18 March 2007
Satcoms
Avin International Installs
Iridium Satellite Systems on Tanker Fleet
Blue Sky Network Garners STC for Boeing 757
Aircraft
Globalstar Completes Installation
of Global Packet Data Satellite Network
Microspace Becomes First to Deliver a Motion Picture
via Satellite to ShoWest
SES New Skies to
Provide Satellite Internet Trunking to French Polynesia
Sony Selects Microspace to Deliver First 4K Digital
Feature via Satellite
Broadcast
Eutelsat Declaration on Transfer of Broadcast
Clients to Hot Bird 8 Satellite from Hot Bird 2
Globecomm Systems Announces Contracts Valued at US$
5.0 Million to Design and Install Direct-to-Home Video Infrastructure in
Asia
Harris Corporation Awarded Commercial
Antenna Contract by Alcatel Alenia Space for European Satellite Payload for
Mobile Video
MultiChoice Selects Intelsat
to Support South African Mobile Broadcast TV Trial
OpenTV Launches on DishTV, India's First and
Fastest-Growing Satellite Service
Sirius
Satellite Radio Renews Long-Term Programming Deal With NPR
Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Selects Eutelsat
Capacity and Services for European Cable Reach
Zonemedia Partners With RRSat for Transmission of
Reality Zone into Asia
Earth
Observation
CryoSat-2 on the Road to Recovery
NASA Studies True Colours of Evergreen Rain
Forests
First Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide
Measurements from MetOp-A
Military Space
L-3 Communications Awarded Contract for Integration
of Space Technologies and Applications
QinetiQ Completes UOR to Put a Satellite
Communications System on MOD Helicopters In Under 12
Weeks
Black
Holes
New Panorama Reveals More Than 1000 Black
Holes
Earth
Cluster Opens a New Window on 'Magnetic Reconnection'
in the Near-Earth Space
Spacecraft to
Study Clouds at Edge of Space Arrives at Vandenberg
Mars
Ice on Mars' South Pole is Deep and
Wide
Mars Express Radar Gauges Water
Quantity Around Mars' South Pole
NASA Mars
Rover Churns Up Questions with Sulphur-Rich Soil
Saturn
A Hot Start Might Explain Geysers on
Enceladus
Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas
on Saturn's Moon Titan
Kuiper
Belt
Kuiper-belt Object Was Broken up by Massive Impact
4.5 Billion Years Ago, Study Shows
Microgravity
ESA's New Microgravity
Laboratory
Manned
Space
International Space Station Module from Japan
Arrives at NASA
International Space
Station Status Report: SS07-13
Nespoli
Focuses On Complex Mission
SpaceX Posts
New Details of Dragon Spacecraft
Technology
Goodrich Optical Technology Enables First Viewing of
Light from Planets Outside our Solar System
United Solar Ovonic Awarded US$ 9.1 Million Contract
From Air Force Research Laboratory
Launch Services
A New Ariane 5 Takes Shape at Spaceport for
Arianespace's Next Launch
Pratt and
Whitney Rocketdyne, RD Amross Power Atlas V Space Test Program
Mission
SES Astra to Launch Its New
Satellite with Arianespace
Launch Services - INSAT 4B, Skynet 5A
Arianespace Begins Its 2007
Mission Activity With A Successful Dual-Payload Launch
First Ariane 5 launch of 2007
Successful Dual Launch For Arianespace: Skynet 5A And
Insat 4B In Orbit
INSAT-4B Placed in
Intermediate Orbit
Launches
Insat 4B, Skynet 5A
Launch
Schedule
Business
GeoEye Acquires Leading Aerial Imagery Provider From
GE Oil & Gas
Marlink Opens New Regional
Operations Centre in Houston
Stone
Aerospace Announces Formation of a Company to Establish a Commercial Refuelling
Station in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
Products and Services
Globalstar Announces New Smaller and
Lighter Satellite Data Modem with Seven Year Battery Life
Hughes Introduces High-Speed BGAN Mobile Satellite
Terminal
SES Astra Starts Interactive
Broadband Service Astra2Connect
Telenor
Satellite Services Agrees to Extend Iridium Quality of Service Offer
Trimble Introduces Mini GPS Clock for Precise
Timing
Trimble Introduces the Lassen
DR+GPS Module for Vehicle and Asset Tracking Applications
Trimble's Tiny Surface Mount GPS Receiver Adds WAAS
and EGNOS Capability
People
Dr Jeff Ward to Join SpaceX
NASA Names Janet Petro New Deputy Director of
Kennedy Space Center
Satcoms
Avin International
Installs Iridium Satellite Systems on Tanker Fleet
(14 March 2007)
In a move to reduce monthly satellite communication costs, Avin International
is installing Iridium satellite terminals on its fleet of 22 oil and product
tankers.
Blue Sky Network Garners STC for
Boeing 757 Aircraft
(13 March 2007) Blue Sky Network, the global
satellite logistics solution provider for two-way linking and managing remote
transportation assets, today announced it has received a Supplemental Type
Certificate (STC) for installation of its equipment on commercial Boeing 757
aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Globalstar Completes Installation of Global Packet
Data Satellite Network
(12 March 2007) Globalstar, Inc., a leading
provider of mobile satellite voice and data services to businesses, government
and individuals, announced that it has completed the hardware installation
needed to finalise the company's satellite packet data network.
Microspace Becomes First to Deliver a Motion Picture
via Satellite to ShoWest
(12 March 2007) Microspace Communications
Corporation (Microspace), the leading distributor of digital cinema via
satellite, today announced that it will deliver the Paramount Pictures' release
of DreamWorks Pictures' Disturbia to ShoWest, the most prestigious and
longest-running convention and tradeshow exclusively for the cinema exhibition
and distribution community.
SES New Skies
to Provide Satellite Internet Trunking to French Polynesia
(15 March
2007) SES New Skies, an SES company, is pleased to announce that its NSS-5
satellite has been selected by the Office des Postes et Telecommunications of
French Polynesia (OPT) to provide Internet trunking services to the 118 islands
constituting French Polynesia.
Sony Selects
Microspace to Deliver First 4K Digital Feature via Satellite
(13
March 2007) Microspace Communications Corporation, the leading distributor of
digital cinema via satellite, today announced that Sony Electronics Inc. used
the company's Digital Cinema Distribution solution to distribute the first
Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) compliant 4K digital cinema package via
satellite.
Broadcast
Eutelsat Declaration on Transfer of Broadcast
Clients to Hot Bird 8 Satellite from Hot Bird 2
(14 March 2007)
Eutelsat Communications confirms that all broadcast clients formerly using the
Group's Hot Bird 2 satellite were transferred in the night of March 14 to Hot
Bird 8.
Globecomm Systems Announces
Contracts Valued at US$ 5.0 Million to Design and Install Direct-to-Home Video
Infrastructure in Asia
(14 March 2007) Globecomm Systems Inc., a
global provider of end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications
solutions, announced today that the company has been awarded two contracts
valued at US$ 5.0 million to design, install and commission direct-to-home
(DTH) video infrastructure in Asia.
Harris
Corporation Awarded Commercial Antenna Contract by Alcatel Alenia Space for
European Satellite Payload for Mobile Video
(12 March 2007) Harris
Corporation, an international communications and information technology
company, has been awarded a contract by Alcatel Alenia Space to supply a 12-
meter, commercial satellite antenna for the first European satellite
infrastructure designed for broadcasting video, radio and data to mobile
devices and vehicle receivers in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the
UK.
MultiChoice Selects Intelsat to Support
South African Mobile Broadcast TV Trial
(14 March 2007) Intelsat
today announced that MultiChoice, a leading South African direct-to-home (DTH)
television provider, selected Intelsat to support its mobile broadcast TV trial
in the metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria and Cape
Town.
OpenTV Launches on DishTV, India's
First and Fastest-Growing Satellite Service
(13 March 2007) OpenTV
Corp., a leading provider of enabling technologies for advanced television and
cross-platform interactive services, today announced that it has successfully
integrated and downloaded its Core2 software to over 1,400,000 set-top boxes
for DishTV.
Sirius Satellite Radio Renews
Long-Term Programming Deal With NPR
(12 March 2007) Sirius Satellite
Radio announced today it has renewed an exclusive long-term agreement for NPR
to continue programming two 24/7 public radio channels featuring a variety of
shows from NPR, other public radio producers and NPR Member stations from
across the country.
Turner Broadcasting
System (TBS) Selects Eutelsat Capacity and Services for European Cable
Reach
(13 March 2007) Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.),
a major producer of news and entertainment product and the leading provider of
programming for the basic cable industry, has selected Eutelsat Communications
to supply capacity and services for delivering three of its flagship
entertainment channels, Boomerang, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies
(TCM), to cable networks in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and
Luxembourg.
Zonemedia Partners With RRSat
for Transmission of Reality Zone into Asia
(12 March 2007) RRSat
Global Communications Network Ltd., a rapidly growing provider of comprehensive
content management and global distribution services to the television and radio
broadcasting industries, announced today that Zonemedia has selected RRSat for
distribution of its reality TV channel, Zone Reality, into Asia using
Intelsat-10 (PAS-10) satellite.
Earth Observation
CryoSat-2 on the Road to
Recovery
(12 March 2007) Building a satellite in just three years is
without doubt an ambitious undertaking.
NASA Studies True Colours of Evergreen Rain
Forests
(12 March 2007) NASA satellites reveal that Amazon forests
are neither evergreen nor dependent on constant rain, and are capable of
manufacturing their seasons.
First Ozone
and Nitrogen Dioxide Measurements from MetOp-A
(14 March 2007) The
Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) on board MetOp-A launched in
October 2006 and currently undergoing commissioning has delivered the first
geophysical products for monitoring the Earth's ozone layer, and European and
global air quality.
Military
Space
L-3 Communications Awarded Contract for Integration
of Space Technologies and Applications
(15 March 2007) L-3
Communications announced today that its SYColeman subsidiary has been awarded
an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the U.S. Army
Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) to develop an advanced intelligent
software technology for Future U.S. Army warfighting elements in a
network-centric environment.
QinetiQ
Completes UOR to Put a Satellite Communications System on MOD Helicopters In
Under 12 Weeks
(12 March 2007) QinetiQ has integrated a civil
satellite communications system into a number of MOD Joint Helicopter Force
(JHC) assets, as part of an in-theatre Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR)
programme.
Black
Holes
New Panorama Reveals More Than 1000 Black
Holes
(12 March 2007) By casting a wide net, astronomers have
captured an image of more than a thousand supermassive black
holes.
Earth
Cluster Opens a New
Window on 'Magnetic Reconnection' in the Near-Earth Space
(12 March
2007) Plasma physicists have made an unprecedented measurement in their study
of the Earth's magnetic field.
Spacecraft
to Study Clouds at Edge of Space Arrives at Vandenberg
(12 March
2007) NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) spacecraft arrived
Saturday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., for a targeted April 25 launch
aboard a Pegasus XL rocket.
Mars
Ice on Mars' South Pole is Deep and
Wide
(15 March 2007) New measurements of Mars' south polar region
indicate extensive frozen water.
Mars
Express Radar Gauges Water Quantity Around Mars' South Pole
(15
March 2007) The amount of water trapped in frozen layers over Mars' south polar
region is equivalent to a liquid layer about 11 metres deep covering the
planet.
NASA Mars Rover Churns Up Questions
with Sulphur-Rich Soil
(14 March 2007) Some bright Martian soil
containing lots of sulphur and a trace of water intrigues researchers who are
studying information provided by NASA's Spirit rover.
Saturn
A Hot Start Might Explain Geysers on
Enceladus
(12 March 2007) A hot start billions of years ago might
have set into motion the forces that power geysers on Saturn's moon
Enceladus.
Cassini Spacecraft Images Seas
on Saturn's Moon Titan
(13 March 2007) Instruments on NASA's Cassini
spacecraft have found evidence for seas, likely filled with liquid methane or
ethane, in the high northern latitudes of Saturn's moon
Titan.
Kuiper
Belt
Kuiper-belt Object Was Broken up by Massive Impact
4.5 Billion Years Ago, Study Shows
(14 March 2007) In the outer
reaches of the solar system, there is an object known as 2003 EL61 that looks
like and spins like a football being drop-kicked over the proverbial goalpost
of life.
Microgravity
ESA's New Microgravity Laboratory
(16
March 2007) The new Life and Physical Sciences Instrumentation Laboratory, also
known as the 'Microgravity Laboratory', has commenced its operations with a
dress rehearsal of the experiment preparations for the upcoming Foton M3
mission.
Manned
Space
International Space Station Module from Japan
Arrives at NASA
(12 March 2007) After travelling thousands of miles,
a major component of the International Space Station is set to begin
preparations for launch.
International
Space Station Status Report: SS07-13
(16 March 2007) The Expedition
14 crew was busy this week moving trash into the ISS Progress 23 cargo ship,
installing a new window on the space station and preparing for upcoming
missions to the station.
Nespoli Focuses On
Complex Mission
(14 March 2007) Later this year, ESA astronaut Paolo
Nespoli will serve as Mission Specialist on the STS-120 mission to the
International Space Station.
SpaceX Posts
New Details of Dragon Spacecraft
(14 March 2007) The Dragon
spacecraft is a pressurised capsule used for Earth to LEO transport of
pressurised cargo, unpressurised cargo, and/or crew
members.
Technology
Goodrich Optical Technology
Enables First Viewing of Light from Planets Outside our Solar
System
(12 March 2007) NASA's Spitzer Telescope recently utilised
technology developed by Goodrich Corporation to capture enough light from
planets outside our solar system to identify the molecular make-up of the
planets' atmospheres. These findings could lead to the ability to detect
possible life on the planets.
United Solar
Ovonic Awarded US$ 9.1 Million Contract From Air Force Research
Laboratory
(15 March 2007) United Solar Ovonic LLC, the world leader
in thin-film amorphous-silicon solar technology and a wholly owned subsidiary
of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics), announced today that the Air
Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, has exercised an
18-month contractual option for US$ 9.1 million with United Solar Ovonic to
develop new solar cell technology to be used in space and airship vehicles
addressing defence and homeland security applications.
Launch Services
A New Ariane 5 Takes Shape at Spaceport for
Arianespace's Next Launch
(14 March 2007) The Ariane 5 for
Arianespace's upcoming dual-payload mission has completed its initial build-up
as preparations continue for an early May launch with the Astra 1L and Galaxy
17 satellites.
Pratt and Whitney
Rocketdyne, RD Amross Power Atlas V Space Test Program Mission
(9
March 2007) Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a United Technologies Corp.
company, and RD Amross, LLC, a joint venture formed by Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash, powered the Atlas V launch yesterday from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
SES
Astra to Launch Its New Satellite with Arianespace
(14 March 2007)
SES Astra, an SES company, has announced today that the launch of its new
satellite Astra 1L onboard an Ariane 5 rocket is scheduled for 3 May 2007 from
the launch site of Kourou, French Guiana.
Launch Services - INSAT 4B, Skynet 5A
Arianespace Begins Its
2007 Mission Activity With A Successful Dual-Payload Launch
(11
March 2007) Ariane 5 underscored its mission capability and operational
maturity with tonight's successful dual-passenger mission, which placed the
Skynet 5A and INSAT 4B satellites into geostationary transfer orbit.
First Ariane 5 launch of 2007
(12 March
2007) On 11 March 2007, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe's
Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two satellites into
geostationary transfer orbits.
Successful
Dual Launch For Arianespace: Skynet 5A And Insat 4B In Orbit
(11
March 2007) On Sunday evening, March 11, Arianespace placed two satellites into
geostationary transfer orbit: the military communications satellite Skynet 5A
for the British Ministry of Defense (MoD), and the civil communications
satellite Insat 4B for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
INSAT-4B Placed in Intermediate Orbit
(13
March 2007) The first critical orbit-raising manoeuvre on INSAT-4B was
successfully conducted at 5:35 am this morning (March 13, 2007) with the firing
of the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) on board for 93 minutes by
commanding the satellite from Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in
Karnataka.
Launches
Insat 4B, Skynet 5A
Launch
Schedule
Business
GeoEye Acquires Leading Aerial Imagery Provider From
GE Oil & Gas
(15 March 2007) GeoEye, the world's largest
operator of commercial imagery satellites, today announced the acquisition of
M.J. Harden Associates, Inc. from General Electric Company.
Marlink Opens New Regional Operations Centre in
Houston
(12 March 2007) Marlink, a leading supplier of integrated
satellite communications equipment and network services has opened an expanded
regional operations centre in Houston, Texas to meet growing demand from it's
maritime and offshore industry customers.
Stone Aerospace Announces Formation of a Company to
Establish a Commercial Refuelling Station in Low Earth Orbit
(LEO)
(13 March 2007) On March 10, 2007, at the Technology,
Entertainment and Design (TED) Conference in Monterey, California, Dr. Bill
Stone presented a briefing entitled "Pushing the Limits of Exploration on Earth
and in Space" to over 900 attendees.
Products and Services
Globalstar Announces New Smaller
and Lighter Satellite Data Modem with Seven Year Battery Life
(14
March 2007) Globalstar, Inc., a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and
data services to businesses, governments, and individuals, announced today that
simplex data integrator AXONN, LLC, has launched a new smaller and lighter
satellite data modem known as the AXTracker MMT.
Hughes Introduces High-Speed BGAN Mobile Satellite
Terminal
(15 March 2007) Hughes Network Systems, LLC, the global
leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, today announced
that its latest generation Hughes 9250 mobile satellite terminal has been
approved to operate over Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network
(BGAN).
SES Astra Starts Interactive
Broadband Service Astra2Connect
(16 March 2007) SES Astra, an SES
company, has launched its innovative broadband satellite service Astra 2Connect
with Filiago as an anchor customer in Germany.
Telenor Satellite Services Agrees to Extend Iridium
Quality of Service Offer
(13 March 2007) Telenor Satellite Services,
a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, today confirmed that it is extending Iridium
Satellite's "Network Quality Guarantee" program to its global distribution
network of service providers.
Trimble
Introduces Mini GPS Clock for Precise Timing
(15 March 2007) Trimble
introduced today a miniature Global Positioning System (GPS) disciplined clock
for precise synchronisation of wireless networks - the Mini-T GPS
Clock.
Trimble Introduces the Lassen DR+GPS
Module for Vehicle and Asset Tracking Applications
(15 March 2007)
Trimble introduced today the Lassen DR+GPS module that combines dead reckoning
(DR) with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology on a single, compact
board.
Trimble's Tiny Surface Mount GPS
Receiver Adds WAAS and EGNOS Capability
(15 March 2007) Trimble
introduced today a new firmware for its Copernicus GPS receiver - Wide Area
Augmentation System (WAAS) and European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
Service (EGNOS) capability.
People
Dr Jeff Ward to Join SpaceX
(15 March
2007) Against the backdrop of preparations for next week's test launch of its
Falcon 1 vehicle, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) today
announced the appointment of Dr. Jeff Ward as Vice President of Avionics,
Guidance and Control.
NASA Names Janet
Petro New Deputy Director of Kennedy Space Center
(16 March 2007)
NASA today selected Janet Petro as the new deputy director of the agency's
Kennedy Space Center, Fla., effective April 29. Petro succeeds William (Bill)
W. Parsons, who assumed the position as the director of the centre in
January.