7 October 2007
Satcoms
Boeing Ships Third Thuraya
Communications Satellite To Sea Launch Home Port
Chilean Telco Deploys Multiple Packetlogic Systems
to Manage WiMAX And Satellite Broadband Services
FCC and Industry Canada Approve TerreStar Companies
Milestone Extension
Hughes Delivers
Distance Education to the Amazon
Hughes
Implements First DVB-S2/IPoS Hub in Brazil
Orbcomm Adds More Than 39,000 Net Billable
Subscriber Communicators in the Third Quarter of 2007
Orbital In Final Preparations for Launch of
Intelsat-11 and Optus D2 Communications Satellites
Sky Is No Limit as Verizon Business Deploys
Satellite Network for US Postal Service
Spacenet Teams With Verizon Business to Provide
Custom Satellite Communications Network for US Postal Service
Thales Alenia Space Announces the Transfer of Star
One C1 Satellite to Its Launch Site in French Guiana
Wegener to Leverage Satellite-Enabled Solutions to
Launch New Services for Content Providers, Broadcasters and Private
Networks
Broadcast
Al-Kass Sports Channel Broadcasts To Asia Via
AsiaSat 2
E! Entertainment Joins AsiaSat 2
MCPC Platform
Intelsat Expands North
American Program Distribution for Spanish Broadcasting System
Lockheed Martin-Built BSAT-3a Satellite Begins
Service For B-SAT Customers
Navigation
NovAtel Achieves Galileo Full Contract Award
Program Milestone
Military
Space
Australia to Join United States in Defence Global
Satellite Communications Capability
DataPath Awarded US$ 8.7 Million for U.S. Marine
Corps' SWAN Program
Harris Corporation
Adds O'Neil & Associates to Pursuit Team for Major SATCOM Program -
Modernization Of Enterprise Terminals
NGC
and SAIC to Pursue Measurement and Signature Intelligence/Advanced Geospatial
Intelligence (MASINT/AGI) Contract
Science
NASA Spacecraft to Carry Russian Science
Instruments
Astrophysics
FSU Physicist Shining a Light on Mysterious 'Dark
Matter'
The Dark Matter of the Universe
Has a Long Lifetime
Astronomy
Funding for Construction of Innovative POLARBEAR
Telescope
Maxwell Technologies Wins US$ 3
Million Contract from Astrium Satellites to Supply Computers for European Space
Agency's 'Gaia' Astronomy Mission
Stars
Extreme Star Cluster In New Hubble
Images
Black
Holes
Orbital Selected as Industry Partner for Scientific
Satellite to Detect Black Holes by Caltech/JPL
Mars
NASA Mars Rover Status: Spirit Arrives at
"Stratigraphic Wonderland"
Saturn
Titan's Icy Climate Mimics Earth's
Tropics
Comets
NASA Satellite Sees Solar Hurricane Detach Comet
Tail
Extra-Solar
Planets
APL Astronomer Spies Conditions 'Just Right' for
Building an Earth
Sign of 'Embryonic
Planets' Forming in Nearby Stellar Systems
Manned Space
NASA Assigns Crew for Space Station Assembly
Mission
NASA Awards Orion Launch Abort
Test Facilities Contract
NASA Conducts
First Test of Main Parachute for Ares I Rocket
NASA Seeks Proposals for Constellation Moon
Suit
World's Largest Rocket Stage
Recovery Parachute Test Is Successful
Space Tourism
Travelex Launches QUIDS in
Space
Technology
A New Milestone in the GMES Space Component
Programme Successfully Achieved
Battery
Technology Developed By QinetiQ-Led Team Plays Key Role in Foton-M3
Mission
Iowa State Engineer Develops
Technology To Quickly Find Leaks In Spacecraft
US Air Force Increases Funding of Ascent Solar
Technologies' High Efficiency Solar Cell Program
Launch Services
Ariane 5's Lift-Off with Intelsat
11 and Optus D2 is Confirmed for October 5
Arianespace is Ready for its Fourth Ariane 5
Mission Of 2007
NASA Selects Launch
Services Provider for Earth Imagery Satellite
NASA Selects Launch Services Provider For Juno
Jupiter Mission
In
Orbit
GMV Selected by Orbital Sciences to Provide
Software System for MEASAT-1R
Reports
DirecTV, EchoStar May See Declining Subscriber
Growth In Next Five Years, Pike & Fischer Study
Predicts
Business
Spacehab Subsidiary Wins Interstellar Boundary
Explorer Mission Contract
Events
Colloquium on Scientific and Fundamental Aspects of
the Galileo Programme
People
Mike Bloomfield Joins ATK as Vice President of
Constellation Systems
Satcoms
Boeing Ships Third
Thuraya Communications Satellite To Sea Launch Home Port
(4 October
2007) Boeing has shipped the third Thuraya communications satellite from its
satellite manufacturing facility in El Segundo, Calif., to the Sea Launch Home
Port in Long Beach, Calif., where it will be prepared for a November
launch.
Chilean Telco Deploys Multiple
Packetlogic Systems to Manage WiMAX And Satellite Broadband
Services
(1 October 2007) Procera Networks, Inc., a pioneering
developer of telco-class network traffic and service management infrastructure
equipment, today announced that Comunicación y Telefonía Rural
S.A. of Chile has deployed multiple PacketLogic products in its satellite and
WiMAX networks to control and optimise bandwidth and to ensure quality of
service (QoS) for its growing customer base.
FCC and Industry Canada Approve TerreStar Companies
Milestone Extension
(3 October 2007) Today, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) granted a request by TerreStar Networks Inc.
(TerreStar) for an extension of its satellite launch milestone from November
2007 to September 2008.
Hughes Delivers
Distance Education to the Amazon
(3 October 2007) Hughes Network
Systems, LLC (Hughes), the world's leading provider of broadband satellite
solutions and services, announced today that its Brazilian operating subsidiary
has completed the rollout of HughesNet broadband satellite service in the state
of Amazonas, including the installation of more than 200 Hughes HN
terminals.
Hughes Implements First
DVB-S2/IPoS Hub in Brazil
(2 October 2007) Hughes Network Systems,
LLC (Hughes), the world's leading provider of broadband satellite solutions and
services, announced today that its Brazilian operating subsidiary has
implemented the region's first DVB-S2/IPoS satellite hub.
Orbcomm Adds More Than 39,000 Net Billable
Subscriber Communicators in the Third Quarter of 2007
(4 October
2007) Orbcomm Inc., a global satellite data communications company focused on
two-way Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications, today announced net additions
of more than 39,000 billable subscriber communicators for the third quarter of
2007, including approximately 31,700 satellite and 7,500 terrestrial subscriber
communicators.
Orbital In Final
Preparations for Launch of Intelsat-11 and Optus D2 Communications
Satellites
(4 October 2007) Orbital Sciences Corporation, the world
leader in smaller-sized commercial geosynchronous (GEO) communications
satellites, is in final preparations for the launch of two of its spacecraft
from the European space launch complex in French Guiana.
Sky Is No Limit as Verizon Business Deploys
Satellite Network for US Postal Service
(1 October 2007) Verizon
Business will provide a new custom satellite network to the U.S. Postal Service
(USPS), enabling it to reliably and cost-effectively deliver voice and
high-speed data to areas where wireline or wireless access is unavailable or
too costly.
Spacenet Teams With Verizon
Business to Provide Custom Satellite Communications Network for US Postal
Service
(1 October 2007) Spacenet Inc., a leading provider of
advanced satellite networking services for enterprise and government, announced
today it is working with Verizon Business to deploy a custom satellite network
for the U.S. Postal Service.
Thales Alenia
Space Announces the Transfer of Star One C1 Satellite to Its Launch Site in
French Guiana
(4 October 2007) Thales Alenia Space announced that it
has transferred the Star One C1 communications satellite to the launch site in
Kourou, French Guiana.
Wegener to Leverage
Satellite-Enabled Solutions to Launch New Services for Content Providers,
Broadcasters and Private Networks
(4 October 2007) Wegener
Corporation, a leading provider of equipment for television, audio, and data
distribution networks world-wide, is exhibiting at this year's SATCON
convention at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, starting
October 10th. SATCON runs concurrently with HD World and IP Media
Expo.
Broadcast
Al-Kass Sports Channel Broadcasts To Asia Via
AsiaSat 2
(4 October 2007) Asia's leading satellite operator, Asia
Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) and Al-Dawri &
Al-Kass Sports Channel (Al-Kass) of Qatar announced the signing of a lease
agreement for C-band capacity on AsiaSat 2 to broadcast an Arabic language
sports channel to Asia and Australasia.
E!
Entertainment Joins AsiaSat 2 MCPC Platform
(2 October 2007) Asia's
leading satellite operator, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited
(AsiaSat) and US entertainment network E! Entertainment Television Inc. today
announced the signing of a contract to distribute the E! International Network
to Asian cable and satellite networks, terrestrial stations and pay TV
platforms through AsiaSat 2's wide C-band coverage beam and full transponder
C-band MCPC platform operated by AsiaSat's Tai Po Earth Station in Hong
Kong.
Intelsat Expands North American
Program Distribution for Spanish Broadcasting System
(4 October
2007) Intelsat, Ltd., the world's leading provider of commercial satellite
services, announced today the signing of a new multi-year contract with Spanish
Broadcasting System, Inc. of Miami, Florida.
Lockheed Martin-Built BSAT-3a Satellite Begins
Service For B-SAT Customers
(1 October 2007) The BSAT-3a
broadcasting satellite, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, is now
operational for the Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) following
successful on- orbit deployment and checkout of all spacecraft
systems.
Navigation
NovAtel Achieves Galileo Full
Contract Award Program Milestone
(3 October 2007) NovAtel Inc., a
precise positioning technology company, has achieved a Galileo program
milestone through the award of a contract worth EUR 6.3M (US$ 8.6M) by Thales
Alenia Space Italia (TAS-I) for the continued development of the Ground
Reception Chain (GRC) reference receiver for Galileo, Europe's state-of-the-art
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Military Space
Australia to Join United States in Defence Global
Satellite Communications Capability
(3 October 2007) The Australian
Ministry of Defence has announce that the Australian Government will enter into
a US$ 927 million partnership with the United States to access a world-leading
communications capability provided by the new Wideband Global Satellite
Communications (WGS) constellation.
DataPath Awarded US$ 8.7 Million for U.S. Marine
Corps' SWAN Program
(4 October 2007) DataPath, Inc., a leading
provider of satellite and wireless communications networks around the world,
has received US$ 8.7 million in delivery orders for continued support and
enhancements to the U.S. Marine Corps' Support Wide Area Network (SWAN)
programs.
Harris Corporation Adds O'Neil
& Associates to Pursuit Team for Major SATCOM Program - Modernization Of
Enterprise Terminals
(4 October 2007) Harris Corporation, an
international communications and information technology company, has added
O'Neil & Associates to its team that is competing for a potential 15-year,
US$ 600 million U.S. Army strategic SATCOM program called Modernization of
Enterprise Terminals (MET).
NGC and SAIC
to Pursue Measurement and Signature Intelligence/Advanced Geospatial
Intelligence (MASINT/AGI) Contract
(1 October 2007) Defence industry
leaders Northrop Grumman Corporation and Science Applications International
Corporation announced today the formation of an industry-wide team to bid on
the Measurement and Signature Intelligence/Advanced Geospatial Intelligence
(MASINT/AGI) program competition for the National Air and Space Intelligence
Center (NASIC) located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio.
Science
NASA Spacecraft to
Carry Russian Science Instruments
(3 October 2007) NASA and the
Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos have agreed to fly two Russian
scientific instruments on NASA spacecraft that will conduct unprecedented
robotic missions to the moon and Mars.
Astrophysics
FSU Physicist Shining a Light on Mysterious 'Dark
Matter'
(3 October 2007) We've all been taught that our bodies, the
Earth, and in fact all matter in the universe is composed of tiny building
blocks called atoms.
The Dark Matter of
the Universe Has a Long Lifetime
(1 October 2007) New research from
the Niels Bohr Institute presents new information that adds another piece of
knowledge to the jigsaw puzzle of the dark mystery of the universe - dark
matter.
Astronomy
Funding for Construction of Innovative POLARBEAR
Telescope
(4 October 2007) Thanks to two visionary donors, US$ 1
million in gifts to the University of California, San Diego, has initiated the
construction of a telescope that may-for the first time-enable physicists to
measure "gravitational waves" from the Big Bang, giving unique insight into the
condition of the universe at its inception. The groundbreaking project places
UC San Diego at the forefront of the emerging field of observational
particle-astrophysics.
Maxwell
Technologies Wins US$ 3 Million Contract from Astrium Satellites to Supply
Computers for European Space Agency's 'Gaia' Astronomy Mission
(1
October 2007) Maxwell Technologies Inc. (has won a contract valued at
approximately US$ 3 million from Astrium's United Kingdom-based satellite unit
to supply single board computers (SBC) for the European Space Agency's (ESA)
"Gaia" astronomy mission to survey more than a billion stars and other
celestial bodies to trace the origin and evolution of the Milky Way
Galaxy.
Stars
Extreme Star Cluster In
New Hubble Images
(2 October 2007) The gigantic nebula NGC 3603
hosts one of the most prominent, massive, young clusters in the Milky
Way.
Black
Holes
Orbital Selected as Industry Partner for Scientific
Satellite to Detect Black Holes by Caltech/JPL
(2 October 2007)
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that it has been selected by the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) to design, manufacture, integrate and test the Nuclear Spectroscopic
Array (NuSTAR) scientific satellite.
Mars
NASA Mars Rover Status: Spirit Arrives at
"Stratigraphic Wonderland"
(4 October 2007) Spirit completed the
rover's longest 5-wheel drive to date en route to a platy rock surface
nicknamed "Texas Chili" in an area scientists are calling a "stratigraphic
wonderland."
Saturn
Titan's Icy Climate Mimics Earth's
Tropics
(3 October 2007) If space travellers ever visit Saturn's
largest moon, they will find a tropical world where temperatures plunge to
minus 274 degrees Fahrenheit, methane rains from the sky and dunes of ice or
tar cover the planet's most arid regions.
Comets
NASA Satellite Sees Solar Hurricane Detach Comet
Tail
(1 October 2007) A NASA satellite has captured the first images
of a collision between a comet and a solar hurricane.
Extra-Solar Planets
APL Astronomer Spies Conditions
'Just Right' for Building an Earth
(3 October 2007) An Earth-like
planet is likely forming 424 light-years away in a star system called HD
113766, say astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Sign of 'Embryonic Planets' Forming in Nearby
Stellar Systems
(1 October 2007) Astronomers at the University of
Rochester are pointing to three nearby stars they say may hold "embryonic
planets" - a missing link in planet-formation theories.
Manned Space
NASA Assigns Crew for Space
Station Assembly Mission
(1 October 2007) NASA has assigned the
space shuttle crew for Endeavour's STS-126 mission, targeted for launch in
September 2008.
NASA Awards Orion Launch
Abort Test Facilities Contract
(1 October 2007) NASA's White Sands
Test Facility has awarded a contract to Denco, Inc. of Las Cruces, N.M., for
the construction of launch site facilities for the Orion Launch Abort System
flight testing at the facility.
NASA
Conducts First Test of Main Parachute for Ares I Rocket
(2 October
2007) NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the first drop test of
the main parachute that will help recover the first stage of the Ares I crew
launch vehicle.
NASA Seeks Proposals for
Constellation Moon Suit
(1 October 2007) NASA has issued a request
for proposals from industry for the design, development and production of a new
spacesuit system for Constellation Program voyages to the International Space
Station and the moon.
World's Largest
Rocket Stage Recovery Parachute Test Is Successful
(2 October 2007)
Alliant Techsystems, and United Space Alliance (USA) successfully conducted the
first in a series of six main parachute drop tests in the development of the
deceleration system for the first stage of NASA's Ares I crew launch vehicle on
Sept. 25 at the Army Yuma Proving Grounds.
Space Tourism
Travelex Launches QUIDS in Space
(4
October 2007) Foreign exchange specialist Travelex today unveiled a unit of
currency that has been created for use in space.
Technology
A New Milestone in the GMES
Space Component Programme Successfully Achieved
(28 September 2007)
Yesterday ESA's Member States participating in the GMES Programme approved the
transition to Phase-2 of Segment 1 of the GMES Space Component
Programme.
Battery Technology Developed By
QinetiQ-Led Team Plays Key Role in Foton-M3 Mission
(1 October 2007)
A battery developed by a QinetiQ-led consortium including ABSL Space Products
has successfully powered key scientific payloads during the final stages of the
Foton-M3 mission into space.
Iowa State
Engineer Develops Technology To Quickly Find Leaks In Spacecraft
(3
October 2007) Tiny meteors flash through space.
US Air Force Increases Funding of Ascent Solar
Technologies' High Efficiency Solar Cell Program
(4 October 2007)
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a developer of state-of-the-art, thin-film
photovoltaic materials, announced today that the US Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL) has contracted to increase funding of Ascent Solar's
development of high-performance thin-film tandem photovoltaics (PV) based on
their flexible monolithically integrated CIGS technology.
Launch Services
Ariane 5's Lift-Off with
Intelsat 11 and Optus D2 is Confirmed for October 5
(3 October 2007)
Arianespace's fourth mission of 2007 is set for Friday, October 5, with the
green light given today after the launch readiness review at Europe's
Spaceport.
Arianespace is Ready for its
Fourth Ariane 5 Mission Of 2007
(4 October 2007) Emerging from the
Final Assembly Building at 10:30 a.m. under sunny skies, the Ariane 5 GS
completed the 2.8-kilometer transfer in one hour.
NASA Selects Launch Services Provider for Earth
Imagery Satellite
(3 October 2007) NASA's Launch Services Program
office at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has selected Lockheed Martin
Commercial Launch Services of Littleton, Colo., for launching of the Landsat
Data Continuity Mission.
NASA Selects
Launch Services Provider For Juno Jupiter Mission
(3 October 2007)
NASA's Launch Services Program office at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., has
selected Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services of Littleton, Colo., for
the Juno mission to Jupiter.
In
Orbit
GMV Selected by Orbital Sciences to Provide
Software System for MEASAT-1R
(3 October 2007) GMV is proud to
announce that Orbital Sciences Corporation has selected GMV to provide its GEO
flight dynamics system called focusGEO for Measat-1R, the new
telecommunications spacecraft being built by Orbital Sciences Corporation for
Measat Satellite Systems of Malaysia.
Reports
DirecTV, EchoStar May See Declining Subscriber
Growth In Next Five Years, Pike & Fischer Study Predicts
(2
October 2007) Satellite TV providers DirecTV and EchoStar have been building
customer loyalty with services such as high-definition channels and upgraded
digital video recorders.
Business
Spacehab Subsidiary Wins Interstellar Boundary
Explorer Mission Contract
(4 October 2007) Spacehab, Incorporated, a
leading provider of commercial space services, today announced that its
Astrotech Space Operations subsidiary has won an additional fully funded task
order under the recently awarded Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) indefinite
delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract.
Events
Colloquium on Scientific and Fundamental Aspects of
the Galileo Programme
(26 September 2007) A key meeting to enhance
the scientific use of Galileo and contribute to the science-based development
of Global Navigation Satellite Systems is being held at the 'Cité de
l'Espace' in Toulouse on 1 to 4 October.
People
Mike Bloomfield Joins ATK as Vice President of
Constellation Systems
(3 October 2007) Alliant Techsystems announced
today that Michael J. Bloomfield, former NASA astronaut and deputy director of
NASA flight operations, has been named Vice President, Constellation Systems in
its Launch Systems Group.
