Microcom's Space Newsfeed - 19 August 2007

19 August 2007

Previous News

Satcoms
Boeing-Built Spaceway 3 Satellite Operational after Successful Launch
(15 August 2007) The Boeing Company today announced that it has sent and received the first on-orbit commands from the Boeing-built Spaceway 3 satellite following a successful launch of the spacecraft. All data shows that Spaceway 3 is healthy and operating normally.
Earthquake in Peru
(16 August 2007) Lima and the coastline of Peru were shaken on Wednesday evening by a massive quake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale.
FCC Determines That Mobile Satellite Ventures Has Met Physical Construction Milestone
(13 August 2007) The International Bureau of the FCC determined that Mobile Satellite Ventures Subsidiary LLC (MSV) has met the beginning physical milestone associated with the authorisation for the construction of the MSV-1 satellite.
Hughes' Next-Generation Spaceway 3 Satellite Successfully Launched
(15 August 2007) Hughes Network Systems, LLC, the world's leading provider of broadband satellite networks and services, announced today that Spaceway 3 was successfully launched and placed into geostationary transfer orbit by Arianespace, setting the stage for Hughes to begin offering a new range of satellite broadband services to enterprise, consumer, and government customers throughout North America.
iDirect and DTech Labs Successfully Test Whisper VoIP System to Provide Optimised VoIP Performance Over the iDirect VSAT Platform
(13 August 2007) iDirect Inc, a company of VT Systems Inc, and DTech Labs Inc. today announced that the DTech Whisper VoIP System has been successfully tested on the iDirect iNFINITI VSAT broadband platform.

Broadcast
DISH Network Introduces New High Definition DVR to Complement Nation's Largest HD Package
(16 August 2007) EchoStar Communications Corporation and its DISH Network satellite TV service today announced the introduction of its newest high definition (HD) DVR, the ViP722.
Lockheed Martin Marks 33rd Consecutive A2100 Success with the Launch of BSAT-3a Satellite
(14 August 2007) The BSAT-3a telecommunications satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT), was successfully launched today from Kourou, French Guiana.

Earth Observation
Radarsat-2 Status Update
(11 August 2007) MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd., a provider of essential information solutions, announced today that it has completed the integration and testing of Canada's next-generation Earth observation satellite, Radarsat-2.

Military Space
Boeing Awarded US Air Force Contract to Provide Continued Broadband Communications Services
(14 August 2007) Boeing Service Company of Richardson, Texas, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, has been awarded a US$ 30 million firm-fixed-price contract to continue providing Boeing Broadband Satcom Network (BBSN) service to the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command.
NGC Completes Delivery of Antenna Wings for First Advanced EHF Communications Satellite
(15 August 2007) Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed delivery of the antenna wings for the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) military communications satellite.
Northrop Grumman-Built Space Tracking and Surveillance System Passes Two Critical Ground System Tests
(13 August 2007) Northrop Grumman Corporation, the prime contractor for the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Space Tracking and Surveillance System (STSS) announced today the successful completion of two significant ground system milestones.

Stars
Speeding-Bullet Star Leaves Enormous Streak Across Sky
(15 August 2007) NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has spotted an amazingly long comet-like tail behind a star streaking through space at supersonic speeds.

Galaxies
Dark Matter Mystery Deepens In Cosmic 'Train Wreck'
(16 August 2007) Astronomers have discovered a chaotic scene unlike any witnessed before in a cosmic "train wreck" between giant galaxy clusters.

Supernova
Star Light, Star Bright: FSU Facility Duplicating Conditions of Supernovas
(15 August 2007) How is matter created? What happens when stars die? Is the universe shrinking, or is it expanding? For decades, scientists have been looking for answers to such "big picture" questions.

Sun
Moving to the Rhythm of the Sun
(17 August 2007) Scientists from the Ulysses mission have proven that sounds generated deep inside the Sun cause the Earth to shake and vibrate in sympathy.

Moon
SSTL to Develop Low Cost Lunar Orbiter for NASA
(13 August 2007) Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has been awarded a contract for the study phase of a potential joint US-UK lunar orbiter mission to be called Magnolia.

Saturn
Frigid Enceladus: an Unlikely Harbour for Life
(14 August 2007) A new model of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus may quell hopes of finding life there.

Meteors
First Glimpses From the Perseid Meteor Shower
(13 August 2007) Enthusiastic observers were rewarded by a nice display of the Perseid meteor shower that was visible at its best in the night between 12 and 13 August 2007.

Manned Space
ATK to Develop and Support Test Flights for NASA's Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle First Stage
(13 August 2007) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that Alliant Techsystems has received a US$ 1.8 billion contract for the design, development, test and evaluation (DDT&E) of the first stage of the agency's next-generation human space flight vehicle - the Ares I.
New NASA Software Monitors Space Station Gyroscopes
(13 August 2007) NASA has added a new computer program to help monitor the four gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station properly oriented without the use of rocket fuel.

Manned Space - Shuttle Endeavour (STS-1118)
STS-118 MCC Status Report #08
(12 August 2007) Space shuttle Endeavour crew members will take a close look at areas of apparent damage to the orbiter's thermal protection system in a focused inspection today.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #09
(12 August 2007) With five days of pilfering power from the International Space Station under their belt, mission managers today decided to extend space shuttle Endeavour's flight from 11 to 14 days.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #10
(13 August 2007) The International Space Station will get a new control moment gyroscope today, courtesy of the space shuttle Endeavour and spacewalking astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Dave Williams.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #11
(13 August 2007) The International Space Station has a new control moment gyroscope, which is in the process of being checked out by Mission Control.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #12
(14 August 2007) A third external stowage platform (ESP) will be installed on the International Space Station today. This time it will be done by crew members using robotic arms of the shuttle Endeavour and the station.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #13
(14 August 2007) In a first for the International Space Station, astronauts today installed a 7,000-pound storage platform using only the station and shuttle's robotic arms.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #14
(15 August 2007) The third spacewalk of Endeavour's visit to the International Space Station will help lay groundwork for relocation of the Port 6 truss, upgrade a station voice communications system and retrieve materials experiments.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #15
(15 August 2007) Endeavour's third spacewalk prepared the International Space Station for the next step in solar array deployment and voice communications system upgrades despite an early end called because of a damaged glove.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #16
(16 August 2007) Preparations for a possible spacewalk to repair a small ding in Endeavour's thermal protection system tiles will occupy a considerable part of today for Commander Scott Kelly and Mission Specialists Rick Mastracchio, Dave Williams and Tracy Caldwell.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #17
(16 August 2007) Endeavour's crew was informed just before bedtime today that mission managers had decided not to call upon them to repair the shuttle's heat shield.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #18
(17 August 2007) After mission managers decided on Thursday that no repair of Endeavour's heat resistant tiles is necessary, astronauts today will work to prepare for a Saturday spacewalk much like the one initially planned.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #19
(17 August 2007) The Endeavour astronauts and their colleagues on the International Space Station today took time out from supply transfers and spacewalk preparations for a news conference with United States and Canadian reporters.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #20
(18 August 2007) The fourth spacewalk of Endeavour's mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to begin at 9:01 a.m. CDT today.

Technology
Boeing Successfully Completes CubeSat Mission to Advance Nano-Satellite Technology
(16 August 2007) The Boeing Company has completed the first phase of its nano-satellite research and experimentation with the successful conclusion of the CubeSat TestBed 1 (CSTB1) mission.
RIT-UR Team to Develop Radiation-hardy Detectors for NASA
(14 August 2007) Snapshots from space may someday confirm the presence of lakes and oceans on Europa--one of Jupiter's moons - and on other planetary bodies.

Launch Services
DigitalGlobe Announces Launch Date for WorldView-1
(13 August 2007) Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., ITT Corporation and DigitalGlobe, the provider of the world's highest-resolution imagery and geospatial information products, today announced delivery of its WorldView-1 satellite to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for its scheduled launch on Tuesday, September 18, 2007.

Launch Services - Ariane
Arianespace's Ariane 5 Rolls Out to the Launch Pad with Spaceway 3 and BSAT-2a
(13 August 2007) Another heavy-lift Ariane 5 is in the launch zone at Europe's Spaceport as Arianespace prepares for tomorrow evening's mission with the Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3a satellites.
Ariane 5 Mission with Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3a: Final Countdown Underway
(14 August 2007) Arianespace's third launch of 2007 is on track for tonight's lift-off, with the final countdown now underway at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
Ariane 5 Delivers a Heavy-Lift US/Japanese Payload on its 33rd Mission
(14 August 2007) Arianespace's Ariane 5 scored its 19th consecutive mission success today, carrying the dual-satellite payload of Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3a into accurate geostationary transfer orbit.
Arianespace Boosts Spaceway 3 and BSAT-3a Into Orbit
(14 August 2007) On Tuesday evening August 14, Arianespace placed two communications satellites into geostationary transfer orbit: Spaceway 3 for the American operator Hughes Network Systems, LLC, and BSAT-3a for the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin Commercial Satellite Systems as part of a turnkey contract with Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) of Japan.
The Successful Ariane 5 Mission In Photos
(14 August 2007) Today's successful Ariane 5 launch delivered a payload lift performance of more than 8,840 kg. into geostationary transfer orbit.
Ariane 5 - Third Dual-Payload Launch of 2007
(15 August 2007) Last night, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana on its mission to place two telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits.

In Orbit
Integral's EPOCH IPS Leads the Way with Yesterday's Dual Launch
(15 August 2007) Integral Systems, Inc., today announced that the recent dual launch of BSAT-3a and Spaceway 3 marks the fifth commercial GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbiting) communications satellite launched this year for which Integral Systems has provided command and control systems based on its EPOCH IPS (Integrated Product Suite).

Launches
BSAT 3A, Spaceway 3
Launch Schedule

Reports
Comsat Market Picking Up But US Market Share Eroding
(13 August 2007) In a new study, "Commercial Communications Satellites, 2007-2016," Forecast International is projecting deliveries of approximately 218 commercial communications satellites destined for geostationary or medium-Earth orbit worth US$ 26 billion during the next 10 years.

Products and Services
MSV Launches Custom Capacity Service Offering on Next Generation Satellites
(14 August 2007) Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV) announced today the initiation of sales of Custom Capacity Service as part of its portfolio of services offered on MSV's next generation satellite system.