5 March 2006
Satcoms
AMC-23 Successfully
Completes IOT
Globalstar Activates 200,000th Customer
QinetiQ Secures Another
Order for Anti-Satellite Jamming System
Broadcast
SES Astra Signs Second
Contract With GlobeCast
SES Astra to Offer New Digital TV Services
Earth Observation
Boeing Awarded
Follow-on Award to Process Radar Data from Space Shuttle Endeavour
Envisat
Altimeter Watches Pacific for Cold Tongue of La Niña
Four Years On, Envisat
Hailed For Contribution To Earth Science
Navigation
Alcatel Alenia Space
Demonstrates First Emergency Service Based on EGNOS
Lockheed Martin-Built GPS
Satellites Mark 50 Years on Orbit
Military Space
Americom Government
Services Announces Agreement With XTAR To Offer X-Band Satellite Service
Raytheon
Awarded Contract for Submarine Satellite Communications Solution
Science
CryoSat-2 Mission
Confirmed
FUSE Ultraviolet Satellite Returns to Operations
Manned Space
Joint Statement by
International Space Station Heads of Agency
VivoMetrics LifeShirt to
be Used to Help Improve Astronauts' Quality of Sleep
Technology
SRI International
Applies Expertise to Ensure Smooth Space Shuttle Lift-Off
Technology Transfer
Space Suit Technology
Can Protect Workers From Heat-stroke
Launch Services
Arianespace to Launch
WildBlue-1
Launches
Arabsat 4A
Launch Schedule
Business
CSG Systems Acquires
Telution Inc
Romania Becomes Third ESA European Co-operating
State
Products and Services
Globalstar Launches
Emergency Satellite Rate Plan
SkyTune Antenna Delivers Groundbreaking XM Satellite
Radio Portable Products
Trimble Introduces New Tiny Surface Mount GPS
Receiver
People
Mobile Satellite
Ventures Appoints Two New Vice Presidents Of Operations
WorldSpace Appoints
Stephen Shenefield Senior Vice President, Receiver Development
Satcoms
AMC-23 Successfully Completes
IOT
(2 March 2006) SES
Americom, an SES Global company, has announced that the Americom-23 (AMC-23)
satellite that was launched on December 29, 2005, has successfully completed a
full battery of in-orbit-tests and is now operational from its assigned
location of 172 degrees East.
more . . . .
Globalstar Activates 200,000th
Customer
(1 March 2006)
Globalstar LLC, a world leader in providing mobile satellite voice and data
services to business, activated its 200,000th customer during the month of
February.
more . . . .
QinetiQ Secures Another Order for
Anti-Satellite Jamming System
(28 February 2006) QinetiQ has sold a complete satID satellite
geolocation system to the Space Communications Corporation (SCC) of Japan,
allowing SCC to identify and accurately locate the source of interference to
satellites.
more . . . .
Broadcast
SES Astra Signs Second Contract With
GlobeCast
(27 February 2006)
SES Astra, an SES Global company, has signed a second capacity agreement with
GlobeCast, an international content management and delivery enterprise.
more . . . .
SES Astra to Offer New Digital TV
Services
(28 February 2006) SES
Astra, an SES Global company, enhances its digital services and offers an
infrastructure for Free-TV, Pay-TV and additional interactive services.
more . . . .
Earth Observation
Boeing Awarded Follow-on Award to
Process Radar Data from Space Shuttle Endeavour
(27 February 2006) Boeing has received a US$ 3.5 million
follow-on task order from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to
enhance the digital topographic data collected by the space shuttle
Endeavour.
more . . . .
Envisat Altimeter Watches Pacific
for Cold Tongue of La Niña
(3 March 2006) Satellite measurements of a steep difference in sea
surface height between the western and eastern tropical Pacific support
predictions that a La Niña event is in the offing.
more . . .
.
Four Years On, Envisat Hailed For
Contribution To Earth Science
(28 February 2006) Since its launch in 2002, Envisat, the
world’s largest and most sophisticated satellite ever built, has been
providing scientists and operational users with invaluable data for global
monitoring and forecasting - and the future looks even brighter.
more . .
. .
Navigation
Alcatel Alenia Space Demonstrates
First Emergency Service Based on EGNOS
(1 March 2006) Alcatel Alenia Space will demonstrate the first
emergency service based on EGNOS, a precursor of Galileo, in Lisbon, Portugal,
on March 3rd.
more . . . .
Lockheed Martin-Built GPS Satellites
Mark 50 Years on Orbit
(27
February 2006) The fleet of Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIR
satellites designed and built by Lockheed Martin to significantly enhance the
overall performance of the GPS constellation has now accumulated 50 years of
successful in-orbit operations.
more . . .
.
Military Space
Americom Government Services
Announces Agreement With XTAR To Offer X-Band Satellite Service
(2 March 2006) Americom Government
Services, Inc. (AGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SES Americom, has announced
an agreement with XTAR, LLC making high powered commercial X-band service
available to AGS' numerous customers across the U.S. Department of Defense,
other agencies and users.
more . . . .
Raytheon Awarded Contract for
Submarine Satellite Communications Solution
(1 March 2006) Raytheon Company has been awarded a US$ 35.9
million U.S. Navy contract to deliver 15 Submarine High Data Rate (Sub HDR)
multi-band satellite communication systems (SATCOM).
more . . .
.
Science
CryoSat-2 Mission Confirmed
(24 February 2006) At the latest
meeting of the European Space Agency's Earth Observation Programme Board, which
took place at ESA's Headquarters in Paris on 23 and 24 February, ESA received
the green light from its Member States to build and launch a CryoSat recovery
mission, CryoSat-2.
more . . . .
FUSE Ultraviolet Satellite Returns
to Operations
(24 February
2006) NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer astronomy satellite is back
in full operation, its ageing onboard software control system rejuvenated and
its mission extended by enterprising scientists and engineers after a
near-death experience in December 2004.
more . . .
.
Manned Space
Joint Statement by International
Space Station Heads of Agency
(2 March 2006) The heads of space agencies from Canada, Europe,
Japan, Russia and the United States met at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. on March
2, 2006, to review International Space Station co-operation and endorse a
revision to the station configuration and assembly sequence.
more . . .
.
VivoMetrics LifeShirt to be Used to
Help Improve Astronauts' Quality of Sleep
(28 February 2006) VivoMetrics, Inc., in partnership with the
University of Limerick and sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA), will
be conducting a study to evaluate and determine the quality of sleep while in
orbit with the ultimate goal of providing a healthier sleep environment for
astronauts in the future.
more . . . .
Technology
SRI International Applies Expertise
to Ensure Smooth Space Shuttle Lift-Off
(2 March 2006) SRI International, an independent
non-profit research and development organisation, has announced that
researchers in its Center for Fracture Physics are working with National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers to ensure a smooth
lift-off of the 5-million-pound Space Shuttle from its mobile launch
platform.
more . . . .
Technology Transfer
Space Suit Technology Can Protect
Workers From Heat-stroke
(3
March 2006) The technology used in space suits to protect astronauts carrying
out space walks in direct sunlight is now being used to develop protective
clothing to safeguard firefighters and steel workers who often work in
extremely hot and dangerous conditions.
more . . .
.
Launch Services
Arianespace to Launch WildBlue-1
(28 February 2006) Arianespace has
scheduled the launch of WildBlue Communications’ Ka-band spot beam
satellite, WildBlue-1, on an Ariane 5 vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2006
from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana.
more . . .
.
Launches
Arabsat 4A
more . . . .
Business
CSG Systems Acquires Telution
Inc
(1 March 2006) CSG Systems,
a leading provider of customer care and billing solutions, has acquired
Telution, Inc., a private, Chicago-based provider of Operations Support System
(OSS) software that enable communications companies to bring bundled, advanced
services to market quickly and effectively.
more . . .
.
Romania Becomes Third ESA European
Co-operating State
(27 February
2006) On 17 February 2006 Romania strengthened its relations with ESA by
signing the European Cooperating State Agreement, becoming the third European
country to join this status.
more . . . .
Products and Services
Globalstar Launches Emergency
Satellite Rate Plan
(2 March
2006) Globalstar LLC, a world leader in providing mobile satellite voice and
data services to business, announced today that it is launching a new rate plan
targeted specifically for use in the United States in the event of an
emergency.
more . . . .
SkyTune Antenna Delivers
Groundbreaking XM Satellite Radio Portable Products
(1 March 2006) Sarantel, the leading manufacturer of
filtering antennas for mobile and wireless devices, has now begun volume
shipments of its new SkyTune antenna, connecting XM's innovative new portable
satellite radio receivers manufactured by Samsung and Pioneer.
more .
. . .
Trimble Introduces New Tiny Surface
Mount GPS Receiver
(2 March
2006) Trimble has introduced its new Copernicus GPS receiver - a
thumbnail-sized, surface-mount, low power module ideal for adding Global
Positioning System (GPS) capabilities to Bluetooth appliances, sport
accessories, personal navigators or cameras, computer and communication
peripherals as well as vehicle tracking, navigation, and security products.
more . . . .
People
Mobile Satellite Ventures Appoints
Two New Vice Presidents Of Operations
(2 March 2006) Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) has announced the
addition of two new executives to its operations team, Mr. David Claassen as
Vice President of Core Engineering and Mr. Brian Smith as Vice President of
Network Deployment.
more . . . .
WorldSpace Appoints Stephen
Shenefield Senior Vice President, Receiver Development
(27 February 2006) WorldSpace,
Inc., one of the world leaders in satellite-based radio services, has appointed
Stephen Shenefield, a leading consumer electronics industry veteran, as senior
vice president, receiver development, WorldSpace.
more . . .
.
