21 May 2000

Satcoms

ANATEL Authorises GE Americom's GE-4 Satellite for Brazilian Services
GE Capital do Brasil has received authorisation from ANATEL to offer Ku band satellite services to, from and within Brazil on GE Americom's recently launched GE-4 satellite. ANATEL is the Brazilian Government telecommunications regulatory authority.

It is anticipated that customers such as private businesses, IP content distributors and ISPs will take advantage of the satellite's coverage that includes the entire NAFTA community of nations as well as Brazil and other Mercosur countries. Specifically the satellite's southern beam provides integrated coverage of the Mercosur bloc (Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina) as well as Chile, Bolivia and Peru.

GE-4 became fully operational on January 3, 2000 at 101° W. The satellite carries twenty-four 36 MHz 110 W Ku band transponders providing US, Canadian, Mexican, Caribbean and Central and South America coverage. Each of these Ku band transponders is individually switchable between North America and South America, fully supporting two-way communication throughout the Americas. GE-4 also has four extended 72 MHz Ku band transponders that are able to support inter-American communications. In addition, GE-4 has twenty-four 36 MHz 20 W C band transponders providing fifty state, Canadian, Mexican and Caribbean coverage.

Broadband Studios and NDS Group Team to Market DTH On-Demand Gaming
Broadband Studios Inc (BBS) and NDS Group plc have signed a strategic agreement to jointly market and promote direct-to-home, interactive, multi-player games.

This will be achieved by integrating BBS' JiveT online gaming platform server with NDS MediaStormT IP datacasting platform, using, in the first instance, satellite delivery.

The integration of the two platforms will make the BBS' PowerPlay NetworkT available to users of NDS MediaStorm-based data networks. BBS and NDS are already in negotiations for the implementation of their joint offering with various networks around the world.

The PowerPlay NetworkT features a click'n'play "game on-demand" service from library of popular games, plus a variety of immersive, multi-player gaming channels, with full multi-user community services and features. NDS MediaStorm enables broadcasters to provide file downloads, video and audio streaming and multimedia services to consumers.

The first Game Channels to be offered over the PowerPlay Network service will feature Soccer league, Driving World and Air Combat Arena.

The Jive(TM) Platform is a server/client platform designed to offer a combination of multi-user on-demand software applications, enhanced video services, community-building tools, versatile subscription management systems and full scalability to operate within different interactive device platforms and digital networks such as Cable, DSL, Satellite, and Wireless.

The PowerPlay Network is an online gaming service, which is designed to permit broadband-connected users to join and play in a fully featured persistent gaming channel and community environment. The PowerPlay Network utilises the Jive(TM) Platform as its technological infrastructure and back end. Its key features are: A Click `n' Play Game-Library - allowing users to play an existing game without ever installing it. The game is streamed over the broadband network using the BBS proprietary Click `n' Play technology, on a pay-per-use or as an added value /affinity building basis.

Online Game Channels - online-only games that support thousands of concurrent users, and create an immersive, persistent gaming world. Player Communities - a set of features, which create a true player community environment and allow the players to interact. Major features are chat, scoreboards, tournaments, leagues, messaging, online news, player white pages, sponsorships and more.

NDS MediaStorm provides full data broadcasting functionality and management services, integrated into a single end-to-end system. These include fast file delivery, multicast streaming, high-speed Internet, web caching, and the transmission of MPEG-2 video to PCs. NDS MediaStorm also features comprehensive content management and is fully integrated with Open VideoGuardT, NDS' proven conditional access technology. The system's users range from some of the world's largest digital broadcasters to major business networks.

Broadlogic and The Fantastic Corporation Team
BroadLogic Network Technologies, a leading supplier of broadband communications equipment, and The Fantastic Corporation, a leading global provider of broadband software solutions, have announced a joint worldwide agreement to work together to market and promote the companies' combined technologies.

BroadLogic will work with Fantastic to link its Satellite ExpressT PCI/PCI + receiver cards specifically with Fantastic's MediaSurfer software, as part of the end to end solution that includes the Channel Management and Channel Editorial Software. The joint agreement allows the companies to provide a more comprehensive data broadcasting system solution for service providers, operators and multimedia content creators.

Fantastic's software solutions and services enable the aggregation, packaging, managing, broadcasting and viewing of TV and CD-quality multimedia content over a variety of broadband IP networks. These include satellite, digital terrestrial, cable, xDSL, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and eventually 3G mobile networks. Fantastic enables content broadcast of video and audio information to any IP enabled device (for example PC, TV, Personal Digital Assistant, 3G mobile phone), enhancing the experience by merging the quality, emotion and reach of TV with the interactivity of the Internet.

BroadLogic's products connect satellite and terrestrial networks to desktop PC's, LAN and infrastructure equipment used by ISPs and the telecommunications industry. Desktop products provide connectivity tools for individual workstations. They include PCI Bus add-in satellite receiver cards that enable cost-effective deployment of multicast data networks and interactive Internet access, and external USB satellite receivers, designed for easy installation.

International Datacasting and BT Team for Corporate Services
BT Broadcast Services and International Datacasting Corporation are to join forces to provide high quality corporate video communications and Internet connectivity worldwide via broadband satellite platforms.

The combination of BT's global broadcast satellite networks and IDC's integrated receiver equipment will provide companies with high speed Internet access, stream video and deliver distance learning applications directly to desktop PCs. Operating via high-powered satellites will mean that information can be received on dishes as small as 60 cm, before being fed into a corporate local area network.

Being satellite-based, the new service will provide a cost-effective broadband delivery platform, eliminating the usual costs associated with building a terrestrial infrastructure. It will also use industry standard technologies to support both video and data applications based on the IP Internet standard and DVB standard for digital TV.

BT Broadcast Services is Europe's leading supplier of global broadcast solutions providing a comprehensive range of terrestrial and satellite services for international television and radio broadcasters. The group offers flexible, cost-effective and tailor made services such as network development, design, provision and management. Its international client base includes broadcasters, news agencies, production companies and organisers of special events throughout the world. BT Broadcast Services delivers technologically advanced broadcast solutions involving digitally compressed television, high definition television and satellite news gathering.

IDC provides advanced systems and services for the broadband satellite distribution of digital data in a variety of point-to-multipoint applications. With an existing base in 35 countries worldwide, IDC is at the forefront of delivering IP-based satellite datacasting solutions. Applications for IDC's products include high-speed Internet-via-satellite networks, corporate Intranets, distance education networks, radio networks, business radio networks, weather networks, financial information and paging networks.

Interpacket Networks Reaches 100th Country
With the recent addition of new customers in Rwanda, Israel, the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the InterPacket Networks now delivers Internet services to 100 countries on six continents and has over 600 customers.

This network expansion now makes InterPacket the dominant satellite-based global Internet network. InterPacket has customers in every country in Central and Latin America. The company also has regional offices in Argentina and Brazil.

InterPacket has built a global Internet network linking 11 geostationary satellites through the company's operation centres in London, Singapore, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Through the network, InterPacket delivers Internet content broadcasting services, high-speed backbone connectivity, and enhanced Internet services to ISPs, corporations and content distributors worldwide.

On Site Networks Selects Spacenet Broadband VSAT Solution
On Site Networks Inc (OSN) has chosen a high-speed, two-way satellite network from Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd's Spacenet Inc subsidiary to deliver its Women's Supermarket Network (WSN) custom television programming to supermarkets nationwide.

Under the terms of the agreement, Spacenet will provide a comprehensive Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) network solution for WSN that includes turnkey installation of all remote site equipment, network operations, and ongoing field maintenance.

WSN expects to provide manufacturers and consumers with an out-of-home satellite television network in more than 1,000 supermarket locations nationwide by Fall 2000. WSN is now being installed in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions at supermarket chains including Pathmark, Price Chopper, Weiss Markets and Foodtown. The balance of the WSN East Coast affiliates selected for the launch will be announced by June 1.

By combining Spacenet's two-way, IP-based VSAT solution with WSN's unique content, WSN expects to deliver original television programming and broadband interactive applications to a minimum of 2,000 supermarkets within one year.

SITA and AirTV to Offer Aero Internet Services
SITA, a provider of integrated telecommunications and information solutions to the air transport industry, and AirTV, a media satellite service dedicated to the airline industry, have entered into an agreement to jointly offer Internet access and e-mail services to airlines world-wide, based upon SITA's Satellite Aircom and AirTV's planned four satellite network broadband services.

By the last quarter of 2002, airlines world-wide will be able to use SITA and AirTV to provide passengers with entertainment and information, including live television, video and audio along with email and Internet access.

AirTV will provide content through its planned four satellite geo-synchronous system with SITA providing the global network capability via Inmarsat and SITA's partner ground stations. SITA's wide portfolio of aircraft services offers airlines the capability to provide passenger telephony and fax services as well as facilitating flight operations, aircraft maintenance and engineering, air traffic control and cabin administrative communications.

Two Contracts for Tandberg
Tandberg TV has announced two contracts this week for its broadcast equipment for use at the Olympics and at other major news events.

NBC News has selected Tandberg Television for the provision of digital Satellite News Gathering (SNG) encoders for use in coverage of major news events worldwide. The purchase is comprised of a number of Tandberg Television E5425 mobile contribution encoders, which NBC News will deploy internationally from its centralised location in Long Island City, New York.

The E5425 encoder features both MPEG-2 4:2:0MP@ML and 4:2:2P@ML encoding, analogue and digital inputs, and an internal four-channel remultiplexer in addition to a wide range of other optional inputs. Among the features of the user-friendly control is a front-panel LCD display for easy setup and operation.

The remultiplexing capability provided by Tandberg Television operates in a unique fashion. If so desired, only one "master" encoder needs to be fitted with the remux card, allowing up to three additional "slave" encoder transport streams to be inserted into this card. A more traditional daisy chain approach requires remultiplexing cards for each additional encoder at a greater cost, and if any of the encoders in the chain fails, all of the video signals are lost. However, with the Tandberg Television remultiplexing system, if one of the slave encoders fails, the programming coming from the other three encoders is retained. In addition, a total of 13 encoders could be run in this manner with the simple addition of remux cards into one or more slave encoders.

Tandberg Television, has also been chosen by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in a US$ 1 million deal to supply a high end broadcast system, for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, which encompasses all areas of managing and transmitting digital TV signals and includes encoders, IRDs and TT Medialinks, used to efficiently convert between different transport media. The total solution consists of a diverse spread of technology and products, all of which have been developed and manufactured by Tandberg Television.

The EBU is working in conjunction with Telstra, the Australian telco service provider, to provide contribution feeds for The Sydney Summer Olympic Games during September 2000. The world's largest televised event will employ the cutting edge technology of Tandberg's digital solutions in order to achieve the superior picture quality that the Olympic Games demand.

The International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) in Sydney is the heart of the operation taking all video and audio feeds from each venue and distributing them locally and internationally to the world's broadcasters. It is here that the video signals will be compressed to 20Mb/s MPEG-2 and transmitted along the fibre networks to the nearby Telstra earth station, and then uplinked on AsiaSat 2 for contribution to the Far East. A second fibre SDH/ATM Telstra link will take the compressed digital signals from the IBC 3000 miles across Australia to Perth, where they will be uplinked to Intelsat 703, 704 and 804 C-band Indian Ocean Region satellites. Cyprus will provide the all important turnaround point to receive the Indian Ocean Region feeds and turn them around digitally for uplinking on Eutelsat W3 capacity for distribution within Europe.

Military Space

ICTI to Supply Satellite Network Controllers to Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
Innovative Communications Technologies Inc, a subsidiary of Advanced Remote Communication Solutions (ARCOMS) has been awarded a sole-source contract by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to supply satellite network controllers.

The contract also includes associated engineering services for the automated management of satellite resources and satellite communications equipment, including Inmarsat Saturn B terminals.

ICTI is a global leader in the multi-platform design, implementation and management of bandwidth-efficient, multimedia satellite networks, including Internet, voice, fax, data and video applications.

According to SPAWAR, ICTI was chosen as the sole-source provider because the company is "the only known source that can provide the equipment and engineering services required and meet the Government's delivery requirements for equipment to be used in the Joint Warfare Interoperability Demonstration (JWID).

Science

NASA Insists Compton Re-entry Safe
Following criticism last week from the scientific community over the re-entry plans for the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, NASA has stated that these fears are groundless.

Just over a week ago, SpaceViews published concerns that voiced by some scientists that increases in upper atmosphere density following solar flares could disrupt NASA's plans to safely deorbit the satellite. Of particular concern was the possibility of a flare occurring once the deorbiting procedure had begun which could, it was claimed, potentially accelerate the satellites fall into the earth's atmosphere in an uncontrolled way.

NASA's rebuttal states that since the deorbiting procedure consists of four burns spread over several days it allows NASA to respond if a flare occurs and to continue deorbiting in a controlled fashion.

TRW to Study NASA's Gamma Ray Large Area Telescope Mission
TRW has been awarded a three-month study contract by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to determine how best to accommodate the science payload for NASA's Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) mission using a spacecraft from GSFC's Rapid II Catalogue of spacecraft.

GLAST is the follow-on mission to the TRW-built Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) mission. Scheduled for launch in 2005, GLAST will explore the most energetic and violent events in the universe. Its 3,000 kg science payload, which comprises the GLAST Large Area Telescope Flight Investigation and the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor, will study stellar phenomena such as gamma ray bursts, neutron stars, supernova remnants and distant galaxies fuelled by super massive black holes at their centres. GLAST's primary instrument is expected to be about 30 times more sensitive to gamma ray sources than the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) used aboard CGRO.

Under terms of the new contract, TRW will determine the most cost-effective way to meet the GLAST mission requirements based on TRW's existing, qualified spacecraft products in NASA's Rapid II catalogue. NASA's Rapid II spacecraft catalogue is a procurement practice designed to enable rapid development and production of spacecraft using standardised spacecraft products.

Following the initial GLAST study and some more detailed studies in the near future, NASA will select a contractor to build the GLAST spacecraft and integrate the payload with the spacecraft. NASA's current plan calls for the selection of a GLAST system prime contractor in 2002.

Manned Space

Mir To Be Vacated In June
Energia is planning to leave Mir unmanned when the current MirCorp mission ends, but will leave the station in orbit ready for a new crew if money can be found.

Mir is currently crewed by two cosmonauts, Sergei Zalyotin and Alexander Kaleri, who are due to return to Earth in mid June. Before leaving they will prepare Mir for a period of hibernation until enough commercial money can be raised for further periods of habitation.

Russian officials have said that Mir will be brought out of orbit in August if no new money is made available. New Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised money for Mir operations in 2001, however it is not at all clear what financing will be available between June and the beginning of next year.

Technology

Avionics Displays on Shuttle Atlantis
NASA's Atlantis Space Shuttle (STS-101), which was launched this week from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is equipped with a Boeing and Honeywell-designed Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS), or "glass cockpit," utilising Philips Flat Display Systems' (FDS) cutting-edge flat display technology.

NASA expects to replace the traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and numerous mechanical gauges within all of its space shuttle cockpits with Philips FDS' more advanced Acitve Matrix Liquid Crystal Dispalys (AMLCDs) as part of a Boeing/Honeywell instrumentation retrofit program.

Philips FDS, a business group of Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands, holds more than a 50 percent share of the civil avionics display market. AMLCDs offer a number of advantages over CRT displays, including reduced dimensions, lower mass, lower power consumption, improved optical performance and a longer lifecycle.

Launch Vehicles

Atlantic Research Acquires Kaiser Maquardt's Monopropellant Product Line
Atlantic Research Corporation (ARC) has acquired the hydrazine monopropellant rocket engine business of Kaiser Marquardt Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kaiser Aerospace & Electronics. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Kaiser Marquardt's monopropellant product line offers ARC a range of flight-qualified hydrazine monopropellant rocket engines and propulsion modules for use on satellites, missiles and spacecraft. The hydrazine monopropellant thruster product line rounds out ARC's existing flight-proven bipropellant, electric and peroxide thruster and propellant tank product lines and provides customers a complete space propulsion capability. The acquisition expands ARC's customer base and strengthens its ability to offer new products and complete propulsion systems from facilities in Niagara Falls, New York and Westcott, England.

ARC, a unit of Sequa Corporation, is a leading developer and producer of solid propellant rocket motors, gas generators, advanced composite materials and liquid propulsion systems.

Launches

Rokot

Launched: 16 May 2000
Site: Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia
Launcher: SL-19 Rockot
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 540 km, perigee: 540 km: inclination: 86.4°
International Number: 2000-026A/B
Name: Simsat-01, Simsat-02

This launch put two dummy satellites into orbit to test the Briz-KM upper stage. The flight trajectory for this Commercial Demonstration Flight, was designed to mimic that of a commercial launch.

STS 101 - Spacehab DM

Launched: 19 May 2000
Site: Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Launcher: Space Shuttle Atlantis, STS 101
Orbit: LEO, apogee: 320 km, perigee: 320 km: inclination: 51.6°
International Number: 2000-027A
Name: Atlantis
Owner: NASA

This shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will replace up to four batteries on the ISS, take supplies to the ISS and will boost the ISS to a higher orbit. Of the six batteries on board, two have failed and two more may have problems - it is believed that this is due to high charging rates which may have worn the batteries out prematurely.

Mission duration will be 10 days. Atlantis docked with the ISS on May 21.

Atlantis carries a crew of 7: Commander Jim Halsell, Pilot Scott Horowitz, and Mission Specialists Mary Ellen Weber, Jeffrey Williams, James Voss, Susan Helms and Yuri Usachev. The crew are the first visitors to the ISS in a year.

Business

ICO Emerges From Bankruptcy as New ICO
New ICO, formerly ICO Global Communications, has successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following completion of a US$ 1.2 billion investment led by Craig McCaw and a group of US and international investors.

In related news, ICO-Teledesic Global Limited, a new holding company that controls the satellite assets of McCaw's private investment company Eagle River Investments LLC, intends within the next week to propose to New ICO a merger of the two companies. As a result of New ICO's just-completed reorganisation plan, ICO-Teledesic Global is the controlling shareholder in London-based New ICO. This proposal is subject to approval by the New ICO board and shareholders and regulatory authorities.

On May 12, Teledesic's board of directors approved the merger of Bellevue, Washington-based Teledesic into ICO-Teledesic Global, but the merger remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Under the proposal, New ICO and Teledesic would become wholly owned subsidiaries of ICO-Teledesic Global.

McCaw will serve as chairman of ICO-Teledesic Global in addition to his role as chairman of New ICO and founder and chairman of Teledesic LLC. Having successfully completed his goal of guiding ICO through the bankruptcy process, Richard Greco is resigning as Chief Executive Officer of ICO to develop his own telecommunications venture. Russell Daggatt becomes acting CEO of New ICO and ICO-Teledesic Global.

Building on the mobile voice capabilities of its existing system design, New ICO will also offer a family of services that are the satellite equivalent of third-generation (3G) wireless services, including wireless Internet and other packet-data services.

Since McCaw announced plans to invest in ICO on November 1, 1999, Teledesic representatives have worked closely with ICO and its industrial partners Hughes Space and Communications, Hughes Network Systems, NEC and Ericsson to upgrade the New ICO ground network. The improvements will enable New ICO to provide high-speed Internet services through its constellation of 10 medium-Earth-orbit satellites plus two on-orbit spares.

KPN and Telstra Mobile Satellite Merger Complete
Telstra Corp Ltd and Netherland's KPN Telecom NV have finalised the merger of their mobile satellite units.

Telstra will contribute around A$ 74 million in net tangible assets and hold around 35% equity in the joint venture company, which has projected initial annual revenues of around US $250 million.

The joint venture company will be known as Station 12, which is currently the name used by KPN Telecom's mobile satellite unit. It expects to have a start-up global market share of around 24%.

Murdoch's Platco Begins to Take Shape
News Corporation has confirmed that it intends to combine several of its satellite and digital media assets into a single company, a move it has been planning for months.

The new company, unofficially titled Platco, will include News Corporation's stakes in News Digital Systems Plc, Asia's Star TV joint venture with Cable & Wireless HKT Ltd, British Sky Broadcasting Plc, TV Guide International and a 50% interest in Stream, the Italian digital satellite broadcaster.

Platco's long-term strategy is to form the biggest, most widely distributed content platform in the world. Within five to seven years it expects to reach 300 million households, providing content through a range of devices in the home.

Speaking at an investor's conference in Hong Kong, News Corporation's Chairman Rupert Murdoch said that he intended to bring strategic partners into Platco and that more details would be released in the next 60 days. He also added that the company would not be floated in the near future.

Radyne Comstream Listed on NASDAQ
Radyne ComStream Inc, an international supplier of satellite internet infrastructure equipment, has received approval for trading on the NASDAQ National Market System (NMS).

The shares will continue to trade under the symbol "RADN" and the warrants will continue to trade as "RADNW." Radyne ComStream commenced trading on the National Market System on Monday, May 15, 2000.

Radyne ComStream designs, manufactures, and markets satellite Internet-infrastructure equipment as well as satellite broadband modems, multicasting receivers, converters and ancillary products for digital TV, data and telephone service.

People

Bob Givens Heads Gilat Europe
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd has appointed Bob Givens as President of Gilat Europe. The appointment is Gilat's first step in building a larger European presence.

Gilat acquired Spacenet Services Europe GmbH (Spacenet Europe) from GE Americom in December 1998. All Spacenet Europe and Gilat operations in Europe are now to be known as Gilat Europe.

Givens is based in Gilat Europe's Paris office. Gilat Europe's Network Operations Center is based in Stuttgart, Germany and its sales and marketing operations are based near London. Gilat Europe also has offices in Italy, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.

Gilat Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd of Petah Tikva, Israel. Gilat Europe provides a wide range of satellite communications networks and services throughout Europe, including access to satellite transponder capacity, installation of network equipment, network monitoring and control, as well as maintenance and repair.

Head of NASDA Resigns
Isao Uchida, head of the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) has resigned, taking responsibility for recent problems of rocket failures and high costs with the country's space programme.

Uchida told a meeting of the government's space programme that he was stepping down after submitting a report on a rocket launch failure which occurred in November last year.

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