27 May 2007
Satcoms
AAE Systems Awarded Contract
for a Banking Network in Iraq
First
Satellite-Based Telemedicine Network for Bulgaria
New Patent Issues to MSV on Satellite-Terrestrial
Communications Systems
Statement on
Authorisation of the ICO-P system
TerreStar
Notified of New Satellite Delivery Date
Broadcast
DigiTurk Chooses Tandberg Television for HD, SD and
On-Demand DTH Upgrade
DirecTV Adds New HD
Channels for Fall; Four Discovery HD Channels, Five Starz HD Channels, CNBC and
Chiller to Join the HD Pack, More on the Way
XM Radio to Launch First National Radio Channel
Dedicated to the Presidential Election
Earth Observation
NASA Satellites Bolster Research On Barren Mid-Ocean
Regions
Navigation
Galileo Rubidium Clocks - A Year Of In-Orbit
Experience
Military
Space
General Dynamics Successfully Completes On-Orbit
Checkout of NFIRE Satellite for US Missile Defense Agency
Merrimac Receives Two Multi-Mix Co-Design Module
Contracts From General Dynamics for Next Generation Satcom
Receivers
Astrophysics
Gamma-Ray Bursts Active Longer Than
Thought
Astronomy
ITT Enables Further Development of the James Webb
Space Telescope
Stars
A Brown Dwarf Joins the Jet-Set
Caltech and Berkeley Astronomers Identify a New Class
of Cosmic Explosions
Black
Holes
How
to Spot the Speediest Black Holes
Sun
NASA Spacecraft Aids In Forecast of Solar Radiation
Storms
Venus
Ground - Based Observatories Join Forces with Venus
Express
Mars
Mars Rover Spirit Unearths Surprise Evidence of Wetter
Past
NASA's Phoenix to Seek Organics in Mars'
Ice to Unravel Red Planet's Mysteries
Saturn
Cassini 'Cat Scan' Maps Clumps In Saturn's
Rings
Cassini Spacecraft Reveals Evidence of
Tholin Formation at High Altitudes In Titan's
Atmosphere
Extra-Solar
Planets
Texas Astronomers Discover Mult-Planet System Around
Unexpected Star; May Alter Planet-Formation Theories
Sub Orbital Space
Microgravity Enterprises Launches
Commercial Payload from the New Mexico Spaceport
NASA Funds Universities' New Experiments For
Suborbital Flights
Manned
Space
ATK
Conducts Successful Test Firing Of Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket
Motor
International Space Station Status
Report: SS07-28
Reviews Document NASA's
Progress on Next Human Spacecraft
Rocket
Motor Test Help's NASA's Shuttle and Ares I
SwRI Researcher Develops New Method That Helps
Safeguard Astronauts by Forecasting Space Radiation Hazards with up to One Hour
Advance Warnings
Space
Tourism
Benson Space Improves Design of Its
Spaceship
Launch
Services
Airborne Systems Selected to Design Parachutes for
SpaceX Rocket
Arianespace Maintains Its 2007
Mission Pace: A New Ariane 5 Takes Shape at the
Spaceport
Launches
Yaogan 2
Launch
Schedule
Business
Chinese Space Agency Joins the International Charter
'Space and Major Disasters'
Com Dev
Announces Official Launch of US Operations; Purchases Production Facility in
California
Eagle Broadband Signs Up an
International Reseller for Its SatMAX Product Line
Events
Europe's Space Policy Becomes A Reality
Today
Space Technology Creates Investment
Opportunities
People
Lieven Vermaele Appointed Technical Director of the
EBU
MSV Names Dave Farmer Vice President,
Marketing for Satellite Services
Satcoms
AAE Systems Awarded
Contract for a Banking Network in Iraq
(21 May 2007) AAE Systems,
Inc. (AAE), a satellite-based equipment manufacturer and turnkey communication
solutions provider, announced that it has been awarded a contract to build an
extensive turnkey communications network for an Iraqi bank in Iraq.
First Satellite-Based Telemedicine Network for
Bulgaria
(23 May 2007) ND SatCom, an SES Astra company and a leading
global supplier of satellite-based broadband VSAT, broadcast, government and
defence communication network solutions, has teamed up with its partner
Interactive Technologies to implement Bulgaria's first satellite-based
telemedicine network based on ND SatCom's core technology platform
SkyWAN.
New Patent Issues to MSV on
Satellite-Terrestrial Communications Systems
(21 May 2007) Mobile
Satellite Ventures LP announced today that it has been awarded a patent by the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for antenna-configuration techniques that
reduce interference between terrestrial and satellite links.
Statement on Authorisation of the ICO-P
system
(22 May 2007) Following a review of the status of deployment
of the ICO-P mobile satellite system, Ofcom has decided to set a deadline for
the provision of evidence demonstrating that ICO has entered into binding
contracts and has secured the necessary funding related to bringing the ICO-P
system into full commercial use.
TerreStar
Notified of New Satellite Delivery Date
(25 May 2007) TerreStar
Networks Inc. (TerreStar), a majority owned subsidiary of Motient Corporation
(MNCP), today announced that they have been notified by Space Systems/Loral
(SS/L) that delivery of its satellite, TerreStar-1, is expected to be August
2008.
Broadcast
DigiTurk Chooses Tandberg Television for HD, SD and
On-Demand DTH Upgrade
(21 May 2007) Tandberg Television, part of the
Ericsson Group, today announced that it is providing a next-generation digital
video system for Turkish DTH operator, Digiturk.
DirecTV Adds New HD Channels for Fall; Four Discovery
HD Channels, Five Starz HD Channels, CNBC and Chiller to Join the HD Pack, More
on the Way
(23 May 2007) DirecTV, the nation's leading satellite
television service provider, continues to set the stage for its unprecedented
expansion of HD services.
XM Radio to Launch
First National Radio Channel Dedicated to the Presidential
Election
(21 May 2007) XM Satellite Radio today announced it will
launch a new radio channel dedicated to the 2008 presidential election, marking
the first time that a national radio channel has been devoted to a presidential
campaign.
Earth
Observation
NASA Satellites Bolster Research On Barren Mid-Ocean
Regions
(22 May 2007) NASA satellite data have helped scientists
solve a decades-old puzzle about how vast blooms of microscopic plants can form
in the middle of otherwise barren mid-ocean regions.
Navigation
Galileo Rubidium Clocks - A Year Of
In-Orbit Experience
(21 May 2007) Europe's first satellite-borne
rubidium clocks have been in orbit for over a year.
Military Space
General Dynamics Successfully
Completes On-Orbit Checkout of NFIRE Satellite for US Missile Defense
Agency
(25 May 2007) General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems,
a business unit of General Dynamics, has successfully completed the Launch and
Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE) and has
turned satellite control authority over to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency
(MDA).
Merrimac Receives Two Multi-Mix
Co-Design Module Contracts From General Dynamics for Next Generation Satcom
Receivers
(18 May 2007) Merrimac Industries, Inc., today announced
that it received both an Internal Research And Development (IRAD) and a new
co-design contract as a follow-on to the IRAD contract for multifunction
integrated modules from General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a
business unit of General Dynamics.
Astrophysics
Gamma-Ray Bursts Active Longer Than
Thought
(23 May 2007) Using NASA's Swift satellite, astronomers have
discovered that energetic flares seen after gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are not
just hiccups, but they appear to be a continuation of the burst
itself.
Astronomy
ITT Enables Further Development of the James Webb
Space Telescope
(21 May 2007) ITT Corporation today announced that
it has delivered the Near Infrared Spectrometer (NIRSpec) Structural Thermal
Model (STM) focal- plane detector packaging under subcontract to Teledyne
Scientific and Imaging, which then delivered it to NASA for the James Webb
Space Telescope (JWST).
Stars
A Brown Dwarf Joins the Jet-Set
(23 May
2007) Jets of matter have been discovered around a very low mass 'failed star',
mimicking a process seen in young stars.
Caltech and Berkeley Astronomers Identify a New Class
of Cosmic Explosions
(24 May 2007) Astronomers are announcing today
the discovery of a new class of stellar explosions. The finding is based on
observations of a flash seen in the Virgo cluster in a galaxy known as Messier
85.
Black
Holes
How to Spot the Speediest Black Holes
(24
May 2007) Astronomers are hunting an elusive target: rogue black holes that
have been ejected from the centres of their home galaxies.
Sun
NASA Spacecraft Aids In Forecast of Solar Radiation
Storms
(25 May 2007) NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
(SOHO) now enables scientists to forecast solar radiation storms, giving future
astronauts, travelling to the moon and Mars, time to seek shelter and ground
controllers time to safeguard satellites.
Venus
Ground - Based Observatories Join Forces with Venus
Express
(23 May 2007) Data from Venus Express, which has been
revealing new and crucial details about our closest planetary neighbour, will
now be augmented by synoptic data from a co-ordinated ground-based observation
campaign.
Mars
Mars Rover Spirit Unearths
Surprise Evidence of Wetter Past
(21 May 2007) A patch of Martian
soil analysed by NASA's rover Spirit is so rich in silica that it may provide
some of the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars was much wetter than it is
now.
NASA's Phoenix to Seek Organics in Mars'
Ice to Unravel Red Planet's Mysteries
(19 May 2007) A spacecraft
called Phoenix is destined to land on Mars in 2008, seeking to unravel some of
the mysteries of the red planet.
Saturn
Cassini 'Cat Scan' Maps Clumps In Saturn's
Rings
(22 May 2007) Saturn's largest and most densely packed ring is
composed of tightly packed clumps of particles separated by nearly empty gaps,
according to new findings from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
Cassini Spacecraft Reveals Evidence of Tholin Formation
at High Altitudes In Titan's Atmosphere
(19 May 2007) Scientists
have long known that the lower atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan contains
organic aerosols, or tholins, formed from simple organic molecules, such as
methane and nitrogen.
Extra-Solar
Planets
Texas Astronomers Discover Mult-Planet System Around
Unexpected Star; May Alter Planet-Formation Theories
(23 May 2007)
University of Texas at Austin astronomers William Cochran and Michael Endl,
working with graduate students Robert Wittenmyer and Jacob Bean, have used the
9.2-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at McDonald Observatory to discover a
system of two Jupiter-like planets orbiting a star whose composition might seem
to rule out planet formation.
Sub
Orbital Space
Microgravity Enterprises Launches Commercial Payload
from the New Mexico Spaceport
(24 May 2007) Microgravity
Enterprises, Inc. (MEI) today recovered ingredients that were successfully
launched into space onboard UP Aerospace's SpaceLoft-2 (SL-2) rocket on April
28th.
NASA Funds Universities' New
Experiments For Suborbital Flights
(23 May 2007) NASA has selected
four universities to conduct suborbital scientific research that is a new step
in reinvigorating the agency's sounding rocket science
program.
Manned
Space
ATK Conducts Successful Test Firing Of Space Shuttle
Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
(24 May 2007) Alliant Techsystems (ATK)
conducted a successful test firing today of NASA's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor
(RSRM) as part of continuous testing to improve performance and ensure safety
of the Space Shuttle, which also transfers improvements into the
shuttle-derived first-stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle.
International Space Station Status Report:
SS07-28
(25 May 2007) Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and
Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov prepared this week for two spacewalks while Flight
Engineer Suni Williams prepared for her return to Earth.
Reviews Document NASA's Progress on Next Human
Spacecraft
(24 May 2007) NASA this week wrapped up six months of
system requirements reviews for the Orion spacecraft, the Ares launch vehicles
and other support systems, bringing together the Constellation Program's list
of basic capability needs.
Rocket Motor Test
Help's NASA's Shuttle and Ares I
(25 May 2007) NASA's Space Shuttle
Program successfully fired a reusable solid rocket motor Thursday, May 24, at a
Utah test facility. The two-minute test provided important information for
continued shuttle launches and for development of the rocket that will carry
the next human spacecraft to the moon.
SwRI
Researcher Develops New Method That Helps Safeguard Astronauts by Forecasting
Space Radiation Hazards with up to One Hour Advance Warnings
(25 May
2007) One of the greatest threats to human space exploration is the sudden,
unpredictable occurrence of radiation outbursts from the
Sun.
Space
Tourism
Benson Space Improves Design of Its
Spaceship
(25 May 2007) As a result of a five month-long study by
SpaceDev, Benson Space Company (BSC) has chosen to pursue a fresh approach in
the design of its Dream Chaser spaceship, it was announced today by BSC
Chairman and President Jim Benson.
Launch Services
Airborne Systems Selected to Design Parachutes for
SpaceX Rocket
(23 May 2007) Airborne Systems, which has combined the
world's leading parachute brands specialising in aerial delivery, rescue and
survival equipment, and engineering services announced that its Space and
Recovery Systems Engineering team (formerly Irvin Aerospace) has been selected
to provide Recovery Systems for Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s (SpaceX)
Falcon 9/Dragon system.
Arianespace Maintains
Its 2007 Mission Pace: A New Ariane 5 Takes Shape at the
Spaceport
(24 May 2007) Another Ariane 5 has started the assembly
process at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana as Arianespace moves ahead with
plans to conduct a total of six missions during 2007 with the workhorse launch
vehicle.
Launches
Yaogan 2
Launch
Schedule
Business
Chinese Space Agency Joins the International Charter
'Space and Major Disasters'
(24 May 2007) The China National Space
Administration has become the newest member of the International Charter 'Space
and Major Disasters', a joint initiative that works to provide emergency
response satellite data free of charge to those affected by disasters anywhere
in the world.
Com Dev Announces Official
Launch of US Operations; Purchases Production Facility in
California
(22 May 2007) Com Dev International Ltd., a leading
manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, today announced that it has
purchased a 46,000 square foot facility in El Segundo, California.
Eagle Broadband Signs Up an International Reseller for
Its SatMAX Product Line
(23 May 2007) Eagle Broadband, Inc., a
leading national provider of IPTV products and services, announced today that
Jaba Networks Communications in Mexico City will resell Eagle's SatMAX advanced
Iridium satellite communications system in Mexico.
Events
Europe's Space Policy Becomes A Reality
Today
(22 May 2007) A stronger Europe in space, better equipped and
better co-ordinated to face the future needs of its citizens.
Space Technology Creates Investment
Opportunities
(22 May 2007) The first ESA Investment Forum took
place last month at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in the
Netherlands.
People
Lieven Vermaele Appointed Technical Director of the
EBU
(24 May 2007) Lieven Vermaele's nomination as the new Technical
Director of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), was approved today by the
Administrative Council of the EBU, gathered in Athens at the kind invitation of
the local broadcaster ERT.
MSV Names Dave
Farmer Vice President, Marketing for Satellite Services
(25 May
2007) Mobile Satellite Ventures LP announced today the appointment of Dave
Farmer, a 20-year veteran of the satellite industry, to Vice President,
Marketing for Satellite Services.
