responsibilities for the Television Direct to Sailors (TV-DTS) Terminal Program from AGS to VSD.   Full Story

Gas & Oil Comms Conference Series Continues Onwards In Malaysia
The organizers of the Oil & Gas Communications Conference Series, Global VSAT Forum (GVF) and UK Event Management Partners (UK-EMP), have confirmed that the 2nd Annual Oil & Gas Communications South East Asia Conference: Redefining the Digital Oilfield Onshore, Offshore, Deep & Ultra-Deepwater Conference O&GCSEA2009) will again take place in Malaysia, at the Kuala Lumpur Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, November 17th and 18th, 2009.   Full Story

Making More For Maritime Is Vizada
Vizada has now launched Inmarsat FleetBroadband 150, a new service for the maritime community delivering voice, IP data, and SMS, at speeds of up to 150 kbps.   Full Story

Importance Of DigitalGlobe Imagery Emphasized With NGA Contract
DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI) has signed a contract to extend DigitalGlobe’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) with NGA (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency) for $12.5 million per month.   Full Story

Stratos, Security, Satellites + AFIANT
Stratos Global Corporation has signed an agreement with Modern Security Solutions Ltd. to market the AFIANT Satellite Network Video Management System.   Full Story

Music To SIRIUS Ears As New Satellite Makes Orbit
ILS International Launch Services (ILS) has successfully carried the SIRIUS FM-5 satellite into orbit on an ILS Proton launch vehicle.   Full Story

Eutelsat Brings Home FRANSAT
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has commercially launched FRANSAT, the new service giving satellite access in metropolitan France to all French free DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) channels.   Full Story


June 29, 2009
GOES-O Is GOing Great, According to Boeing, ULA, NASA and NOAA
Although yesterday's launch of GOES-O took a few attepts before it finally launched successfully, reports from Boeing [NYSE: BA], ULA, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate they have received the first on-orbit signals from GOES-O, revealing that the Earth-observation satellite is healthy and operating normally.   Full Story

LRO Becomes Luney Oriented
After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has successfully entered orbit around the moon.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Fantastic Fuji Foto
The 3,776-meter-high Mount Fuji Volcano, located on the island of Honshu in Japan, is one of the world’s classic examples of a stratovolcano.   Full Story

This Argentinian Dish Is 35m Of Powerful ESA SATCOM
The European Space Agency (ESA) informed Argentinean authorities that an area 30 km south of the town of Malarg?e in Mendoza province, about 1000 km west of Buenos Aires, has been selected as the best option to build a new 35m antenna in support of its programs — this is the first infrastructure to be built in Argentina by ESA.   Full Story

U.S. Military UAVs Experiment Against Pirate Sea Attack Swarms
In January 2008, five Iranian military speedboats swarmed three U.S. Navy warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. There were some tense moments, as the Iranian boats sped around and through the American formation — and the Americans braced for a potential attack.   Full Story

SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES Is Going Retro...
Home to the most innovative and popular television networks and programming, SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges: SESG), has announced it has signed a multiyear agreement to deliver Retro TV’s classic content lineup to viewers across the country.   Full Story

Vega's Verisimilitude An Arianespace Accomplishment
The Vega launch site in French Guiana has completed its initial preparation phase, and is ready for facility integration and qualification tests that should lead to the first flight of Arianespace’s new lightweight launcher in 2010.   Full Story

Scrutiny Of The Seas Scheme For Canadian Shores By MDA
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX: MDA) has signed a $25 million (CAD) contract with the Government of Canada to provide the Department of National Defence (DND) with a comprehensive broad-area maritime surveillance solution based on MDA’s RADARSAT-2.   Full Story

Ulysses Historic Space Mission Ends Tomorrow
Upon receipt of the last command from Earth, the transmitter on Ulysses will switch off on June 30th, bringing one of the most successful and longest missions in spaceflight history to an end.   Full Story

Super Seeps — SatMapping Slicks
Infoterra has completed an oil slick mapping and interpretation project of offshore Seychelles in collaboration with Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec).   Full Story

Iran Jams Foreign Satellite News In Bid To Isolate Public
At RFE/RL's Radio Farda, the e-mails and phone calls come in continuously from Iran.   Full Story

Breaking Ground For Taurus II Facilities
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB), in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, will hold a Ground Breaking Ceremony on June 29, 2009, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.   Full Story

The Name Game — Pacific Teleports Becomes Pactel International
Pacific Teleports has renamed their business to Pactel International, with immediate effect.   Full Story

Creech To Now Concentrate On UAV Combat Ops, Training To Holloman
The training for the Predator UAVs has been the primary mission at Creech AFB in Nevada, but due to a need for more growth and space for training, the U.S.A.F. has decided to move the training operations to Holloman AFB, which is near Alamagordo in New Mexico.   Full Story

Potential Israeli UAV Deal With Indonesia Flies Away
From the Indonesia site ANTARA NEWS, the report is that the House of Representatives` Commission I will reject a Defense Ministry`s plan to buy an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from Israel with funds borrowed from Leumi Plc Bank.   Full Story

Team Of Indian Students Wins Directors Award At U.S. UAV Competition
A high-tech Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed by a team of ten undergraduates from Delhi College of Engineering has won the prestigious Unmanned Aircraft System International Competition held recently in the U.S.   Full Story

BAE Systems Australia Goes Fishing For CTD Contract + Captures It
A contract awarded to BAE Systems by the Federal Government will significantly enhance Australia’s development of enhanced surveillance technology for unmanned aircraft systems, according to a senior company representative.   Full Story

New Round Of Financing Sallies Forth For SpaceX
Steve Jurvetson and his DFJ partners have agreed to lead a major investment in space transportation provider SpaceX, PE Week (peHUB’s sister publication) has learned — the round could be worth upwards of $60 million, and would include existing SpaceX backer Founders Fund.   Full Story

It's Telling Time For TerreStar-1 Aboard Arianespace Ariane 5
Arianespace's Ariane 5 heavy-lift flight with the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite was given the go-ahead for its July 1 liftoff following today's launch readiness review ?(June 29).   Full Story

California Space Authority + SpaceX Join Forces For Space Seminar
The California Space Authority (CSA) has teamed with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in preparing an integrated overview of basic space/aerospace industry fundamentals.   Full Story

Moving On Up @ Sanswire Corp.'s BOD
Sanswire Corp.a company that develops and produces lighter-than-air Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) designed to provide persistent surveillance for extended durations at mid and high altitudes, has appointed William J. Hotz to its Board of Directors.   Full Story

Moving On Up... @ iDirect's iHOG...
VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a company of VT Systems Inc (VT Systems), has announced that the iDirect Hub Owners Group (iHOG), a global forum for owners of iDirect’s universal satellite IP hubs, has completed elections for its new Board of Directors.   Full Story

NASA Pares Down Tons of Candidates to a Few Pair
How about showing up for a job interview in which there are more than 3,500 applications for nine jobs, and those chosen get a job out of this world — it happened at NASA's 2009 astronaut candidate class. Training will begin at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston this August.   Full Story

AFIS/ACARS Messages Sent + Rec'd InFlight Via I-4 Sat
Satcom Direct is the first service provider to successfully send and receive SATCOM datalink (AFIS/ACARS) messages over the Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation.   Full Story

Signing On Again Is SatGate WIth SES ASTRA
SES ASTRA, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has announced that the Lithuanian satellite service provider SatGate has resumed its transmissions from SES ASTRA’s orbital position at 31.5 degrees East.   Full Story

Sanswire: The Importance Of UAVs and Our Nation's Independence This July 4th
Patriotic citizens looking to the skies to enjoy Independence Day fireworks might also take a moment to reflect upon the importance of our nation's eyes in the sky, the range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that serve such an important role in America's homeland security.   Full Story

Five Projects To Receive Complimentary DMC Imagery
DMCii has announced the selection of 5 science projects that will receive free satellite imagery from the DMC (Disaster Monitoring Constellation) satellites.   Full Story


June 28, 2009
Here's Looking @ Earth: Terra's Terrificly Timely Topographical Tracings
NASA and Japan have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that covers more of our planet than ever before — the map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft.   Full Story


June 26, 2009
Die, Spy Satellite, Die — Says U.S. Homeland Security Secretary
In a report from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to do away with a program begun by the Bush administration that would use U.S. spy satellites for domestic security and law enforcement.   Full Story

GOES-O GOES FINALLY!!
UPDATE: There's a new launch date assigned to the Delta IV with GOES-O payload, thanks to all of the natural phenomena that occurred as described below... the new date is Saturday, June 27th, with a launch window of between 6:14 and 7:14 p.m., EDT.   Full Story

digiGO! — Agilent Web-based Test Training For Engineers
New standard technologies in computing and communication require new and creative measurement approaches and the correct test strategy can save R&D time and money.   Full Story

Smart Dragon Helps Environment
Nearly 200 scientists from Europe and China have gathered in Barcelona this week to report on the progress of ongoing Dragon 2 research projects using data from ESA and Chinese Earth observation satellites.   Full Story

New FCC Chairman As Well As NTIA Head Congratulated By TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is pleased to welcome Julius Genachowski as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman and Larry Strickling as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications and Information, and head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). TIA applauds the U.S. Senate for confirming Genachowski and Strickling, along with confirming Commissioner Robert McDowell to a second term on the FCC.   Full Story

digiGO! — ATG Broadcast @ IBC2009
ATG Broadcast will be exhibiting its full range of systems integration services on Stand 8.B51 at IBC2009 in Amsterdam.   Full Story

Grand Global Hawk Block 40 Coming Out Party
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and the U.S. Air Force have unveiled the nexgen of high-flying unmanned aircraft — the RQ-4 Block 40 Global Hawk — in a ceremony today at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale, California, manufacturing facility.   Full Story

Sims For U.S.A.F. Preadatoring + Reaping To Be Enhanced By SDS
SDS International (SDS) has been awarded a contract to further enhance its PC-based MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper training systems used by the USAF 711th Human Performance Integration Directorate, Brooks City-Base, Texas, to evaluate Airman Human Performance (HP) issues.   Full Story

Sea Launch Failure Finds Boeing Mebbe Holding Half-Billion In Liabilities
Julie Johnsson of ChicagoTribune.com has written a piece that deals with Boeing and how the Chicago-based aerospace giant may face nearly a half-billion dollars in liabilities related to its 40 percent ownership stake in Sea Launch LLC, a satellite venture that filed for bankruptcy on Monday.   Full Story

Serious Change of Plans for SIRIUS Launch
Change in plans for the SIRIUS FM-5 satellite is now scheduled for July 1 at 1:10 am from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.   Full Story


June 25, 2009
Without GD SATCOM, The LRO's Expected Investigative Successes Would Remain Rather Hushed
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems is providing the communications link for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission that was launched on June 18th, 2009.   Full Story

SeaSpace Receives Int'l Trade Award
The San Diego and Imperial District Export Council announces that the 2009 Bill Ivans International Trade Award will be presented to SeaSpace Corporation of Poway, California — its President, Hyong Ossi, will receive the award on behalf of SeaSpace today at the San Diego World Trade Center’s Fifth Annual Global Logistics Symposium.   Full Story

digiGO! — IPTV Gets On Using GPON From Ericsson In Armenia
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) is bringing high-quality, interactive TV to viewers in Armenia through a deal with operator Ucom — the Company will deliver its IPTV solution including GPON technology in the first contract of its kind.   Full Story

digiGO! — SGT + Interra Systems Partnership
SGT and Interra Systems have signed an industry and technology partnership agreement to provide their joint customers with seamlessly integrated, customizable, and flexible product solutions to enhance the systems quality and reliability of their broadcast installations.   Full Story

Aid + Trade Show Focused On By IEC TELECOM + Thuraya
IEC TELECOM and IEC Telecom Group are partnering with Thuraya for the upcoming 2009 International Aid and Trade event, occurring from July 9th through the 10th at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.   Full Story

SatSmarts Courtesy Of Keystone
Keystone Enterprise Services has formed a strategic distance education partnership with Lehigh University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, wherein Lehigh University will enhance its distance learning educational program using Keystone’s interactive satellite-training network.   Full Story

First WTA Member Forum Developed White Paper Comes The Forefront
The World Teleport Association's (WTA) new white paper, Competition or Conflict: Managing the Partnership Between Teleports and Satellite Carriers, provides insight into how successful “co-opetition” between teleport operators and satellite carriers can drive the growth of the business.?   Full Story

Boeing Bye Bye — GPS IIF Going To Cape Canaveral
Boeing [NYSE: BA] has shipped a Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to conduct a series of key tests for the U.S. Air Force's next-generation satellite navigation system.   Full Story

U.S.A.F. SMC's Scintillating SBIRS Satellite Substantiation Starts
The U.S. Air Force has announced the secondSpace Based Infrared System ?Highly Elliptical Orbit payload and associated ground system has entered trial period operations in preparation for use by the warfighter — this is a major program milestone for the SBIRS team.   Full Story

UAVs Underwhelm Israeli F-16 Fighting Falcon
The Israeli Air Force is carrying on a series of exercises to develop its capability to shoot down unmanned air vehicles (UAV) that might be launched in the Jewish country's airspace by guerrilla organizations, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, or by hostile nations, such as Iran.   Full Story

Four Weeks Of TacSat-3 Success
The Tactical Satellite-3 has exceeded expectations and is performing well a month after being launched, according to the program manager of the experimental spacecraft.   Full Story

GIOVE-A To Keep On Giving...
GIOVE-A, the first test satellite for Europe's Galileo navigation system, is to remain in service for a further 12 months.   Full Story

Inmarsat's Initiative For Space Industry In The U.K.
A joint government and industry initiative that aims to shape the future success of the U.K. space industry has been launched at Inmarsat's headquarters in London.   Full Story


June 24, 2009
Northern Georgia To Glom Onto HDTV Via EchoStar Via RTC
EchoStar Satellite Services, a division of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), has an agreement to deliver its ViP-TV™ video transport service to Ringgold Telephone Company (RTC), a provider of converged communications to more than 11,000 access lines in northern Georgia — Ringgold will receive transport of up to 42 popular HDTV channels to its IP headend.   Full Story

Latvia Joins In With EUMETSAT As A Member State
Latvia has completed the ratification process to become a full Member State in EUMETSAT and has informed the Depository of the EUMETSAT Convention.   Full Story

The Mating Game — Ariane 5 One Step Closer to Largest Civilian Telecommunications Satellite
The TerreStar-1 telecommunications satellite was mated to its Ariane 5 launcher today, taking Arianespace’s upcoming heavy-lift mission one major step closer to the July 1 liftoff.   Full Story

Agilent To Bring Data Conversion Technologies To Warfighter Programs
Agilent Technologies will deliver unique data-conversion capabilities and associated intellectual property to key U.S. and allied armed forces programs.   Full Story

MBAs... In Space!
Dr. Michael Simpson, President of the International Space University (ISU), announced that 12 participants from 10 different countries have completed the first stage of ISU?s new Executive MBA program at its central campus in Strasbourg, France.   Full Story

U.S. Navy Laser Versus UAVs... Laser Wins...
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), with support from Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren, for the first time successfully tracked, engaged, and destroyed a threat representative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while in flight at Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, California, on June 7th.   Full Story

Another Iranian "Believe It Not" UAV Story...
From CRIENGLISH.COM, we read that Iran's Air Force commander Brigadier General Hassan Shahsafi announced last Wednesday that Iran has successfully tested a home-made radar-evading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with bombing capabilities, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.   Full Story

Russian Rubles To Be Gained For Launching African Satellites
Russian news agencies quote Russia's space agency chief as saying Russia plans to launch satellites for Angola and South Africa.   Full Story

Final Moon Shots From JAXA's KAGUYA
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully produced stereo movies (3D) of the Moon's surface by using stereoscopic images obtained with the Terrain Camera (TC) onboard the KAGUYA just prior to its controlled impact to the Moon on June 11, 2009 (JST) — the KAGUYA was launched by JAXA on September 14, 2007.   Full Story

Integral To Infuse SkyTerra's 1 + 2 With EPOCH Control
Integral Systems, Inc., (Nasdaq: ISYS), now has contract with Telesat of Ottawa, Canada, under which Integral will provide its EPOCH Integrated Product Suite (IPS) of satellite command and control software to support the SkyTerra1 and SkyTerra2 satellites under construction by Boeing.   Full Story

Salty Saturn Rings Mean Water Retention
For the first time, scientists working on NASA's Cassini mission have detected sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn's outermost ring.   Full Story


June 23, 2009
ARES Gets The NASA Nod
NASA has signed a $144 million follow-on contract with ARES Corp. of Burlingame, California, for International Space Station Program integration and control services.   Full Story

Co-Mapping Conference Conquest By PCI Geomatics
PCI Geomatics has released its geospatial web conferencing technology, GeoConference Version 3.0, which is a software solution that enables groups to share and view maps and images interactively over the web, in real-time.   Full Story

Sea Launch Files Chapter 11 to Address Financial Challenges
Sea Launch Company L.L.C. and Sea Launch Limited Partnership and subsidiaries (“Sea Launch” or “Company”), a leading provider of launch services to the commercial satellite industry, has filed voluntary petitions to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington.   Full Story

What Can 8.2 Million Lines Of App Software Code Earn You? How About A NASA Contract?
NASA has awarded a $37.2 million contract modification to Lockheed Martin Corp. of Gaithersburg, Maryland, to provide additional user application software development and maintenance as part of the Facilities Development and Operations Contract, or FDOC.   Full Story

Space Launch Complex 37B Ready To GOES-O
Boeing's [NYSE: BA] commercial launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, (GOES-O) is scheduled to occur on June 26th aboard a Delta IV rocket.   Full Story

LRO Into Mooning
After a four and a half day journey from the Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, has successfully entered orbit around the moon.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Saharan Dust — Boon + Depilatory
Saharan sand blew off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal on June 22, 2009.   Full Story

Personal + Commercial Spaceflight Subject Of Int'l Symposium
Gary Payton, the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space Programs, will deliver the keynote address at ISPCS 2009.   Full Story

Processing Power A'Plenty For LRO + LCROSS, Thnx To BAE Systems
A BAE Systems computer is at the core of a strategic NASA mission for space exploration.   Full Story

IRIS To Investigate Energy + Plasma 'Tween The Sun + Earth, Once Developed By Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Space Systems Company, the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and a national and international team of co-investigators have been selected by NASA to develop a new Small Explorer Mission (SMEX) called the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS).   Full Story

Seriously, SIRIUS Satellite  Launch 
The SIRIUS FM-5 satellite will supplement the existing fleet of SIRIUS satellites with a high-power geostationary satellite that enhances the listening experience.   Full Story

Space Technology Hall Of Fame Seeking Nominations For 2010 Awards
The Space Foundation is now seeking nominations for induction into the prestigious Space Technology Hall of Fame? in 2010.   Full Story

C-COM Is Very Inclined To Help Out End Of Life Sats
C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) has developed a proprietary inclined orbit satellite tracking algorithm which will provide C-COM customers the ability to use inclined orbit satellites for their space segment needs.   Full Story

CASBAA Catch-Up
The announcement of two Asia Pacific DTH platforms (Echostar/AsiaSat for Taiwan and VTV/Canal for Vietnam), along with a new Asian procurement and launch program (ABS-2 from Space Systems/Loral & Arianespace), plus an Arianespace launch contract for Singapore/Taiwan’s ST-2 satellite, has reinforced the essential nature of satellites for the Asian communications industry.?   Full Story

Orbit Technology Group Takes Their Sounds to Asia's Air Force
Orbit Technology Group';s audio communication systems made for a wide variety of platforms and applications, announces the implementation of its unique, Audio Management Solution over IP (AMSIP) systems on the airborne platforms of a major Asian country’s Air Force.   Full Story

Boeing Big Chopper Controls Boeing Little Chopper For U.S. Army UAV Demo
Boeing [NYSE: BA]has announced that the AH-64D Apache Block III prototype helicopter successfully demonstrated Level IV unmanned aircraft system (UAS) connectivity on June 8th during a flight test over the Arizona desert.   Full Story

Sats Help Save Orangutans
A leading conservationist who has devoted his life to saving the orangutan is keeping in touch with the world from his rescue centre in the Indonesian jungle — thanks to BGAN.   Full Story


June 22, 2009
Celebration in Kuala Lumpar as MEASAT-3a Satellite Launches
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (“MEASAT”) today successfully launched the MEASAT-3a satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The satellite was launched on a Sea Launch LandLaunch Zenit-3SLB launch vehicle.   Full Story

Ain't Gonna Happen — No Advanced Israeli UAVs To Go To Russia
Israel does not plan to sell Russia its most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), defense officials said Monday, after a top Russian official said that the 12 UAVs Moscow recently purchased from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) would be used for study, to build similar models domestically (can you say "reverse engineering?").   Full Story

Double Ariane 5 Play For Arianespace @ Spaceport
Two Ariane 5 launch campaigns are in full swing at the Spaceport, keeping Arianespace on track for its targeted seven missions in 2009 with the workhorse heavy-lift vehicle.   Full Story

Czech Republic Checks 'Yes' with EUMETSAT
The Czech Republic today signed the accession agreement to become a full Member State of EUMETSAT.   Full Story

Emergency SATCOM Needs Finds SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES + Spacenet Ready
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), has announced Spacenet has signed a multiyear satellite capacity agreement to help meet growing demand for emergency communications capabilities across North America.   Full Story

InFlight Internet + Intercommunication Insight
Hong Kong Airlines and OnAir now have an agreement to install full Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir inflight passenger communications services on their new fleet of twin-aisle Airbus A330 aircraft – four A330-200 and six A330-300 — these will be delivered starting November 2010 and will operate on routes in South-East Asia, China and North America.   Full Story

21Net Trains to Get on Track
21Net, a European Internet operator specializing in broadband Internet access to trains via satellite communications, and UDcast, a global provider of wireless IP broadcast solutions, announced today the selection of UDcast as 21Net supplier for link Optimization of its Broadband to trains system.   Full Story

IDC Demos Digital 3D Surgical Precision
International Datacasting Corporation, (TSX:IDC) has announced today the Company's Superflex 3D Live Encoders and Decoders with Sensio(R) technology on board, were used in a live 3D demonstration of a robotic surgical system held at the 9th Annual Conference of Laparoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Group in South Korea.   Full Story

NASA's Small Explorer Program = Big Explorer Expectations
NASA has selected two science proposals to be developed into full missions as part of the agency's Small Explorer, or SMEX, Program.   Full Story

Telikom PNG Sings Praises for Gilat to Cover Hundreds of Sites
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. [Nasdaq: GILT] today announced it has been selected by Telikom PNG Ltd. to provide a broadband satellite communications network covering hundreds of sites.   Full Story

Global Coalition Warrior Military + Emergency Response Demos Get Hughes' SPACEWAY 3
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is providing rapid deployment of satellite-based broadband capabilities for disaster and emergency response during the Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration (CWID) which occurs from June 15th through the 26th, 2009.   Full Story

Launch Prep Can Now Start For U.S.A.F. STSS Demo Sats
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has delivered the first of two Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) demonstration satellites to the U.S. Air Force's Cape Canaveral Air Station for launch preparation.   Full Story

Water, Water Everywhere + SMOS Will Know All
Following an agreement between ESA, Krunichev Space Centre, and Eurockot Launch Services, ESA's next Earth Explorer mission SMOS and a secondary payload, the technology demonstrator Proba-2 satellite, will now launch on November 2, 2009.   Full Story

Hardware + Software Testing, Op Sims, All Completed By Boeing For SBSS System
Boeing has successfully completed integration and testing of the space segment, as well as initial testing of the ground segments, of the Space Based Space Surveillance (SBSS) system under development for the U.S. Air Force.   Full Story


June 21, 2009
A Herschel Happening
Herschel opened its 'eyes' on June 14th and the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) obtained images of M51, ‘the whirlpool galaxy’ for a first test observation.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Australia's Eerie Eyre Water Watch
Australia’s Lake Eyre drainage basin sprawls across about 1.2 million square kilometers, stretching from Northern Territory to South Australia.   Full Story

Paris + Puma In The Spring... AeroVironment Spotlights Hand Launched UAV
Officials from AeroVironment showcased their Puma AE (all environment) miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Paris Air Show — the hand-launched UAV uses custom electro-optics to track targets.   Full Story

Ariane 5 Topped Off To Boost TerreStar-1 Ever Upwards
Preparations of the TerreStar-1 passenger for Arianespace’s third Ariane 5 mission in 2009 have moved into their final phase with this week’s fueling of the satellite at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.   Full Story

Saab And The European MidCAS Project For UAVs
Saab is now the coordinator for a major European project, which will develop a system for unmanned aircraft systems to fly securely among regular, manned aircraft in so called "non-segregated airspace."   Full Story

Landlaunch Successfully Lifts-Off MEASAT-3a To Super Slot
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. (“MEASAT”) has successful experienced the LandLaunch launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, that's carrying the MEASAT-3a satellite into orbit.   Full Story

Northrop Grumman Shows Off Next Global Hawk Iteration In Paris
Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) RQ-4 Global Hawk's versatility in adapting its attributes to multiple national security missions were a key display at the International Paris Air Show last week.   Full Story

Key Customer Target = Africa For Astrium Services On W2A
Astrium and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) have announced the signature of a five-year contract for 36MHz of capacity on the new W2A satellite — Astrium Services will provide coverage for their existing and future customers across Africa.   Full Story

GOES-O Gets Solar X-Ray Imager From Lockheed Martin For Late June Launch
The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) instrument, designed and built by Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] at its Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC), is ready for flight.   Full Story

Two Successful Years, And Counting, For TerraSAR-X
TerraSAR-X is the first German satellite to have been built in the context of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between DLR and EADS Astrium GmbH.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Savage Slide In China
On June 5, 2009, a mountainside collapsed in the Chongqing region of southern China.   Full Story

Vega's New Launch Site
Initial preparations for Vega’s new launch site in French Guiana have been completed, clearing the way for facility integration and qualification tests that should lead to a maiden flight of this new lightweight launcher in 2010.   Full Story

digiGO! — Global IPTV Market's Use Of Hybrid STBs Subject Of Latest Report
Research and Markets has announced the addition of the Hybrid IPTV Set-Top Boxes — Global Market Forecast & Strategy Critique: 2009-2012 report to their offering.   Full Story

Powerful Partnerships: DigitalGlobe, EUSI + SIME + NGA
DigitalGlobe has entered into a direct access agreement and strategic alliance relationship for sales, marketing, and customer support, with European Space Imaging (EUSI) and Space Imaging Middle East (SIME).   Full Story

Cassini Captures: Mimas Makes Moonshadow On Saturn
The shadow of Saturn's moon Mimas dips onto the planet's rings and straddles the Cassini Division in this natural color image taken as Saturn approaches its August 2009 equinox.   Full Story


June 19, 2009
digiGO! — TANDBERG Terrific — Frost & Sullivan Awards Company
TANDBERG Television, part of the Ericsson Group (NASDAQ:ERIC), has been presented with the 2009 Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan Award for Consumer Video Vendor of the Year.   Full Story

digiGO! — Multiformat Importance No Longer WEARing, Thanx To Kahuna
A Snell Kahuna SD/HD multiformat production switcher is playing a pivotal role in the new HD news simulcast of WEAR ABC 3, an ABC affiliate station owned by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group.   Full Story


June 18, 2009
ULA Atlas V Trips On Out To Pad For June 18th Launch
An Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance, with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellites (LRO/LCROSS) aboard, rolls out from its Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, to its launch pad today.?   Full Story

Getting All MMISTy With Rockwell Collins To Demo A SnowGoose
Mist Mobility Integrated Systems Technology (MMIST) has selected Rockwell Collins to provide its Athena 411 flight control and navigation system for the CQ-10A SnowGoose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), with flight tests planned for late summer.   Full Story

Bringing TV Delights To Taiwan Is SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES + TAS
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has completed a multiyear agreement with TAS (Teleport Access Services, Inc.) to provide three transponders on the NSS-11 satellite to distribute as many as 50 Chinese television channels to cable housholds in Taiwan.   Full Story

Powerful Partnerships In Asia: Thuraya + Teknikkom Electronic
Thuraya has appointed Teknikkom Electronic as a National Service Provider in Malaysia.   Full Story

A Teleport Of The Crucial Kind Involves MTN Satellite Services + ERZIA
MTN Satellite Services, Inc. (a SeaMobile Company) and ERZIA have announced the launch of a project to build a teleport in Santander, North Spain (43?27’46’’N, 3?48’18’’W) to provide services in X-, C- and Ku-bands.   Full Story

Wild Times Ahead In Romania, Courtesy of Spacecom
Spacecom (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: SCC), the operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, has announced that National Geographic has selected to ?launch its newest channel, National Geographic Wild, in Romania over the AMOS-3 satellite, the newest addition to the Spacecom fleet that was launched in April 2008.   Full Story

Broadband's Crucial Consumer Role Outlined @ CommunicAsia By Robin Mersh, Broadband Forum
Broadband has become a necessity for people around the planet — despite the economic downturn — and that’s the message that was delivered in Singapore by Broadband Forum Chief Operating Officer Robin Mersh.   Full Story

REDSAT Advanced Comms Payload To Become A Reality For HISPASAT AG1
Thales Alenia Space and HISPASAT have signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space Espa?a for the development and supply of the REDSAT Advanced Communication Payload for the AG1, a GEO mission within the scope of the European Space Agency’s ARTES 11 program.   Full Story

Each Wimbledon Volley + Victory To Be Experienced In HD Via Genesis Networks
Following on the heels of another successful French Open tennis tournament, Genesis Networks moved their Special Event services team into London to deliver every serve, volley, and smash from Wimbledon for their broadcast clients around the world.   Full Story

Double Dip For SS/L For Intelsat Dual Sats
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq:LORL) has been awarded a contract to provide two new satellites to Intelsat.   Full Story

A-OK For LRO — GO!
Primed and ready to push through the atmosphere, the Atlas rocket and its Centaur upper stage burst successfully upward at 5:32 EDT from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida today.   Full Story

Iridium Finds The U.K. A Most Awarding Environment—And So Does Cambridge Consultants
Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) and Cambridge Consultants are proud to announce that Global Telecoms Business (GTB) has awarded its prestigious 2009 GTB Innovation Award to the two companies for excellence in the Wireless Network Infrastructure Innovation category.   Full Story

Harris' ISR Tactical Video Breakthru For Warfighters
Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) has debuted their ISR Video Receiver, a breakthrough portable product that delivers high-resolution, full-motion tactical video to individual warfighters for real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.   Full Story

Moving On Up, + Moving On Out... @ Russian Satellite Communications Company
According to the Russian Federal Agency of Communications’ order No.22-k dated June 11th, 2009, the labor contract with Alexey Ostapchuk, RSCC’ Director General, has been cancelled, due to the expiration of the contract.   Full Story

IoGlobal + KT Telecom Garner SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES Transponder Time
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Paris:SESG)(LUxX:SESG), has announced at the CommunicAsia conference that IoGlobal has signed a multiyear agreement to create a new DVB IP platform on the NSS-11 satellite to keep NATO troops in Afghanistan connected with friends and family back home.   Full Story

LRIT Services Via Iridium SatNet Now Offered By Fulcrum Maritime
Fulcrum Maritime Systems Ltd. is now offering Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) services through the Iridium satellite network.   Full Story

ESA + Thales Have Signed Reentry IXV Demo Contract
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Thales Alenia Space have signed an agreement to proceed with the development of the atmospheric reentry demonstrator IXV (Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle).   Full Story

U.S.A.F. Delves Into GPS IIR-20(M) Distortions
The U.S. Air Force is investigating the cause and effects of signal distortions observed from the GPS IIR-20(M) spacecraft that was launched on March 24, 2009.   Full Story

SkyTerra Planning NexGen SatNet Transition Programs
SkyTerra (OTCBB: SKYT) has unveiled plans that will allow its current voice and push-to-talk customers to transition to the company’s nexgen integrated satellite-terrestrial network and services.   Full Story

SatPhone From Latitude Now Supports Text Messaging
Latitude Technologies and Northern Airborne Technology (NAT) have announced the availability of a text messaging upgrade to the popular NAT PTA12-100 Dialer/Adapter for use with the Latitude SkyNode S200-021 satphone, flight tracking and messaging transceiver.   Full Story

SatBandwidth Pressures To Be Alleviated By Expand Networks
Expand Networks has a new partnership with Level 421, a professional satellite broadband communication teleport operator with global operations — the partnership will see Expand’s WAN Optimization technology help alleviate the satellite bandwidth capacity pressures for distributed corporate environments.   Full Story

Expand's IPSTAR Interest Is Optimized
IPSTAR, a subsidiary of Thaicom and the leading provider of satellite broadband services in Asia-Pacific, has enhanced its managed service offering based on Expand Network’s WAN optimization technology.   Full Story

OrSat-G — Great at Sea (and CommunicAsia)
CommunicAsia 2009 in Singapore is certainly the hub of all the latest announcements in technology, such as Orbit Technology Group's improved OrSat-G antenna.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Watching The Wind For More Than 10 Years — QuikScat
NASA's Quick Scatterometer, or QuikScat, mission was conceived, developed, and launched less than two years after the unexpected loss of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-1 spacecraft, which carried the NASA Scatterometer in June 1997.   Full Story

ISS Under Pressure to Receive Special Modules from Thales Alenia Space
The Paris Air Shows is a happening place, not unlike other Paris venues, as Thales Alenia Space announced today the signing of a contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) for the design, development, production and delivery of nine pressurized modules for cargo transport, to include equipment, spare parts, scientific experiments and other items, to the International Space Station (ISS).   Full Story

SIRIUS XM Is Freely Serious About Apple's iPhone + iPod
SIRIUS XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) has announced the availability of a free application at the Apple App Store that will allow iPhone and iPod touch users to access SIRIUS XM's channels.   Full Story

ULA All the Way! Successful Launch Moon Missions for NASA
Time flies when you're flying, and nearly 40 years after Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, United Launch Alliance successfully launched NASA’s latest two lunar missions aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at 5:32 p.m. EDT today.   Full Story


June 17, 2009
Teal Group Tackles UAV Market With Major Analysis
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles represent a prime area of acquisition interest for major aerospace contractors, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis.   Full Story

Moving On Up... @ SpaceX...
Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) has announced that Ken Bowersox will join the Company as vice president of the newly formed Astronaut Safety and Mission Assurance Department — he will be co-located in Houston, Texas, and SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California.   Full Story

digiGO! — IPTV Content Security Solution From Verimatrix
Verimatrix has notified all of the deployment of the Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS™) for IPTV with Beltelecom, a National Telecommunications Operator of the Republic of Belarus.   Full Story

digiGO! — Multi-Workstation Control Presented By Portalis
Portalis™ has launched their flagship product, the Portalis Workstation Integrator.   Full Story

Financially Speaking... Globalstar, Inc...
Globalstar, Inc. has entered into definitive agreements with select institutional investors, including a number of existing stockholders and Thermo Funding Company LLC, to raise gross proceeds of up to $55 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other estimated offering expenses, in a registered direct offering.   Full Story

digiGO! — Harmonic's Expertise Helps CNS Expansion + PTS In Taiwan
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT) has announced that China Network Systems Co., Ltd. (CNS), one of Taiwan's largest cable video service providers with more than 1 million television subscribers, has selected Harmonic's advanced digital video solutions for an MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) network upgrade that enables CNS to substantially expand its HD and SD digital service.   Full Story

Gilat Has The SkyEdge With Thai Communications Agency
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT) will provide CAT Telecom Public Co. Ltd. (CAT) with a Gilat SkyEdge II broadband satellite network to serve rural locations throughout Thailand. CAT is Thailand's state-owned public communications agency.   Full Story

Double Wins For Arianespace: ST-2 Satellite Ventures + ABS!
ST-2 Satellite Ventures Pte Ltd (STS), a joint venture formed by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (SingTel) and Chunghwa Telecom Company Ltd (Chunghwa), has selected Arianespace to launch its new telecommunications satellite, ST-2 — this satellite will replace ST-1, which was launched by Arianespace in 1998.   Full Story

Cobham Counts U.S. Government Customer + Airbus Among Antenna Clients
Cobham has received Inmarsat Type Approval for dual channel SwiftBroadband (SBB), expanding the range of Cobham SBB options available to the market from the previously Type Approved single channel class 6 (with HGA antenna) system.   Full Story

iDirect Gets Direct With Uplogix + With SQUARE InformatiX For Services + Product
VT iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a company of VT Systems Inc (VT Systems), now has an agreement with Uplogix, a leading provider of secure remote management (SRM) solutions, to resell the Uplogix product suite.   Full Story

Point-To-Point Perfection For ABS Via Newtec
Newtec has announced that Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) is working with the Company to optimize their point-to-point transmissions services via satellite.   Full Story

An international Astronomical Gathering In Brazil
The International Year of Astronomy coincides with the 27th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2009.   Full Story

Broadpoint Betterment For ICG In Gulf Of Mexico
Broadpoint has announced the Company has a multi-year agreement with International Construction Group (ICG), LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Offshore Services.   Full Story

Endeavour Leaks Date of Next Launch
Frustrating, no doubt, however the next available date for the Endeavour's STS-127 mission is July 11.   Full Story

High Thrust Engine Demonstrator Contracts Signed With ESA
ESA has signed a 20 million euros contract rider with the Joint Propulsion Team consortium composed of Avio SpA (I), Astrium GmbH (D) and Snecma (Groupe SAFRAN) (F), for the development of the future liquid engine demonstrator for the European Next Generation Launcher first stage, the High Thrust Engine Demonstrator.   Full Story

Cassini Captures: Tethys Took A Clobbering
The Odysseus Crater dominates this view of Saturn's moon Tethys — the impact basin stretches 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, across Tethys, which is itself 1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles, across.   Full Story

WGS-2 Gets Boeing Handoff To U.S.A.F
On June 15th, Boeing successfully transferred control of the second Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite to the U.S. Air Force, which will monitor and control the new satellite from Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.   Full Story

GAO Tackles The Need For NPOESS Improvements: Over Budget + Ineffective Management
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that, while selected components of the NPOESS program have made progress over the past year, the program is — once again — over budget and behind schedule.   Full Story

Amsterdam Provides Platform For IDC Digital Cinema Presentations
International Datacasting Corporation, (TSX:IDC) will be showcasing its full suite of digital cinema products and presenting a technical seminar at two digital cinema events in Amsterdam.   Full Story

C2SATisfaction With Thales VSAT Order
C2SAT (NGM-stock exchange) has received an order for 8 stabilised VSAT antennas, model C2SAT 1.2m Ku-4M, from Thales.   Full Story

Powerful Partnerships: XipLink + Datacom Systems International Limited
At CommunicAsia in Singapore, XipLink announced Datacom Systems International Limited as the latest addition to its global network of Value Added Distributors.   Full Story

Lunar Water Wonderings Require DIVINER Aboard LRO To Gather Data
NASA is scheduled to launch the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, an unmanned mission to comprehensively map the entire moon, on June 18th and one of the instruments aboard, the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment, will make the first global survey of the temperature of the lunar surface while the orbiter circles some 50 kilometers (31 miles) above the moon.   Full Story

Asia Broadcast Satellite Prognosticates 2012 For ABS-2 Launch
Asia Broadcast Satellite has announced the Company has selected Space Systems/Loral to manufacture the ABS-2 spacecraft, which is scheduled for launch in 2012 with Arianespace.   Full Story

French DGA Signs On To DCNS + Thales Rotary Wing UAV Demo
The French defence procurement agency (DGA) has awarded DCNS and Thales the second phase of the D2AD study to design and demonstrate an automatic takeoff, landing, and deck landing system for rotary-wing UAVs.   Full Story


June 16, 2009
Unmanned Cargo Transport From Flying Robots To EASA For Certification
Flying Robots, an unmanned air vehicle manufacturer, has made a certification request to the European Aviation Safety Agency for its FR102-UAV cargo transporter.   Full Story

Ultra Electronics To Empower UAVs With Dual Power Plant
Ultra Electronics has announced the Company's Precision Air Systems business has signed an agreement encompassing a worldwide marketing, development, and manufacturing licence with RCV Engines Limited for a 4-stroke, lightweight, dual fuel, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Engine.   Full Story

Decisive Distribution Deals — Thuraya + Sharaf DG
To expand Thuraya’s distribution network in the local and regional markets, the Company has recently signed a distribution agreement with one of the UAE’s largest IT and consumer electronics retailer, Sharaf DG.   Full Story

Pentagon Purchasing Power Packs Punch For UAVs
Since 2001, U.S. spending on unmanned systems has steadily increased — in the next budget request, the Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking an increase of almost $870 million, more than 18.4 percent over the $4.53 billion spent so far this year.   Full Story

TANDBERG Ties-Up Vietnamese Contract For DVB-S2 + DVB-T Broadcasting
TANDBERG Television, part of the Ericsson Group (NASDAQ:ERIC), has announced that Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) has selected TANDBERG Television to provide the encoding, multiplexing, and modulation for ten HD and 32 SD channels that are simultaneously played out over satellite and digital terrestrial networks.   Full Story

A Celestial Celebration For MEASAT
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. ("MEASAT") and Celestial Movies Channel Limited (“Celestial Movies”) have renewed an agreement for the distribution of the “CELESTIAL MOVIES” and “CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES” channels on the MEASAT-3 satellite.   Full Story

ITT Receives Study Awards From NOAA For Geosynchronous Sound and Ocean Color
ITT [NYSE:ITT] has won two study contracts to address detailed costing of commercial options for operational weather systems.   Full Story

You Never Know Who'll You'll Run Into @ CommunicAsia 2009
Secret meetings... a hushed flight plan... the Mabuhay Satellite Corporation booth at CommunicAsia 2009... Michael Fleck of Global Vision (and a discrete security detail)...   Full Story

Elbit Enhances Hermes UAV
Elbit Systems’ Hermes(r) 450 UAV has been a major player in counter terrorism operations for years.   Full Story

HFE Propulsion Pumped Up For KillerBee UAS
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), with its teammate XRDi, completed testing of its KillerBee unmanned aircraft system heavy fuel engine.   Full Story

digiGO! — Miranda Keeps On Truckin'
Miranda Technologies announced that the Company's NVISION routers were used by the brand-new IMS-HD2 production truck, owned by Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Productions, which played a major role in providing world television feeds for NBA Entertainment for the National Basketball Association (NBA) final games in Los Angeles.   Full Story

C-COM's Chinese Communication Connections
C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) has delivered a number of iNetVu Mobile Flyaway Systems to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) through one of its resellers, China Blue Satellite Communications Technology Co (BSC).   Full Story

CASBAA Looks At Asian SatDemand
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) has released new data on Asian Satellite demand to coincide with the annual CASBAA Satellite Industry Forum in Singapore on June 15.?   Full Story

Hand Off Of IndoStar II / ProtoStar II Accomplished By Boeing
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has successfully managed the in-orbit handover of the IndoStar II/ProtoStar II commercial communications satellite to Bermuda-based ProtoStar Ltd.   Full Story

SS/L Signs On For New Hughes Satellite
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), a subsidiary of Loral Space & Communications (Nasdaq:LORL), has been selected to provide a new satellite to Hughes Network Systems, LLC — Hughes will operate the new satellite to deliver high-speed Internet access service across North America.   Full Story

Tooway Timed Perfectly For Digital Britain
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has welcomed the initiatives in the Government’s Digital Britain report and stated that its Universal Service Commitment to deliver a 2Mbps broadband service to all U.K. residents by 2012 can be delivered today using existing satellite technology   Full Story

Arianespace Flying High with Bookings
Announced at the Paris Air Show, Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said Arianespace already has signed 10 Service and Solutions contracts this year for payloads to be placed into geostationary transfer orbit.   Full Story

Broadband Solution From ARINC Direct Flying High With Bombardier Challenger
ARINC Direct and Rockwell Collins have announced the successful integration of their broadband solution for business jets — eXchange with Service by SKYLink — on a customer’s Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet.   Full Story

Viva la France — Lighter UAV Wings Assist with Altitude and Autonomy
The new version of the SDTI intermediate UAV has been displayed on the Paris Air show Defence platform ST - A 026.   Full Story

OHB + SSTL Consortium Vying For ESA SatStuff
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the bidder consortium led by OHB-System AG and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) have signed a contract for sourcing long-lead items for satellites for the future European Galileo navigation system at the Paris Air Show.   Full Story

Galileo Sats Get Launch Agreements Signed, Sealed, + Delivered
ESA and Arianespace have signed a contract for the launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites on two Soyuz launch vehicles from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.   Full Story

ITT Sees Great Program Possibilities With CO2 — So Does NASA — Also, NOAA Gets ITT Help
ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) has been selected by NASA to help design, develop, and test a set of instruments to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) from air and space in support of NASA's Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days and Season (ASCENDS) mission, which is expected to launch in 2015.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Embers + Ash Of The Sarychev Peak Kind Are Quick To Travel
At the northwestern end of Ostrov Matua (Matua Island), Sarychev Peak ranks among the most active volcanoes in the Kuril (or Kurile) Islands, which stretch between Hokkaido, Japan, and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.   Full Story

digiGO! — Deployment Of Digital Cinema Servers To Europalaces By SmartJog
SmartJog has announced that French theatre chain, Europalaces, the owner of Gaumont and Pathe cinemas, has signed an agreement for the purchase and deployment of its high capacity SmartJog Digital Cinema Central Library Servers.   Full Story


June 15, 2009
Going Global Funding Gathered By PCI Geomatics
PCI Geomatics has received funding from the Going Global Innovation (Going Global) for its project on finalizing and generating new partnerships in China.   Full Story

Damage Assessment Of The Rapid Kind For UAVs
The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is a science-based laboratory dedicated to support the U.S. Department of Energy on nuclear and energy research, science, and national defense matters.   Full Story

NASA's Launch Schedule Shuffle — Accommodations for LRO, LCROSS + Endeavour's STS-127
NASA managers have scheduled the next launch attempt of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission for 5:40 a.m., EDT, on Wednesday, June 17th from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   Full Story

TIA Puts In Their Two Cents Worth For JCCT Considerations
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has officially submitted its priority issues for consideration at the 2009 U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT).   Full Story

OmniGlobe Wows 'Em In Montreal
OmniGlobe Networks has won an award from the West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce (WIMCC) in recognition for its innovative products, services, and technologies.   Full Story

EMS Enjoys EASA Engagement
EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc., and Alnair Aerospace Fzc, a UAE-based company, have received the award of the first European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) on EMS SATCOM’s AMT-3800 High-gain Antenna (AMT-3800) and HSD-440 High-speed Data Terminal.   Full Story

Sigma Signs On With NASA For SatOps Support
NASA has selected Sigma Space Corporation of Lanham, Maryland, to provide Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Support Services.   Full Story

XipLink Takes A New STEP
XipLink has announced STEP Electronics as the latest addition to its global network of Value Added Distributors.   Full Story

Boeing Flies Full Force Into UAS Development
Boeing [NYSE: BA] has announced the formation of an Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) division within its defense and space business unit.   Full Story

Gilat Presents Major MiniSite to Underserved at CommunicAsia
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. announced that at CommunicAsia 2009, it will present the Ericsson GSM MiniSite, a fully-integrated package for remote BTS sites, incorporating Gilat's satellite backhaul technology.   Full Story

BlueBird Bringing Thunderbird To UAV Market
Israeli unmanned air vehicle manufacturer BlueBird Aero Systems will demo its new fuel cell powered Thunderbird UAV by next year.   Full Story

Moving On Up... At Eutelsat...
The Board of Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) has unanimously approved the proposal from its Chairman Giuliano Berretta to nominate Michel de Rosen as Deputy Chief Executive Officer.   Full Story

Gilat Satellite Takes It to the NetEdge For Multi-Stars
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. [Nasdaq: GILT] introduced NetEdge, a new high-performance satellite communications platform, specifically designed to meet the requirements of multi-star private networks for corporations and for cellular backhaul applications.   Full Story

Estimable Exploit For NGS + U.S.A.F. With DSP-14
The United States Air Force's Defense Support Program Flight 14, built by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), is celebrating its 20th year of on-orbit operations — DSP Flight 14 was launched on June 14, 1989, on a Titan IV launch vehicle.   Full Story

Venemovies Reaps Genesis Expertise
SOMOS TV has awarded Genesis Networks a contract to provide a fully managed network distribution solution in North America for two of their television channels, Venemovies East and Venemovies West.?   Full Story

RUAG Lifts Off With Larger Launcher Labors
RUAG Aerospace Sweden has been a supplier to the Ariane program since its very beginning and, due to the commercial success of the vehicle, a new batch of equipment has been ordered for an additional 35 missions.   Full Story

ILS Illuminates Illustrious Inkings For This Year
ILS International Launch Services, Inc. (ILS) has now secured six firm launch orders and three mission assignments during the first half of 2009.   Full Story

It's Fairing To Say Oerlikon Continues With Its Good Works
Oerlikon Space will continue to supply the payload fairings for the Ariane 5 launch vehicles.   Full Story


June 14, 2009
Another FAST Approach For Boeing Satellite Systems
Boeing Satellite Systems in El Segundo, California, has won a $13.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Phase 2 of the Fast Access Spacecraft Testbed (FAST) satellite power generation and propulsion program.   Full Story

Arab FTA SatTV Abounds
The Arab World’s FTA Sat TV channels grew by 28.1 percent between March 2009 and August 2007.   Full Story

Shuttle Scrubbed Due To Botherations Of the Fuelish Kind
The launch of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station is on hold due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the external fuel tank.   Full Story

Rafael Releases ISR Integration Opportunities For UAVs
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. will release the Recce-U, persistent, unmanned, surveillance and reconnaissance system at the Paris Air Show next week.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Darwin + Bonaparte Slept Here
Saint Helena Island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean approximately 1,860 kilometers (1,156 miles) west of Africa, was one of the many isolated islands that naturalist Charles Darwin visited during his scientific voyages in the nineteenth century.   Full Story

Awards Advance Avanti To Define EDRS + HylasOne Ops
Avanti Communications Group plc (AIM: AVN) has been awarded new projects funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).   Full Story

Lockheed Martin Is Perfect To A Fault With SBIRS
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]has delivered the final block of a new flight software architecture that will provide highly reliable spacecraft command and control operations for the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite constellation.   Full Story

atrexx Really Relishes Redundancy Responsiveness
atrexx has announced an effective, scalable, and inexpensive solution to backup Wide Area Networks (WAN).   Full Story

CDR Concentration Called For By Lockheed + Partners For GPS III
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] team developing the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning System (GPS) III program has entered the Critical Design Review (CDR) stage on-schedule, an extensive phase that precedes production of the next-generation satellite system.   Full Story

digiGO! — A Touch Experience @ Broadcast Asia
WASP3D is showcasing their touch screen based broadcast presentation tool, WASPi Mimosa and WASP3D 2009 edition at Broadcast Asia, Singapore.   Full Story

MEASAT-3a's Debut At Baikonur
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. reports that the MEASAT-3a satellite is now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in final preparations for launch.   Full Story

Patroller's Paris Pop-Out
Sagem has teamed with German glider producer Stemme AG to introduce the Patroller, a long endurance UAV based on a powered glider.   Full Story

Second Sat Scheduled By Vietnam
The Xinhua News Agency is reporting that Vietnam is expected to launch their second satellite during 2012, with this info picked up in the New Hanoi newspaper.</font   Full Story

ISRO Indicates Ocean Sat-2 Will Launch This Summer
The Press Trust of India reveals that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch its Ocean Sat-2 satellite on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in the July to August timeframe, according to ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair.   Full Story


June 12, 2009
Planck Cools Off
A JPL-developed and -built cooler on the Planck spacecraft has chilled the mission's low-frequency instrument down to its operating temperature of a frosty 20 Kelvin (minus 424 degrees Fahrenheit).   Full Story

Trio Trained And Ready To Direct Spaceflights For NASA
NASA has selected three new flight directors who will manage and carry out shuttle flights and International Space Station expeditions — they are Dina Contella, Scott Stover, and Ed Van Cise and they will join a select group of individuals who lead human spaceflights from Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.   Full Story


June 11, 2009
Thailand Tosses Up UAV Contest For Engineering Students
From Taindian News comes word of a UAV design competition for Engineering students from across the Thailand who participated in a design competition for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), organized by the country's Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) last Tuesday.   Full Story

Thuraya in Singapore Sings About Smallest and Smartest
Thuraya Telecommunications Company is ramping up for the upcoming CommunicAsia conference and exhibition that will be held in Singapore.   Full Story

Change Is Afoot For Intelsat's Easterly Slotted Sats + Infrastructure
Intelsat, Ltd. has provided further details with respect to its current fleet investment plan, which is expected to result in a significant improvement in the types and quantities of satellite capacity available to media, networking, and government customers in the Asia-Pacific region.   Full Story

digiGO! — Harris Media Automation Products Receive Impressive Boost
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has announced several strategic initiatives for its ADC™ and D-Series™ automation product lines — these initiatives are designed to support nexgen, automated workflows that enable customers to implement mobile television, new media and other emerging business models.   Full Story

Futron Completes Exhaustive Space Competitiveness Index Analysis
Futron Corporation is pleased to announce the completion of the Company's second annual Space Competitiveness Index: A Comparative Analysis of How Countries Invest in and Benefit from Space Industry.   Full Story

digiGO! — Exterity's Streaming IPTV Solution
Exterity, a specialist in network IPTV, has upgraded its existing AV Encoder and has launched the new Exterity IPTV Encoder.   Full Story

Kibo Koncentration By Boeing
Boeing [NYSE: BA] engineers and technicians recently completed several complex payload-processing tasks — including preparing the final two science platforms for Japan's Kibo laboratory — ahead of Space Shuttle Endeavour's upcoming mission to the International Space Station.   Full Story

MEASAT Makes Music
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd. ("MEASAT") and Classica Asia GmbH i.Gr. have signed a five-year agreement for MEASAT to distribute the UNITEL CLASSICA HD channel via the MEASAT-3 satellite.   Full Story

digiGO! — Harris Has HDTV Info At Hand
Despite some initial confusion and delays, a majority of U.S. consumers think positively about the official digital television (DTV) transition on June 12th, and many will likely switch to free over-the-air reception from fee-based cable or satellite subscriptions, according to a survey released on the 11th of June.   Full Story

digiGO! — Switching Seamlessly With Vaddio
Vaddio has introduced the new ControlVIEW XHD, an automated robotic PTZ camera controller with HD, RGBHV, and SD video switching, video transitions, and camera preset trigger functionality.   Full Story

C2SAT + Chinese Company = Contract
C2SAT has entered into a licensing agreement with Shanghai based Xinguo IT for local production of the C2SAT stabilized antenna systems in China.   Full Story

Lockheed Martin Gets GEO-2 To The Bus
The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT]-led team developing the U.S. Air Force's Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) has successfully mated the spacecraft bus with the infrared sensor payload for the second geosynchronous SBIRS spacecraft (GEO-2).   Full Story

digiGO! — Beta Brings Boris Continuum To Public Preview
Boris FX has now made available a public beta of Boris Continuum Complete 6 AVX (BCC 6 AVX) for Avid editing and finishing systems.   Full Story

A Smarter View Of JAXA's Kaguya Moonpact
Japan's lunar orbiter Kaguya yesterday concluded its successful scientific mission with a controlled impact on the lunar surface.   Full Story

GOES-O To Get Going Later Rather Than Sooner
The GOES-O launch aboard a Delta IV rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 has been moved and is currently scheduled for June 26th.   Full Story


June 10, 2009
It's A SNAP For Citrix + TCS To Assist Ongoing MilOps
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) has announced that the company’s Government Systems team has partnered with TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) (NASDAQ:TSYS) on its Secure Internet Protocol Router (SIPR) Non-secure Internet Protocol Router (NIPR) Access Point (SNAP) program for the U.S. Army.   Full Story

digiGO! — HD Audio Enhances The Blue-ray Experience
VIA Technologies's recently launched VIA Vinyl HD Audio codecs, the VIA Vinyl VT1818S and 1828S, are now supported by ArcSoft's universal multimedia player, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre.   Full Story

Read Those Tech Manuals — Especially Award Winners From KVH Industries!
The TracPhone? V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband service from KVH Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI) are being increasingly recognized for their quality as an end-to-end satellite communications solution.   Full Story

AMTS' LRIT Leanings
Absolute Maritime Tracking Services (AMTS) and Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) have announced that AMTS now offers Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) through the Iridium satellite network — AMTS is a joint venture of Absolute Software, Inc. and PC Holdings.   Full Story

SIA Supports H.R. 2410: Satellite Tech Export Changes
The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) has expressed its support of H.R. 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, now being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. Among other elements, H.R. 2410, includes a provision — Section 826 — which would restore authority to the Executive Branch to determine the appropriate export licensing treatment for satellites and related components.   Full Story

digiGO! — Wow, HD 3D With An Impact + At A Distance
HaiVision Network Video's advanced H.264 encoding technology will be supporting the world's first transatlantic HD 3-D interactive broadcast, all to be showcased at InfoComm 09, June 15-19, in Orlando, Florida.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know: Digi International + MobiApps
Digi International? Inc. (NASDAQ: DGII) has purchased substantially all the assets of the U.S., Indian, and Singapore affiliates of MobiApps Holdings Private Limited (MobiApps), a developer of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications technology with a focus on satellite, cellular, and hybrid satellite/cellular solutions.   Full Story

Savvy Savi With New Global Tag Product
Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] company, has announced product availability of the first asset and shipment monitoring device that combines a Global Positioning System, active radio frequency identification, and satellite communications.   Full Story

ILS Gains Intelsat Launch Agreement
International Launch Services (ILS) now has a second contract for two new firm launches and one optional launch for Intelsat of Bermuda — these contracts come on the heels of the March 23, 2009 announcement for the launch of the Intelsat 16 satellite on an ILS Proton — contract terms and mission assignments for these awards were not disclosed.   Full Story

Boeing's WNW Scalability Demo Successful
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) successfully demonstrated its scalability in a realistic urban field environment at the Space and Naval Warfare Center, Charleston, S.C.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know: OmniGlobe Networks + R.A. Misener Telecom Corp.
OmniGlobe Networks Inc. has concluded its acquisition of Ottawa-based R. A. Misener Telecom Corporation (known as RAMTelecom).   Full Story

exactEarth Set To Launch Microsats For Maritime AIS Data Services
COM DEV International Ltd. (TSX:CDV) has established a subsidiary company, exactEarth Ltd., for the purpose of offering advanced space-based Automatic Identification System (AIS-S) data services to competent maritime authorities around the world.   Full Story

Globecomm Presents Its Explosive Case (Study) at BroadcastAsia 2009 
J. Scott Christner, of Globecomm Systems Inc, will present a case study called "Designing the Mobile TV Platform: Inside the New Media Processing Center" at BroadcastAsia 2009 in Singapore on June 17 at 11:30 am.   Full Story

SpeedCast Casts Comms Net To Assist Globe Wireless With Maritime SatSolution
SpeedCast has entered into a strategic distribution agreement with Globe Wireless, a leading company in the maritime communications and IT solutions service sector.   Full Story

OmniGlobe RAMs Through Its Acquisition
OmniGlobe Networks Inc. that specializes in the delivery of broadband Internet, cellular and satellite communications products and services, today announces the conclusion of its acquisition of Ottawa-based R. A. Misener Telecom Corporation (known as RAMTelecom).   Full Story

JAXA's KAGUYA Offers A Smashing Show
The lunar explorer "KAGUYA" was maneuvered to be dropped around 80.4 degrees East longitude and 65.5 degrees South latitude onto the Moon at 3:25 a.m. on June 11 (Japan Standard Time.)   Full Story


June 9, 2009
digiGO! — iPhone Gets iLiveTV From Envivio
Envivio Inc. has announced iLiveTV™, the complete mobile video encoding and distribution solution for evaluating, developing, and deploying live and on demand TV video services for Apple's iPhone.   Full Story

digiGO! — Playout Paradigm Presented By ToolsOnAir
ToolsOnAir Broadcast Engineering has released their fully automated video and graphics playout solution, just play.   Full Story

Prominent Players: C-COM + THAICOM
C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) and THAICOM Public Company Limited are cooperating to develop the Asian Satellite mobile market.   Full Story

Lighter Weight For UAV Engines, Driven By Plextek
Plextek has launched an advanced Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAV engine that weighs up to 30 percent less than current solutions in its class.   Full Story

RADA's Rad Ramp-Ups For UAVs
Israel's avionics specialist RADA Electronic Industries Ltd. is unveiling its latest line of compact avionics systems and modules designed specifically for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).   Full Story

Emergency —TSF Sent Packing to Pakistan as Millions Flee
Despite complications and conflicts that equate to extreme danger experts in emergency telecommunications were deployed to Peshawar, in the war-torn region of North West Pakistan, on May 22nd.   Full Story

More Than Simply A Passing Interest In STS-127 Payload
The STS-127 Mission crewmembers participated in the STS-127 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) held at NASA Kennedy Space Center from June 2 through June 4, 2009.   Full Story

U.S.M.C. Iraqi Ops Benefit From Expand's WAN Technologies For MILSATCOM
Expand Networks has announced Multi-National Forces – West, the highest level of command for the U.S. Marines Corps Marine Ai-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) in Iraq, has deployed Expand Networks WAN optimization technology to improve the performance of critical applications over satellite links used in its operations in Iraq.   Full Story

CapRock's Satellite Leadership Earns Them ISCe Award
CapRock Government Solutions has received the Satellite Industry Leadership Award from the 2009 International Satellite and Communications exchange (ISCe) conference in San Diego, California.   Full Story

Moving On Up... At CapRock Communications...
CapRock Communications has appointed Pal Jensen as president of the Maritime Division.   Full Story

Crews Can Capitalize On Calling Gateway From KVH
KVH Industries has introduced their mini-VSAT Broadband Crew Calling System at Nor-Shipping 2009 in Norway.   Full Story

Mid-Altitude Airship To Grace The Skies
Sanswire-TAO Corp., the airship development and manufacturing joint venture equally owned by Sanswire Corp. (Pink Sheets: SNSR, www.sanswire.com) and TAO Technologies GmbH, has received the initial envelope structure of the segmented STS-111 airship to be used in the construction and testing of the company’s first commercial production mid-altitude, mid-endurance airship.   Full Story

A Tactical Move By Harris With U.S.A.F.
Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS) has been awarded a $13.5 million order to provide the U.S. Air Force with both vehicular radios and the new Harris digital tactical intercom system.   Full Story

U.S.A.F. Terminates TSAT Dependencies
The U.S. Air Force is terminating for convenience the Transformational Satellite Communications System Mission Operations System contracts...   Full Story

XipLink Xips Up XipOS Award From Frost & Sullivan
XipLink has received the prestigious 2009 Frost & Sullivan North America Technology Innovation Award in the field of Military Satellite Network Optimization, specifically with the release of XipLink Optimization Software (XipOS) version 3.0.   Full Story

Bringing ViP-TV To Ketchikan Is EchoStar
EchoStar Satellite Services, a division of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), now has an agreement to deliver its ViP-TV™ video transport service to the city of Ketchikan’s KPU Telecommunications, a provider of telecommunications and video services to a city of approximately 14,000 residents in Ketchikan, Alaska.   Full Story

Freqs Find Conversion Favor With Comtech EF Data
The RF marketplace has been transitioning from traditional 70/140 MHz IF-based networks to systems using L-Band (950 to 2000 MHz) for the modem/RF equipment link, and ComTech EF Data is taking this opportunity to debut their MBT-5000 L-Band Up/Down Converter System.   Full Story

TerreStar-1 Launch Date Stutter
TerreStar Networks Inc. (TerreStar), a majority owned subsidiary of TerreStar Corporation (TSTR), has announced the launch of TerreStar-1 has been rescheduled for a July 7-12, 2009, window to permit additional time to ensure an on-orbit anomaly that occurred recently on another operator's satellite has no bearing on the flight worthiness of TerreStar-1.   Full Story

A Milky Way Neighboring Galaxy Hosts Lobe RIch Supernova Detritus
A new image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows a supernova remnant with a different look.   Full Story

Iridium Nets Phase Two Of Warfighter TacCom Contract
Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) announces the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center has awarded an Iridium subsidiary a $21,688,808 indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity cost-type contract to support development and delivery of the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS).   Full Story


June 8, 2009
Tweeting, Twittering + All Things SatTwitterfying
The following is certainly indicative of adult-like behavior — if you tweet, enjoy being tweeted, are tweetable or twitted in heart and soul — or you simply wish your news fresh, constant, and enlightening, consider signing on to the SatNews daily twitters... simply "follow" SatBoy.   Full Story

AsiaSat Activities Are Rewarded By Frost & Sullivan
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) has won the Satellite Service Provider of the Year in Asia Pacific at the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Awards.   Full Story

Globalstar Gains Millions
Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT) has signed an agreement with a syndicate of banks for a $586 million credit facility to be supported by credit insurance from Coface, the export credit agency acting on behalf of the French government.   Full Story

NASA Sets Up An Impactful Event, A True Moon Buster
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, spacecraft are set to launch together to the moon aboard an Atlas V rocket on June 17th.   Full Story

Moving On Up... @ UAV Firm Sanswire...
Sanswire Corp. (Other OTC: SNSR.PK), a company that develops and produces Lighter than Air Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), has named Thomas Seifert as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective June 1, 2009.   Full Story

U.S. Forces' Military Humvee Manufacturing Remains States-Based
Just in case you were curious, the military's High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, also known as a "HMMWV" or a "Humvee," will continue to be made in the United States, by an American-owned company.   Full Story

digiGO! — An Ear For Music From eMedia Music
eMedia Music Corp. has debuted an ear training solution that possesses the core features of EarMaster Pro 5 at a lower price.   Full Story

digiGO! — Dissipate Disparate Editing Platforms
EditShare has partnered with Automatic Duck to solve a critical workflow productivity issue for postproduction facilities and editing workgroups that want to collaborate on shared media files across disparate editing platforms.   Full Story

A WIN-T For General Dynamics And Their SSTs
General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies has received a $119 million modification to an existing delivery order to provide additional satellite communications earth terminals and support services for Increment One of the U.S. Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program.   Full Story

Iridium Now Implicated In Phase II Of MILSATCOM System For USMC
Iridium Government Services has received a $21.7 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity cost type contract to provide Phase II of the Netted Iridium satellite communication system to the U.S. Marine Corps.   Full Story

Keeping Pace With MultiDweller Triple Play
The Networks division of digital TV technologies developer Pace plc has launched a global Networks Approved Partner program (NAP) to support the rollout of its MultiDweller™ distribution platform for high-occupancy buildings.   Full Story

Envisat Obtains A New Lease On Life
ESA Member States have unanimously voted to extend the Envisat mission through to 2013.   Full Story

Russian and American Suit Up To Prove Worthiness
Russian Mission Control has stated that two astronauts aboard the International Space Station concluded a five-hour spacewalk last Friday to install new equipment and to test new, Russian-made spacesuit.   Full Story

For Raytheon, It's All About The Image
Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received confirmation from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory that its hyperspectral imaging sensor known as ARTEMIS has been activated aboard the TacSat-3 spacecraft and is fully functional.   Full Story

One Large Step For Laliberté, One Huge DROP For The World
Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace, has announced that Guy Lalibert?, founder of Cirque du Soleil and the ONE DROP Foundation, has started his training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City in preparation for his mission to the International Space Station (ISS).   Full Story

Eutelsat Employs, Globecast Gives, and the BBC Receives
BBC Worldwide has become the latest major broadcaster to benefit from GlobeCast’s second transponder on Eutelsat’s EUROBIRD™ 9A satellite after calling on the content management and delivery company to provide a distribution and capacity solution for its international channel BBC Prime.   Full Story

Mars Pics Reveal Region Of Blemished Countenance
The High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express orbiter has obtained images of Hephaestus Fossae, a region on Mars dotted with craters and channel systems.   Full Story

Germans Going For A Moon Landing, Fueled By Astrium
Astrium has been commissioned by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) to conduct a study for the testing of future moon landings.   Full Story

digiGO! — Terrabytical Transfers + More...
Andrita Media Center, the largest independent digital high-definition media facility on the West Coast, has selected its Front Porch's DIVArchive system to manage the transfer, storage, and restoration of content for the 26 television channels it broadcasts round-the-clock — a total of almost 100 TB of video files.   Full Story

Euros Of Stupendous Size Needed For UAV Development
A 15-month risk reduction study on the Advanced UAV project has allowed EADS to pin a production price tag of about 90 million to 100 million euros ($125.8 million to $139.7 million) per system, confirming the total 2.8 billion euro budget for 15 systems for France, Germany, and Spain, said Nicolas Chamussy, senior vice president for mission air systems.   Full Story

Financially Speaking... International Datacasting Corporation...
International Datacasting Corporation (TSX:IDC) has announced its financial results for the three-month period ended April 30, 2009. All figures are stated in Canadian dollars. The Q1 fiscal 2010 highlights...   Full Story

Integral Systems Integrated With KOREASAT-6
Integral Systems, Inc., (NASDAQ: ISYS) has signed a contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation to provide the KT Corporation with primary and backup satellite command and control systems for KOREASAT-6, a STAR satellite built by Orbital with Thales Alenia Space France acting as prime contractor.   Full Story

MoDOT Is Spot On With SATCOM + Spacenet + ODN
Spacenet Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT), has announced that the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), one of Spacenet’s key public safety customers, was awarded the Innovation & Technology Award for 2009 at the International Satellite & Communications Exchange (ISCe) Conference.   Full Story

SATCOM Amendment Consultation Requested By The Netherlands
Until the 12th of August 2009, the Netherlands ministry for Economic Affairs is preparing a draft amendment of the Dutch Telecommunications Act.   Full Story

Ariane 5 Electronics To Be Energized And Empowered By Thales Alenia Space ETCA
Thales Alenia Space ETCA has just signed a contract with the Astrium company to provide electronic equipment and services for the Ariane 5 launchers (PB batch) which will be launched between 2011 and 2015.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know: BAE Systems + Advanced Ceramics Research (UAVs)
BAE Systems has completed its acquisition of Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc., a Tucson, Arizona-based producer of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and advanced materials following receipt of regulatory approval.   Full Story

GMV's magicGNSS Provides Precise-Point-Positioning
GMV, a supplier of satellite control centers, has added precise-point-positioning capability to its new web-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) analysis program called magicGNSS.   Full Story


June 5, 2009
digiGO! — Juniper's Awarding Evening In Singapore
Juniper Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR) has been named the Asia Pacific Network Security Vendor of the Year at the prestigious 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific ICT Awards.   Full Story

NASA's Mockup Launch Has Serious Implications
NASA's Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, is scheduled to be tested June 15th at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia — the launch window extends from approximately 5:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. EDT.   Full Story

Open Passage Expedition Shivers on With Blue Sky Network And Iridium
Blue Sky Network (BSN) and Iridium Satellite LLC (Iridium) announced that they will supply the Open Passage Expedition with voice communications and GPS mapping technology for its upcoming four month-long Arctic journey.   Full Story


June 4, 2009
SES AMERICOM Signs On Another Transponder Transaction Treat
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), has announced at the ITW conference in Washington, D.C. that BT in Latin America has signed a three-year agreement for nearly three full transponders of satellite capacity to extend its IP network deep into the remotest regions of Brazil.   Full Story

digiGO! — Globecomm's DTH Case Work In India
Globecomm Systems Inc will make available a case study examining the company’s recently completed state-of-the art Media Processing Center in New Delhi, India.   Full Story

A Nod To A New Node
Excelerate Technology has now made available their RapidNet Wireless Perimeter, a new, rapid deployment wireless node.?   Full Story

Premiering Tonight On National Geographic Channel — NSS-9
At 9:00 p.m. EST, on the National Geographic Channel (U.S.), the focus is on a brand new WORLD'S TOUGHEST FIXES Episode, with coverage of SES AMERICOM's NSS-9 satellite.   Full Story

Third Global Observer UAS Joins JCTD Program
AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) (NASDAQ: AVAV) has announced that U.S. government agencies funding the Global Observer Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) program have exercised an option for the assembly of a third Global Observer aircraft and additional items.   Full Story

SatBiz @ Home In Paris This September
This year’s World Satellite Business Week will take place from September 7th to September 10th, 2009 at the Westin Hotel in Paris.   Full Story

GVF's MENA Conference For Oil & Gas Comms
The 4th Annual Oil & Gas Communications MENA conference, entitled: Wireless, Satellite & Everything in Between’ will occur at the? InterContinental Hotel, Abu Dhabi, over the 9th and 10th of June 2009.   Full Story

Scary Stuff! Continuing Vulnerabilities Of Domestic Sales for Illegal Export Exposed By GAO
Terrorists and foreign governments regularly attempt to obtain sensitive dual-use and military technology from manufacturers and distributors within the United States. Although the Department of State (State) or Department of Commerce (Commerce), or both, must grant approval to export sensitive military and dual-use items, publicly reported criminal cases show that individuals can bypass this requirement and illegally export restricted items such as night-vision goggles. In the wrong hands, this technology poses a risk to U.S. security, including the threat that it will be reverse engineered or used directly against U.S. soldiers.   Full Story

A Digital Racket — GlobeCast Serves Up The French Open
Orange and France T?l?visions, will be offering the French Open men's final live and in 3D on cinema screens in France and Spain — the 3D images from the final will be broadcast by satellite from Roland-Garros to the various cinemas by GlobeCast, who will also be delivering the live 3D feed to several other cinemas throughout France.   Full Story

KVH Dives Fully Into North American + Caribbean Markets With mini-VSAT Broadband
As part of its global network expansion plan, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) has announced that it has taken operational responsibility of the mini-VSAT Broadband service network supporting North America and the Caribbean.   Full Story

Mars Orbiter Gets The ReBoot
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is in safe mode and in communications with Earth after an unexpected rebooting of its computer Wednesday evening, June 3rd.   Full Story

GMV Aids In W2A Satellite Launch Enabling Diverse Mobile Communications
GMV, a multinational company headquartered in Spain and independent supplier of satellite control systems, successfully assisted in the launch of the W2A satellite in April through its satellite operations support of Eutelsat’s New Eutelsat Open-Satellite Control System (New-SCS), which includes operations of the Spacebus 4000 satellite family.   Full Story


June 3, 2009
European Digital Divide Bridged By Sat3Play
A milestone has been met and more as Newtec announced today that they shipped their 50,000th Sat3Play terminal for low cost, easy-to-install high-speed satellite Internet access for consumer and SOHO (small office, home office) in Europe.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: A Bridge Named Democracy Quake Quelled
The Honduran city of El Progreso was among the cities most impacted when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake image rattled Central America on May 28, 2009.   Full Story

To Protect + Serve — In Indonesia
NDS has announced that PT. MNC Sky Vision, which operates under the brand names Indovision and Top TV, has extended its long-standing relationship with NDS by selecting an end-to-end NDS solution to protect and enhance its Indovision pay-TV platform.   Full Story

Moving On Up... At UAV Aerial Wing @ Creech AFB, Nevada
The commander of the Air Force’s first unmanned aerial vehicle wing said goodbye Monday to members of the 432nd Wing and 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing in a ceremony at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.   Full Story

UAS Given OK To Autonomously Fly Demo @ Paris Air Show — A First!
Schiebel's Camcopter S-100 will be the first-ever Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to fly as part of the official flight displays at this year’s 100 year anniversary of “Salon du Le Bourget” from June 15 to 19. June.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know... Mundus Group + AirStar Int'l (UAV)
Mundus Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets: MNDP), a VTOL UAV technology provider, is acquiring AirStar International, a leader in remote controlled VTOL UAV camera copters for surveillance, aerial photography, and aerial delivery systems for environmental compliance, and UAV drones as a ducted fan UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle).   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Wicked Weather Surrounding Airbus Disappearance
This is an infrared image from Meteosat-9 that reveals the major thunderstorm clusters on the extrapolated flight path of the Air France Airbus 330 which disappeared from radar en-route from South America to France on June 1, 2009. The image is courtesy of EUMETSAT.   Full Story

Financially Speaking... Iridium...
Iridium Satellite LLC has reported the Company's consolidated financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2009.   Full Story

Pro Team The Key For Constellation Support Contract Push By United Space Alliance
United Space Alliance has assembled a team of experienced, innovative experts in space operations to support the Kennedy Space Center’s mission to maintain the leading edge in space vehicle and payload processing, integration, launch and recovery operations.   Full Story

ULA Getting Set For LRO + LCROSS Launch
An Atlas V rocket, under the auspices of United Launch Alliance, will launch NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission on a mission to investigate the moon — the launch will occur on June 17th from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.   Full Story

Final Stage . . . Finally as Ariane 5 Integrates TerreStar-1's Largest
All the preparation and planning is down to the final stages as the heavy-lift Ariane 5 readies for Arianespace's upcoming mission with the world's largest commercial telecommunications satellite to be launched was moved to the Final Assembly Building.   Full Story

Prestigious Gruber International Prize Awardees Announced
The 10th anniversary of the Gruber International Prize Program, which began with the Cosmology Prize in 2000, will be celebrated in July — this year the Cosmology Prize will be awarded to Freedman, Kennicutt and Mould for their outstanding work on resolving the value of the Hubble constant, the key determinant for how fast the Universe is expanding.   Full Story

Moving On Up... At GeoEye, Inc...
GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY) has appointed Joseph F. Greeves to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.   Full Story

NASA Endeavours to Go On Lucky 13
NASA managers completed a review Wednesday of space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station.   Full Story

Hydrogen Has Lofty Plans For Global Observer UAS
Aerovironment Inc.'s tradition of military successes and aerial innovation are about to fuse, as the Company receives a major Advanced Concept/Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (ACTD/JCTD) contract for a UAV that runs on hydrogen fuel cells and can cruise at 55,000-65,000 feet for as long as seven days at a time, while carrying a 1,000 pound payload.   Full Story

Don't Ever Poo-Poo Satellite Imagery Usefulness
Penguin poo (guano) stains, visible from space, have helped British scientists locate emperor penguin breeding colonies in Antarctica.   Full Story

Satellite Channel to Challenge 'Islamic Extremism'
A new free-to-air satellite television channel based in Egypt will promote moderate Islam and challenge notions of extremism when it launches in August, according to its founders, which include Muslim clerics associated with Egypt’s Al-Azhar University.   Full Story


June 2, 2009
Peruvian Passion For Contracted Capacity
SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), announced at the ITW conference in Washington, D.C. that Telefonica del Peru has signed a three-year deal for nearly a full transponder of satellite capacity to extend its reach to corporate, cellular, and residential customers in remote areas of Peru.   Full Story

digiGO! — Digital Cinema App Preserves Cinematographer Vision
Gamma & Density Co. specializes in manufacturing and management of Color and Workflow Management systems for cinematographers, helping them to preserve and manage the uniqueness of their vision in the world of digital cinema.   Full Story

Financially Speaking... RigNet...
RigNet, Inc. has consolidated and refinanced its debt led by Bank of America, N.A. with participation by Comerica.   Full Story

Going Its Own Way Is NGC's MQ-8B
The Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed (NYSE:NOC) MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV) successfully completed the latest set of fully autonomous flight operations onboard the USS McInerney (FFG-8) in support of dynamic interface testing, a critical step for the U.S. Navy MQ-8B Fire Scout toward Operational Evaluation (OpEval), scheduled for later this summer.   Full Story

digiGO! — Just A Little Bit Country...
MTV Networks’ Country Music Television has purchased Axia Element mixing consoles and routing gear for use in their Nashville studios.   Full Story

NASA Names Names of Human Space Flight Review Committee
Word has come from NASA announcing the members of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Plans Committee.   Full Story

Sentinel-1 Gets With The GNAT Pro Program
AdaCore has announced that Astrium in the U.K., a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, has selected the Ada programming language and AdaCore’s GNAT Pro development environment for use on the new Sentinel-1 environmental monitoring satellite.   Full Story

VoCeM — Go See 'Em More for Less
Bottom line good reports from TriaGnoSys, a satellite communications company, launched VoCeM, the world’s most efficient satellite communications compression software.   Full Story

Sinclair To DISH It Out
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. has entered into an extension of its retransmission consent agreement with DISH Network Corporation.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know: RUAG + Oerlikon Space AG
OC Oerlikon and RUAG have announced that RUAG will acquire 100 percent of Oerlikon Space AG.   Full Story

digiGO! — Snell + Tell... About Canal Satélite Digital
Snell, the new company formed through the merger of Pro-Bel and Snell & Wilcox, has announced that leading Spanish pay television company Canal Sat?lite Digital has purchased an Alchemist Ph.C — HD motion-compensated standards converter as a key component in the recent launch of Spain's first HD channels: Canal+ Premium HD, Canal+ DCine HD, and Canal+ Deportes HD.   Full Story

digiGO! — Gee Whiz, Geevs @ BroadcastAsia 2009
Gee Broadcast Systems Ltd. will be showing the latest Geevs 4.5 software release at Broadcast Asia on stand 7F4-01.   Full Story

Elected and Moving On Up. . .at OGC Interoperability Institute
John Werle, President and CEO of PCI Geomatics Inc. (USA), has been elected by the OGC Interoperability Institute (OGCii™) Board of Directors to Chair the OGCii Board.   Full Story

ISCe 2009 Offers General Humor
Called a "John Wayne dude" by the then-major of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, Lieutenant General Russel Honore, U.S. Army (Ret.) and the former commander of Joint Task Force Katrina, wowed a packed house during his luncheon presentation at ISCe 2009 on Tuesday. Thanks to his swift action, this native of Lakeland, Louisiana, jumped into New Orleans during the Katrina disaster and took immediate charge. He brought this fine city back under control and initiated the process of piecing New Orleans back together again.   Full Story

CruiseCasting = Mobile Entertainment, Vehicularly Splendorous
AT&T Services Inc. and RaySat Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) have announced that AT&T CruiseCast service is now available across the continental United States and offers a robust lineup of content.   Full Story

Ahhhh, Sensor Mating For SBIRS Successful
The Air Force’s second geosynchronous Space Based Infrared Systems satellite successfully completed payload sensor mating operations at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, California, May 28th, achieving a key integration milestone.   Full Story

Protonex Proffered Power For UAVs
Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and PTXU) has received an additional $500,000 contract award from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for advanced development of high power fuel cell systems for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).   Full Story

MicroBat'ing Success With Micro Falcon UAV
Bental Industries, Ltd. will integrate its proven MicroBat-275 on Innocon's Micro Falcon UAVs.   Full Story

Elbit UAV Entries @ Paris Airshow
A broad spectrum of Elbit Systems innovative solutions designed for the changing requirements of the defense industry will be on display at the 48th Paris Airshow – 2009 at the Elbit Systems Chalet A332. The exhibition, which will take place in Le Bourget from June 15th to 21st, will showcase an array of advanced systems demonstrating Elbit Systems’ leadership in its core business areas.   Full Story

Geospatial Engine Enjoys Award
PCI Geomatics has won the Geospatial Innovator Award from GeoTec Media for its ProLines GeoImaging Server, as announced at the GeoTec Event in Vancouver, British Columbia.   Full Story

Moving On Up... @ CapRock Communications
CapRock Communications has added David Bunting to its senior management team as vice president of Global Engineering.   Full Story

Super Moonwalk DVD Set Will Bring Apollo 11 To Life Again
Moonwalk One — The Director?s Cut is a new two disc DVD of the 1969 documentary film never seen by the public before and originally commissioned by NASA to capture the celebrated Apollo 11 space mission of man walking on the moon — the set will go on worldwide sale from Monday, June 21, 2009.   Full Story

NASA Radiating Confidence In New Research Centers
NASA has selected four proposals for research to help understand space radiation's affects on human living in space.   Full Story

Transponder Tied Up By SkyVision On Fresh Face W2A
SkyVision and Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) have announced that SkyVision has signed a multi-year contract for one transponder on the newly-launched W2A satellite.   Full Story

Acquiring Minds Want To Know... Rockwell Collins + DataPath, Inc.
Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE: COL) has now completed the acquisition of DataPath, Inc., a global company creating satellite-based communication networks.   Full Story

Numerex Tanks For Simmons
Numerex Corp. (Nasdaq: NMRX) has announced that Simmons Corporation, a major outsourcing vendor of compliance monitoring services for owners of underground storage tanks in the United States and Canada, has selected Numerex to provide integrated satellite-based monitoring solutions, which combine expertise and services from both companies.   Full Story

Stratos Is Ship-Shape As Far AS MISC Berhard Is Concerned
Stratos Global Corporation has been selected by its long-time, Malaysian-based customer MISC Berhad to provide a customized crew-communications solution for its entire fleet of more than 100 merchant vessels.   Full Story

A Hummingbird With Plenty Of Muscle
The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] on June 1st submitted a proposal offering its A160T Hummingbird for the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory's Immediate Cargo Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Demonstration Program.   Full Story

JAXA's Rising STAR
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is inviting members from six space agencies in the Asia-Pacific Region to participate in the Satellite Technology for the Asia-Pacific Region (STAR) Program, which JAXA introduced at the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) held in 2007.   Full Story

MEASAT 3a Makes Move To Baikonur
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) has announced the MEASAT-3a commercial communications satellite has arrived at its launch site at Baikonur, Kazakhstan.   Full Story

Pleasing Partnerships Worthy Of Note: KVH, SP-JSAT, ViaSat
Taking its next major step toward offering global coverage of the mini-VSAT Broadband service, KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI) has signed a multi-year agreement with SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (also known as SP-JSAT) to lease satellite capacity on its JCSAT-1B and the new Intelsat-15 satellites.   Full Story


June 1, 2009
SES AMERICOM Is Playing Ball
With the NBA finals on the verge of tip-off and a new Major League Soccer season underway, SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has announced iN DEMAND Networks has signed a multiyear distribution agreement for delivery of its NBA League Pass and MLS Direct Kick programming packages to cable subscribers across the U.S.   Full Story

Bolivian Backhaul Bound
With its broad coverage across Latin America, SES AMERICOM-NEW SKIES, a division of SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), announced at the ITW conference that Nuevatel PCS de Bolivia has signed a three-year agreement for satellite-delivered GSM backhaul to extend its mobile phone and public telephony services into rural and remote villages and communities across Bolivia.   Full Story

Here's Looking @ Earth: Shuddering Shocks, Convulsing Plates, Honduran Horror
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of Honduras at 3:24 a.m. local time (08:24 UTC) on May 28, 2009.   Full Story

Here' Looking @ Earth: Cyclonic Catastrophe
Residents in eastern India and Bangladesh are still assessing damages from Cyclone Aila after it made landfall as a minimal Category One hurricane/cyclone on May 25th — on May 27th, estimates from those countries placed the total death toll at 130 people and that number is expected to rise, making Aila the deadliest tropical cyclone so far in 2009.   Full Story

SIRIUS SatSignals — It's All In The Numbers...
SES SIRIUS, an SES ASTRA company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has significantly increased its reach in the Baltic countries.   Full Story

Technology Fanned By Mundus + AirStar, With Terminator VTOL In The Non-Wings
Mundus Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets: MNDP) and AirStar have announced the new-ducted fan technology will replace the current AirStar in service with government agencies worldwide.   Full Story

WHOAA NOAA! Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites
NOAA scientists have teamed up with experts from the University of Maryland and North Carolina State University to form the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites.   Full Story

SpaceX Windows Are Open with Launch of Falcon 1 Flight 5
Great news from Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (ATSB) of Malaysia announce a new launch window has been set for Falcon 1 Flight 5, carrying the RazakSAT satellite to orbit.   Full Story

Deliberately Bringing DTH To Asia — EchoStar + AsiaSat
EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS) and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited(AsiaSat), a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Limited (HKSE:1135), have formed a joint venture for the delivery of a direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service to Taiwan and other targeted regions in Asia.   Full Story

Small Vessels, Large Communication Capabilities
Global Satellite USA has launched the new Inmarsat ?FleetBroadband 150 service, which was developed for the leisure, fishing, coastal merchant, and small defense vessel markets.   Full Story

Urban UAV Uncovered
helping save lives in emergency situations or preventing terrorist attacks in urban areas.   Full Story

Israel To Pack The Chalet With UAVs
Israel will be making its 24th appearance at the Paris Air Show — Le Bourget— opening on June 15th, with 18 Israeli companies and organizations participating, 12 of them at the Israel Chalet organized by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute and six companies with their own stands.   Full Story

Telstar 10 Leasehold Forsaken By Telesat Canada
Telesat Canada, the world's fourth largest fixed satellite operator, has an agreement to relinquish its leasehold interest in Telstar 10 to APT Satellite Company Limited (APT), the satellite's owner, and to transfer related customer contracts, for a total consideration of US$69,500,000, subject to adjustment.   Full Story

Pad Pickup For Ares @ Kennedy Space Center
The May 31st transfer of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program is the next step in preparing the first flight test of the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch system.   Full Story

Financially Speaking... Globecomm Systems...
Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: GCOM) has acquired privately held Telaurus Communications LLC (Telaurus), a telecommunications provider to the maritime market.   Full Story

Forestry Forecasts To Be Aided By DMCii's Sats
DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) has won a 100,000 euros contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to demonstrate the value of its coordinated multi-satellite optical imagery for tropical forest monitoring in Indonesia.   Full Story


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