17 July 2005
Satcoms
Elsacom - a European
Globalstar Satellite Service Provider - to Resell Artera Turbo
Globalstar
Enhances Service in Florida and Caribbean by Opening Satellite Gateway in
Sebring
Horizon Satellite Services Boosts Capacity with Eutelsat
iDirect
Technologies Gains USDA/RUS Acceptance for Hub and Netmodem II Plus
PanAmSat
Demonstrates Satellite-Based Broadband Wireless Networks
Technicolor Selects Mainstream Data as Satellite Provider
for SkyArc Digital Cinema Network
Telenor and Thuraya Ink
Satellite Services Agreement
Broadcast
Astra Announces
Transponder Deal With GlobeCast
BBC Contracts for
Additional Astra Transponder
Creating ‘Network Live,’ The First
Multi-Platform Digital Entertainment Company For Live Programming
Eurovision
to Distribute Dutch Football
MTV World Set to Launch in US on DirecTV
Earth Observation
Software Learns to
Recognise Spring Thaw
Navigation
SiRF Granted Another
Multi-Mode A-GPS Patent
South Glens Falls School District to Test Pioneering
Student Safety Initiative
US Markets Selects Qualcomm's GlobalTRACS Equipment
Management Solution
Military Space
DSCS-III Shutdown New
Experience For 3rd SOPS
ViaSat Linkway VSATs Provide Networking for
DataPath
Science
Cluster Spacecraft
Reach Greatest Separation At Fifth Anniversary
Venus Express - Ready To
Study Venusian Atmosphere
Manned Space
Discovery Will Fly
From Refurbished Launch Pad
NASA Awards Crew Exploration Vehicle Contracts
New 'Shoes'
for the Space Shuttle Transporter
Spacehab Advances Space
Commerce; New Multipurpose Spacecraft in Development
USA Trainers Prepared
Discovery Crew for Return to Flight Mission
Technology
QNX Gets On Board
NASA's Return to Flight Mission
Raindrop Geomagic
Software Plays Critical Role in Shuttle's Return to Flight
SpaceDev Microsat to
Travel to Moon
Launches
Suzaku (Astro-E2)
Launch Schedule
Business
RaySat Closes US$ 27
Million Investment
XM Satellite Radio to Acquire WCS Wireless
Products and Services
DigitalGlobe
Introduces DigitalGlobe CitySphere Product
Sirius and Sirenza
Microdevices to Introduce New Ultra-Low Profile Antenna for Sirius Satellite
Radio
Stratos and SMS Global Introduce Short Message System (SMS) and
Text E-mail for Maritime Crews
Events
Las Vegas Space
Conference Brings Together NASA & Space Entrepreneurs
People
Meghan Allen Joins USA
Government Relations Team
Northrop Grumman Names David L. Ryan Vice President,
Payloads and Sensors
Segovia Names Steven Groves Director for Netcentric
Research
Satcoms
Elsacom - a European Globalstar
Satellite Service Provider - to Resell Artera Turbo
(11 July 2005) Elsacom (a Finmeccanica Company), the
leading provider of Globalstar satellite and Internet services in the European
market, to distribute Artera Turbo Internet acceleration technology to its user
base under the name Express Data Compression.
more . . .
.
Globalstar Enhances Service in
Florida and Caribbean by Opening Satellite Gateway in Sebring
(14 July 2005) Globalstar LLC, the
world's most widely used handheld satellite phone provider and a leading
supplier of high-value satellite voice and data services to business, has
enhanced service coverage in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean
with the opening of a new Globalstar gateway in Sebring, Florida.
more . .
. .
Horizon Satellite Services Boosts
Capacity with Eutelsat
(11 July
2005) Eutelsat, one of the world's leading satellite operators, has announced a
new agreement with telecommunications service provider Horizon Satellite
Services for capacity on Eutelsat's W6 satellite, which supplies a footprint
optimised for Europe, North Africa, the Sahara, the Middle East and central
Asia.
more . . . .
iDirect Technologies Gains USDA/RUS
Acceptance for Hub and Netmodem II Plus
(11 July 2005) iDirect Technologies, a privately held
company that designs, develops, and markets bi-directional satellite-based
broadband access solutions, has been granted product acceptance by the Rural
Utilities Services (RUS), making iDirect the first and only RUS listed VSAT
solution.
more . . . .
PanAmSat Demonstrates
Satellite-Based Broadband Wireless Networks
(12 July 2005) PanAmSat joined forces with KenCast, Inc. and
Trinity Workplace Learning to demonstrate the first satellite-delivered live
video to handheld devices.
more . . . .
Technicolor Selects Mainstream Data
as Satellite Provider for SkyArc Digital Cinema Network
(11 July 2005) Mainstream Data has
entered into an agreement with Thomson and its Technicolor Digital Cinema
business to provide an end-to-end high-speed digital satellite network for the
distribution of pre-show content to theatres across North America.
more . .
. .
Telenor and Thuraya Ink Satellite
Services Agreement
(12 July
2005) Telenor Satellite Services will begin offering Thuraya products and
services throughout its global distribution network.
more . . .
.
Broadcast
Astra Announces Transponder Deal
With GlobeCast
(12 July 2005)
SES Astra, an SES Global company, has announced its first transponder deal with
GlobeCast, a leading world-wide satellite services provider.
more . . .
.
BBC Contracts for Additional Astra
Transponder
(11 July 2005) The
BBC has contracted for a further transponder from SES Astra, this time on the
Astra 2A satellite at 28.2° E.
more . . .
.
Creating ‘Network Live,’
The First Multi-Platform Digital Entertainment Company For Live Programming
(12 July 2005) In a groundbreaking
joint venture that capitalises on the huge potential of multi-platform live
entertainment programming, AEG, a world-leading sports and entertainment
presenter; America Online, the world’s leading interactive services
company; and XM Satellite Radio, the nation’s leading provider of
satellite radio have joined with entertainment and technology veteran Kevin
Wall to create Network Live, an AEG, AOL, XM company.
more . . .
.
Eurovision to Distribute Dutch
Football
(15 July 2005)
Eurovision, the operational department of the EBU, has signed a three-year
distribution contract for the Dutch Eredivisie with WK Production.
more .
. . .
MTV World Set to Launch in US on
DirecTV
(11 July 2005) MTV
Desi, the new network serving young people with ties to the Indian
sub-continent but living in the US, launched on DirecTV on Tuesday, July
12th.
more . . . .
Earth Observation
Software Learns to Recognise Spring
Thaw
(13 July 2005) Spring thaw
in the Northern Hemisphere was monitored by a new set of eyes this year - an
Earth-orbiting NASA spacecraft carrying a new version of software trained to
recognise and distinguish snow, ice, and water from space.
more . . .
.
Navigation
SiRF Granted Another Multi-Mode
A-GPS Patent
(14 July 2005)
SiRF Technology, Inc., a leading supplier of GPS-enabled location technology,
announced today that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,915,208 entitled
"Information Transfer in a Multi-mode Global Positioning System for Use with
Wireless Networks." The newly minted patent further enhances SiRF's portfolio
of inventions in multi-mode A-GPS (assisted-GPS) technology.
more . . .
.
South Glens Falls School District to
Test Pioneering Student Safety Initiative
(14 July 2005) Summer school has just begun, but the South Glens
Falls Central School District is already looking ahead to fall with an eye on
student safety.
more . . . .
US Markets Selects Qualcomm's
GlobalTRACS Equipment Management Solution
(11 July 2005) Qualcomm Incorporated, a leading provider of
wireless data solutions, and U.S. Markets, Inc., a leading provider for the
wholesale aerial work platform rental and sales industry, have signed an
agreement to install Qualcomm's GlobalTRACS equipment management solution on a
significant portion of U.S. Markets' fleet.
more . . .
.
Military Space
DSCS-III Shutdown New Experience For
3rd SOPS
(13 July 2005) The 3rd
Space Operations Squadron satellite operators and engineers here "turned off
the lights" on Defense Satellite Communications System Satellite A-2, the first
satellite of its kind to be completely deactivated.
more . . .
.
ViaSat Linkway VSATs Provide
Networking for DataPath
(11
July 2005) ViaSat Inc. is supplying high-performance Linkway satellite
communications networking equipment to DataPath, Inc. for mobile military
communications.
more . . . .
Science
Cluster Spacecraft Reach Greatest
Separation At Fifth Anniversary
(14 July 2005) The four spacecraft of ESA’s Cluster fleet
have reached their greatest distance from each other in the course of their
mission to study Earth’s magnetosphere in three dimensions.
more .
. . .
Venus Express - Ready To Study
Venusian Atmosphere
(9 July
2005) Venus Express, the first European space probe to investigate the planet
Venus has completed the development, integration and test phase in
Toulouse.
more . . . .
Manned Space
Discovery Will Fly From Refurbished
Launch Pad
(11 July 2005) While
eliminating the debris that sheds from the Space Shuttle's External Fuel Tank
has been one of the primary requirements for the Return to Flight mission, work
to eliminate hazardous debris went far beyond the Tank.
more . . . .
NASA Awards Crew Exploration Vehicle
Contracts
(12 July 2005) NASA
has authorised two eight-month contracts, each worth approximately US$ 28
million, one to Lockheed Martin Corp. and the other to the team of Northrop
Grumman Corp. and The Boeing Co. to support a July 2006 review of the
engineering systems for the agency's new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
more . . . .
New 'Shoes' for the Space Shuttle
Transporter
(11 July 2005) Help
is usually just a phone call away when the family car has a flat tire. But
what's a rocket scientist to do when new "shoes" are needed for the massive
"crawlers" that transport the space shuttle to the launch pad?
more .
. . .
Spacehab Advances Space Commerce;
New Multipurpose Spacecraft in Development
(12 July 2005) Spacehab, Incorporated, a leading provider of
commercial space services, has initiated development of a fully commercial
roundtrip delivery service to low earth orbit and beyond.
more . . .
.
USA Trainers Prepared Discovery Crew
for Return to Flight Mission
(10 July 2005) With the arrival of the STS-114 crew at the Kennedy
Space Center, virtually thousands of hours of flight preparation and training
have come to fruition.
more . . . .
Technology
QNX Gets On Board NASA's Return to
Flight Mission
(13 July 2005)
QNX Software Systems’ QNX Neutrino RTOS is powering the Neptec Laser
Camera System (LCS) for NASA's Return to Flight mission.
more . . .
.
Raindrop Geomagic Software Plays
Critical Role in Shuttle's Return to Flight
(13 July 2005) Geomagic Studio, Raindrop Geomagic's
reverse-engineering software, is playing a critical role in returning NASA's
space shuttle to flight.
more . . . .
SpaceDev Microsat to Travel to
Moon
(12 July 2005) SpaceDev
has been awarded a contract by Andrews Space of Seattle to design a small
spacecraft that will be the first ever to travel to the vicinity of the Moon
through a gravity tunnel, a route which requires significantly less fuel than
conventional trajectories.
more . . . .
Launches
Suzaku (Astro-E2)
more . . .
.
Business
RaySat Closes US$ 27 Million
Investment
(14 July 2005)
RaySat, Inc. a leading global supplier of in-motion satellite antennas for cars
and trains, has closed a US$ 27 million investment round. Funds advised by Apax
Partners led the round with an US$ 18.6 million investment.
more . . .
.
XM Satellite Radio to Acquire WCS
Wireless
(13 July 2005) XM
Satellite Radio, the USA's leading satellite radio company with more than 4.4
million subscribers, has signed an agreement to acquire WCS Wireless, a private
entity, for 5.5 million shares of XM Common Stock.
more . . .
.
Products and Services
DigitalGlobe Introduces DigitalGlobe
CitySphere Product
(13 July
2005) DigitalGlobe has introduced DigitalGlobe CitySphere, a product aimed at
helping mappers, planners and geographic information systems (GIS) specialists
to improve all geospatial applications with the rapid delivery of current,
repeatable, high-resolution satellite imagery data.
more . . .
.
Sirius and Sirenza Microdevices to
Introduce New Ultra-Low Profile Antenna for Sirius Satellite Radio
(14 July 2005) Sirius Satellite
Radio and Sirenza Microdevices are introducing a small, ultra-low profile,
high-performance antenna for Sirius that is the thinnest ever produced for
satellite radio.
more . . . .
Stratos and SMS Global Introduce
Short Message System (SMS) and Text E-mail for Maritime Crews
(14 July 2005) Stratos Global
Corp., the leading global provider of Inmarsat mobile satellite services, and
SMS Global, Ltd., have introduced SMSCrewMail, a new prepaid short message
system (SMS) and text e-mail service for maritime crewmembers seeking a
cost-effective way to stay in touch with family and friends while at sea.
more . . . .
Events
Las Vegas Space Conference Brings
Together NASA & Space Entrepreneurs
(13 July 2005) On July 21st Keynote Speaker Chris Shank
of NASA HQ will kick off the 6th annual Return to the Moon conference sponsored
by the Space Frontier Foundation.
more . . .
.
People
Meghan Allen Joins USA Government
Relations Team
(11 July 2005)
United Space Alliance has announced that Meghan Allen has joined the company as
Director of Legislative Affairs in USA's Washington, D.C., office.
more .
. . .
Northrop Grumman Names David L. Ryan
Vice President, Payloads and Sensors
(8 July 2005) Northrop Grumman Corporation has named David L. Ryan
vice president of payloads and sensors for its Space Technology sector.
more . . . .
Segovia Names Steven Groves Director
for Netcentric Research
(11
July 2005) Segovia, Inc., a provider of secure global voice, data, and video
broadband satellite services to U.S. military forces operating in Iraq and
Afghanistan, has named Steven Groves as Director for Netcentric Research.
more . . . .