26 August 2007
Satcoms
Mobile Satellite
Ventures Signs Agreement with DialToneServices as New Distribution
Partner
Telenor Satellite Services
Activates 3000th BGAN Terminal
Broadcast
Scopus Increases Footprint in Romanian
Direct-To-Home Market with New DCS Win
Tandberg Television Deploys First Small Market
Video-on-Demand Solution for Time Warner Cable
Earth Observation
Hurricane Dean Tracked From Space
NASA Awards NOAA Goes-R Instrument
Contract
Military
Space
General Dynamics-built NFIRE Satellite
Successfully Completes First Missile Defence Experiment
Swe-Dish Wins Multi-Terminal Order from
Paradigm for End-Users within the UK Ministry of
Defence
Astronomy
Software Co-ordinates 19 Mirrors, Focuses
James Webb Space Telescope
Stars
Possible Closest Neutron Star To Earth
Found
Sun
Flares From the Far
Side of the Sun May Affect Space Weather of Inner Planets
Hinode Helps Unravel Long-Standing Solar
Mysteries
Princeton Scientists
Confirm Long-Held Theory About Source Of Sunshine
Solar System
Pioneering NASA Spacecraft Mark
Thirty Years of Flight
Moon
Contract Initiates Construction of
International Lunar Observatory
Lunar Mission 'Made in Germany' To Give Unique
View of Moon
SMART-1 Diagnoses
Wrinkles And Excess Weight On The Moon
Mars
Exomars Exhibits Self-Control In Sampling Mars
Terrain
'Extreme Analytical
Chemistry' Will Help Unravel Mars' Mysteries
Saturn
Could Enceladus' Icy Plumes Pose A Threat to
Cassini?
Will Titan Lose Its
Veil?
Uranus
Keck, Hubble Provide New View Of Uranus'
Rings
Edge-On! Peering at Uranus's
Rings as they Swing Edge-on to Earth for the First Time Since their Discovery
in 1977
Extra-Solar
Planets
Planets Like Earth May Have Formed Around Other
Stars
Manned
Space
NASA Selects Vibration Test Capability
Contractor
Manned Space -
Shuttle Endeavour (STS-1118)
NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour Set To Land
Tuesday
Shuttle Endeavour Crew
Returns Home After Successful Mission
Boeing Hardware Successfully Installed During
Space Shuttle Endeavour Mission
STS-118 MCC Status Report #21
STS-118 MCC Status Report #22
STS-118 MCC Status Report #23
STS-118 MCC Status Report #24
STS-118 MCC Status Report #25
STS-118 MCC Status Report #26
STS-118 MCC Status Report
#27
Launch
Services
NASA's Stennis Space Center Marks New Chapter
In Space Exploration
Business
Hughes Opens New Operations Centre in
Brazil
Northrop Grumman Completes
Acquisition of Scaled Composites
Products and Services
Blue Sky Network Introduces
Dual Mode Satellite and Cellular Global Asset Tracking Solution with Integrated
Security Features
ND SatCom
Introduces Mobile, Cost-effective IPTV Contribution Solution for ENG Vehicles
and EB Teams
Norsat Unveils Single
Backpack Portable Satellite Terminal
People
Humax Appoints Chief Technologist to UK
Team
iDirect Names New Chief
Executive Officer
New Deputy
Director Selected at NASA Glenn
SkyTerra Communications and Mobile Satellite
Ventures Appoint James A. Wiseman Vice President and Corporate
Controller
Satcoms
Mobile Satellite
Ventures Signs Agreement with DialToneServices as New Distribution
Partner
(21 August 2007) Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV)
announced today that DialToneServices (DTS) has signed a three-year agreement
with MSV for the distribution of MSV satellite communications products and
services.
Telenor Satellite Services
Activates 3000th BGAN Terminal
(16 August 2007) Telenor Satellite
Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway, today announced that the company
has activated its 3000th Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN)
terminal.
Broadcast
Scopus Increases Footprint in Romanian
Direct-To-Home Market with New DCS Win
(23 August 2007)Scopus Video
Networks, a provider of digital video networking solutions, today announced
that Digital Cable System (DCS), the third-largest cable and DTH operator in
Romania, has selected Scopus' digital broadcast platforms for an expansion of
its direct-to-home service (MAX TV).
Tandberg Television Deploys First Small Market
Video-on-Demand Solution for Time Warner Cable
(21 August 2007)
Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, today announced that Time
Warner Cable has deployed the first video-on-demand (VOD) solution for small
markets by leveraging the architectural flexibility of the OpenStream Digital
Services Platform.
Earth
Observation
Hurricane Dean Tracked From
Space
(21 August 2007) ESA satellites are tracking the path of
Hurricane Dean as it rips across the Caribbean Sea carrying winds as high as
260 km/h.
NASA Awards NOAA Goes-R
Instrument Contract
(23 August 2007) NASA, in co-ordination with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites (GOES-R) Program, has awarded a contract to the
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado,
Boulder.
Military
Space
General Dynamics-built NFIRE Satellite
Successfully Completes First Missile Defence Experiment
(23 August
2007) The Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) satellite, built by General
Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, today successfully completed its first
experiment for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Swe-Dish Wins Multi-Terminal Order from
Paradigm for End-Users within the UK Ministry of Defence
(20 August
2007) Swe-Dish Satellite Systems AB, a DataPath company, has been awarded a
contract on a number of IPT Suitcase, Fly-Away 150 Lite and X-band kits from
Paradigm Services Ltd.
Astronomy
Software Co-ordinates 19 Mirrors, Focuses
James Webb Space Telescope
(24 August 2007) Scientists and engineers
have created and successfully tested a set of algorithms and software programs
which are designed to enable the 19 individual mirrors comprising NASA's
powerful James Webb Space Telescope to function as one very sensitive
telescope.
Stars
Possible Closest Neutron Star To Earth
Found
(20 August 2007) Using NASA's Swift satellite, McGill
University and Penn State University astronomers have identified an object that
is likely one of the closest neutron stars to Earth - and possibly the
closest.
Sun
Flares From the
Far Side of the Sun May Affect Space Weather of Inner Planets
(23
August 2007) Observations of solar flares by spacecraft at Mars, Venus and the
Earth show that eruptions on the far side of the Sun may affect our "space
weather" back on Earth.
Hinode Helps
Unravel Long-Standing Solar Mysteries
(22 August 2007) A year after
launch, scientists working with Hinode, a Japanese mission with ESA
participation, are meeting at Trinity College, Dublin, to discuss latest
findings on solar mysteries - including new insights on solar flares and
coronal heating.
Princeton Scientists
Confirm Long-Held Theory About Source Of Sunshine
(20 August 2007)
Scientists are a step closer to understanding sunshine. A monumental experiment
buried deep beneath the mountains of Italy has provided Princeton physicists
with a clearer understanding of the sun's heart - and of a mysterious class of
subatomic particles born there.
Solar System
Pioneering NASA Spacecraft Mark Thirty Years of
Flight
(20 August 2007) NASA's two venerable Voyager spacecraft are
celebrating three decades of flight as they head toward interstellar space.
Their ongoing odysseys mark an unprecedented and historic
accomplishment.
Moon
Contract Initiates Construction of
International Lunar Observatory
(24 August 2007) SpaceDev announced
today that it has been awarded a contract to develop a prototype lunar lander
vehicle for the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA).
Lunar Mission 'Made in Germany' To Give Unique
View of Moon
(23 August 2007) The latest plans for the Lunar
Explorations Orbiter (LEO), a German lunar mission due for launch in 2012, will
be presented on Wednesday 22nd August at the European Planetary Science
Congress, Potsdam
SMART-1 Diagnoses
Wrinkles And Excess Weight On The Moon
(22 August 2007) Owing to
SMART-1's high resolution and favourable illumination conditions during the
satellite's scientific operations, data from Europe's lunar orbiter is helping
put together a story linking geological and volcanic activity on the
Moon.
Mars
Exomars Exhibits
Self-Control In Sampling Mars Terrain
(23 August 2007) Autonomous
systems developed for ESA's ExoMars rover, which will allow it to analyse
Martian terrain and identify the best point on rocks to drill for samples
without need for human intervention, could treble the speed in which the rover
can collect a sample, compared to previous Mars rovers.
'Extreme Analytical Chemistry' Will Help
Unravel Mars' Mysteries
(18 August 2007) Sam Kounaves spends his
time unravelling fundamental questions in planetary science by applying
"extreme analytical chemistry" to the harshest environments imaginable: Places
like Death Valley, Antarctica and now Mars.
Saturn
Could Enceladus' Icy Plumes Pose A Threat to
Cassini?
(23 August 2007) On 12th March 2008, Cassini will swing by
Saturn's moon Enceladus at an altitude of less than 100 kilometres at the point
of closest approach.
Will Titan Lose
Its Veil?
(23 August 2007) The question of whether Titan can retain
its thick, organic atmosphere for the rest of its lifetime could hinge on how
efficiently methane molecules were packed inside water "crates" during a period
of the moon's formation.
Uranus
Keck, Hubble Provide New View Of Uranus'
Rings
(23 August 2007) As the rings of Uranus swing edge-on to Earth
- a short-lived view we get only once every 42 years - astronomers observing
the event are getting an unprecedented, glare-free view of the rings and the
fine dust that permeates them.
Edge-On! Peering at Uranus's Rings as they
Swing Edge-on to Earth for the First Time Since their Discovery in
1977
(23 August 2007) As Uranus coasts through a brief window of
time when its rings are edge-on to Earth - a view of the planet we get only
once every 42 years - astronomers peering at the rings with ESO's Very Large
Telescope and other space or ground-based telescopes are getting an
unprecedented view of the fine dust in the system, free from the glare of the
bright rocky rings.
Extra-Solar
Planets
Planets Like Earth May Have Formed Around Other
Stars
(18 August 2007) The chemical fingerprint of a burned-out star
indicates that Earth-like planets may not be rare in the universe and could
give clues to what our solar system will look like when our sun dies and
becomes a white dwarf star some five billion years from
now.
Manned
Space
NASA Selects Vibration Test Capability
Contractor
(20 August 2007) NASA has selected Benham Constructors
LLC of Oklahoma City to receive a contract to design, build and commission a
vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development of the
Orion crew exploration vehicle.
Manned Space - Shuttle Endeavour (STS-1118)
NASA's Space
Shuttle Endeavour Set To Land Tuesday
(20 August 2007) The space
shuttle Endeavour crew, led by Commander Scott Kelly, is scheduled to complete
a 13-day mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Shuttle Endeavour Crew Returns Home After
Successful Mission
(21 August 2007) The space shuttle Endeavour and
its crew are home after completing a 13-day journey of more than 5.2 million
miles in space.
Boeing Hardware
Successfully Installed During Space Shuttle Endeavour Mission
(21
August 2007)Space Shuttle Endeavour returned home today following a two-week
mission that delivered more than 740 Boeing flight hardware components to the
International Space Station.
STS-118
MCC Status Report #21
(18 August 2007) Two astronauts conducted a
five-hour spacewalk today, finishing up the last priorities of Endeavour's
mission, while their crewmates inside prepared for an early undocking, now
scheduled for Sunday.
STS-118 MCC
Status Report #22
(19 August 2007) Endeavour is scheduled to undock
from the International Space Station today, winding up a successful stay of
almost nine days at the orbiting laboratory.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #23
(19
August 2007) After nearly nine days of operations docked to the International
Space Station, space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the orbiting complex at
6:56 a.m.
STS-118 MCC Status Report
#24
(20 August 2007) Endeavour astronauts are getting ready to come
home.
STS-118 MCC Status Report
#25
(20 August 2007) Space shuttle Endeavour's crew spent - weather
permitting - their last full day on orbit today getting their ship ready to
return home Tuesday with two landing opportunities available at Florida's
Kennedy Space Center at 11:32 a.m. and 1:06 p.m.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #26
(21
August 2007) Endeavour astronauts are beginning a day they hope will see a
landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
STS-118 MCC Status Report #27
(21
August 2007) After 5.3 million miles and 13 days, Endeavour today landed safely
in Florida.
Launch
Services
NASA's Stennis Space Center Marks New Chapter
In Space Exploration
(23 August 2007) NASA's Stennis Space Center
broke ground Thursday for a new rocket engine test stand that will provide
altitude testing for the J-2X engine.
Business
Hughes Opens New Operations Centre in
Brazil
(22 August 2007) Hughes Brazil has completed the migration of
its Network Operations Centre (NOC) from Cotia to Barueri in the state of Sao
Paulo.
Northrop Grumman Completes
Acquisition of Scaled Composites
(24 August 2007) Northrop Grumman
Corporation announced today that it has completed a transaction that increases
its ownership in Scaled Composites, LLC from approximately 40 percent to 100
percent.
Products and
Services
Blue Sky Network Introduces Dual Mode
Satellite and Cellular Global Asset Tracking Solution with Integrated Security
Features
(21 August 2007) Blue Sky Network, the global logistics
solution provider for two-way linking and managing transportation assets via
satellite, today announced the latest addition to its asset and fleet tracking
product line with the D3000 transceiver.
ND SatCom Introduces Mobile, Cost-effective
IPTV Contribution Solution for ENG Vehicles and EB Teams
(23 August
2007) ND SatCom, an SES Astra company, has introduced a newly designed IPTV
contribution solution.
Norsat Unveils
Single Backpack Portable Satellite Terminal
(22 August 2007) Norsat
International Inc., a leading provider of intelligent satellite solutions,
announced today that it unveiled the Norsat Rover, a single backpack portable
satellite terminal, at the AFCEA LandWarNet 2007 show in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida.
People
Humax Appoints Chief Technologist to UK
Team
(23 August 2007) Humax, one of the world's largest set top box
manufacturers, has expanded its UK team with the appointment of Bob Hannent as
Chief Technologist.
iDirect Names New
Chief Executive Officer
(22 August 2007) Vision Technologies
Systems, Inc. (VT Systems) today announced the appointment of Mary Cotton as
chief executive officer of its subsidiary, iDirect Inc.
New Deputy Director Selected at NASA
Glenn
(24 August 2007) Ramon "Ray" Lugo III has been named the
deputy director at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
SkyTerra Communications and Mobile Satellite
Ventures Appoint James A. Wiseman Vice President and Corporate
Controller
(21 August 2007) SkyTerra Communications, Inc. and Mobile
Satellite Ventures (MSV) today announced the appointment of James A. Wiseman as
vice president and corporate controller of each entity.
