10 February 2008
Satcoms
Broadcast International
Extends Agreement To Provide Support For 1,200 Store Satellite
Network
Hughes And Comat Sign Contract
To Provide Broadband Services At 10,000 Kiosks Across Rural India
Mobile Satellite Ventures Awarded
Industry-Leading Interference Reduction Patent
Mozambique Floods - TSF Provides Telecom Support
To Humanitarian Community
Orbital In
Final Preparations For Launch Of THOR 5 Communications Satellite
Rascom-QAF1
Satellite Injected In Final Geostationary Orbit
SatLink Communications Increases European Presence
With New Eutelsat W2 Full Power MCPC Platform
Broadcast
Comcast Media Center Signs New Multi-Year
Agreement With SES Americom
SES
Americom Satellites Deliver Super Tuesday To Viewers Across The United
States
Spain's First HD Channel
Launched On Astra
Tele Columbus Teams
With Eutelsat Germany To Establish New Digital
TV-Platform
Earth
Observation
Satellite Data To Deliver 'State-Of-The-Art' Air
Quality Information
U.S. Announces New
Space-Based Earth Observation Activities
Military Space
NGC Demonstrates Compatibility Of Advanced EHF
Satellite Interface With Terminals Using Extended-Data-Rate
Waveform
Astrophysics
Particle Accelerator May Reveal Shape Of
Alternate Dimensions
The End To A
Mystery?
Astronomy
International Team Establishes Unique Observatory
In Antarctica
New Guest At ESA's Test
Centre: The Herschel Telescope
Mercury
Messenger Team Begins Planning For Second Mercury
Encounter
Venus
Venus Express Seeks Out Gases Below The
Clouds
Mars
ESA Presents Mars In 3D
Saturn
Saturn Has A 'Giant Sponge'
Scientists Study "Plumbing" In Plumes Of
Enceladus
Extra-Solar
Planets
Dusty Disk Around Nearby Star May Hide Earth-like
Planet
NASA's Deep Impact Begins Hunt
For Alien Worlds
Exobiology
Extremophile Hunt Begins
Manned Space
Boeing Courts Ares I Suppliers To
Provide NASA With Best Value
Iridium
Upgrades Satellite Phones For International Space
Station
Manned Space - STS
122
Countdown To Columbus Launch
Columbus To Launch Today
NASA'S Shuttle Atlantis Begins Mission To The
Space Station
Boeing And NASA Start New
Year With Space Shuttle Atlantis Lift-off
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle
Main Engines Propel European Laboratory To International Space
Station
Europe's Columbus Laboratory
Leaves Earth
The European Laboratory
Columbus Is In-orbit: A New Success For Thales Alenia Space
STS-122 MCC Status Report #01
STS-122 MCC Status Report #02
STS-122 MCC Status Report #03
STS-122 MCC Status Report #04
STS-122 MCC Status Report
#05
Technology
Colorado Engineering Firms Win NASA Grant To
Develop Innovative Insulation For Next Generation
Spacecraft
Launch
Services
Another Ariane 5 Is Delivered For Arianespace's
Busy 2008 Launch Schedule
Bigelow
Aerospace And Lockheed Martin Converging On Terms For Launch Services
U.S. Air Force Awards United Launch Alliance
Three Delta IV Missions
Launches
Progress M-63 (ISS 28P)
Space Shuttle Atlantis ISS-24-1E
Launch
Schedule
Business
Intelsat Announces Completion of Acquisition By
Serafina Holdings
NASA Unveils $17.6
Billion Budget
Spacehab Announces US$ 6
Million Financing Facility
Products and Services
Avionica Releases Iridium Portal
Technology Under Open Source License
People
Mars Exploration Leader Joins Astrobotic's Lunar
Expedition
Michael Larkin Appointed
Executive Vice President Of Orbital's Satellite Business Unit
NASA Appoints Interim Lunar Science Institute
Director
Thales Alenia Space
Appointments
ViaSat Appoints Tom Moore
As Senior Vice President And President Of ViaSat-1 Satellite
Initiative
Satcoms
Broadcast
International Extends Agreement To Provide Support For 1,200 Store Satellite
Network
(7 February 2008) Broadcast International ("BI") today
announced it has extended its satellite services agreement with a prominent
U.S. retailer for an additional year.
Hughes And Comat Sign Contract To Provide
Broadband Services At 10,000 Kiosks Across Rural India
(4 February
2008) Hughes India (HUGHES) has announced the signing of a contract with Comat
Technologies to supply ten thousand broadband satellite terminals, together
with its nationwide HughesNet satellite services and applications to be
delivered at rural business centres across multiple states in India.
Mobile Satellite Ventures Awarded
Industry-Leading Interference Reduction Patent
(6 February 2008)
Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) announced today that it has been awarded a new
patent by the U.S. Patent Office that protects technologies relating to the
reduction of interference, resulting in improved quality of service and
increased capacity.
Mozambique Floods -
TSF Provides Telecom Support To Humanitarian Community
(7 February
2008) A crew of emergency telecom specialists from Télécoms Sans
Frontières (TSF) is currently in Mozambique to strengthen aid agencies
helping victims of the floods in the Zambezi River valley.
Orbital In Final Preparations For Launch Of THOR
5 Communications Satellite
(8 February 2008) Orbital Sciences
Corporation, the world leader in smaller-sized commercial geosynchronous (GEO)
communications satellites, is in final preparations for the launch of the THOR
5 satellite.
Rascom-QAF1 Satellite
Injected In Final Geostationary Orbit
(4 February 2008) Thales
Alenia Space announced today that further to the decision of Rascomstar-QAF,
the Rascom-QAF1 satellite has been placed in its final geostationary orbit at
2.85° East.
SatLink Communications
Increases European Presence With New Eutelsat W2 Full Power MCPC
Platform
(4 February 2008) SatLink Communications Ltd., the fastest
growing teleport in 2007 according to The World Teleport Association, announced
today the launch of its new MCPC (Multi Channel Per Carrier) platform on
Eutelsat's W2 satellite.
Broadcast
Comcast Media Center Signs New Multi-Year
Agreement With SES Americom
(7 February 2008) As part of its
commitment to provide the next generation of video services for cable
operators, the Comcast Media Center (CMC), a business unit of Comcast Cable,
has expanded its relationship with SES Americom by signing a multi-year,
multi-transponder contract.
SES Americom
Satellites Deliver Super Tuesday To Viewers Across The United
States
(6 February 2008) SES Americom, an SES company, announced
today that the company sold out its entire available inventory of Ku-band
transponder capacity to support news reporting of Super Tuesday presidential
primary elections across the United States.
Spain's First HD Channel Launched On
Astra
(8 February 2008) SES Astra, an SES company, today announced
the launch of Spain's first HD channel on Astra.
Tele Columbus Teams With Eutelsat Germany To
Establish New Digital TV-Platform
(7 February 2008) Tele Columbus,
Germany's third largest cable operator with more than 3.7 million homes, and
Eutelsat's German subsidiary, Eutelsat Deutschland today announced they will
establish a unique platform for bundling digital channels and services for
German cable homes from Eutelsat's Eurobird 9 satellite.
Earth Observation
Satellite Data To Deliver
'State-Of-The-Art' Air Quality Information
(5 February 2008) The
European Environment Agency has finalised an agreement with an ESA-led
consortium to provide unparalleled information on air pollution, which
contributes to the premature deaths of hundreds of thousands of Europeans
annually.
U.S. Announces New Space-Based
Earth Observation Activities
(4 February 2008) The Bush
Administration today announced its plans for a significant enhancement of the
Nation's civil Earth observation capabilities.
Military Space
NGC Demonstrates Compatibility Of Advanced EHF
Satellite Interface With Terminals Using Extended-Data-Rate
Waveform
(1 February 2008) Northrop Grumman Corporation has
demonstrated the interface compatibility of the next-generation Advanced
Extremely High Frequency (EHF) military communications satellite with user
ground terminals using the new Extended Data Rate (XDR) waveform and
protocols.
Astrophysics
Particle Accelerator May Reveal Shape Of
Alternate Dimensions
(1 February 2008) When the world's most
powerful particle accelerator starts up later this year, exotic new particles
may offer a glimpse of the existence and shapes of extra dimensions.
The End To A Mystery?
(1 February
2008) Astronomers at the University of St Andrews believe they can "simplify
the dark side of the universe" by shedding new light on two of its mysterious
constituents.
Astronomy
International Team Establishes Unique Observatory
In Antarctica
(1 February 2008) A team of scientists representing
six international institutions, including Texas A&M University, has
succeeded in reaching the summit of Antarctica also a monumental achievement
for ground-based astronomy -- to establish a new astronomical observatory at
Dome Argus on the highest point of the Antarctic Plateau.
New Guest At ESA's Test Centre: The Herschel
Telescope
(8 February 2008) ESA's test centre is buzzing with
activity and anticipation as it welcomes its latest guest.
Mercury
Messenger Team Begins Planning
For Second Mercury Encounter
(7 February 2008) Little more than
three weeks after Messenger's first historic flyby of Mercury, the team this
week began mapping out its trajectory and observation plans for the probe's
second pass of the planet this fall.
Venus
Venus Express Seeks Out Gases Below The
Clouds
(4 February 2008) ESA's Venus Express has recently 'peeled
back' the thick clouds around Venus to provide the most accurate and
wide-ranging map of water vapour and other gases in the lower atmosphere to
date.
Mars
ESA Presents Mars In
3D
(5 February 2008) Mars is about to come into 3D focus as never
before, thanks to the data from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera
(HRSC).
Saturn
Saturn Has A 'Giant
Sponge'
(5 February 2008) One of Saturn's rings does housecleaning,
soaking up material gushing from the fountains on Saturn's tiny ice moon
Enceladus, according to new observations from the Cassini spacecraft.
Scientists Study "Plumbing" In Plumes Of
Enceladus
(9 February 2008) Scientists on the Cassini mission have
become out-of-this world "plumbers" as they try to piece together what's
happening inside the "pipes" feeding the plumes of Saturn's moon
Enceladus.
Extra-Solar
Planets
Dusty Disk Around Nearby Star May Hide Earth-like
Planet
(8 February 2008) A recent survey by a team of Japanese
astronomers may have found an Earth-like planet hidden in the dust around a
nearby star.
NASA's Deep Impact Begins
Hunt For Alien Worlds
(7 February 2008) NASA's Deep Impact
spacecraft is aiming its largest telescope at five stars in a search for alien
(exosolar) planets as it enters its extended mission, called
EPOXI.
Exobiology
Extremophile Hunt
Begins
(7 February 2008) A team of scientists has just left the
country to explore a very strange lake in Antarctica; it is filled with,
essentially, extra-strength laundry detergent.
Manned Space
Boeing Courts Ares I Suppliers To Provide NASA
With Best Value
(6 February 2008) The Boeing Company today hosted an
aerospace industry conference in Huntsville, Ala., to recruit the nation's best
suppliers for the Ares I Instrument Unit Avionics (IUA) contract.
Iridium
Upgrades Satellite Phones For International Space Station
(7
February 2008) Iridium Satellite has recently upgraded the satellite phones
used by Russian cosmonauts when returning to Earth from the International Space
Station (ISS).
Manned Space - STS
122
Countdown To Columbus Launch
(6
February 2008) The countdown continues towards Thursday's launch of the
European Columbus laboratory on board Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Columbus To Launch Today
(7 February
2008) The European Columbus laboratory is scheduled to launch on board Space
Shuttle Atlantis later today.
NASA'S
Shuttle Atlantis Begins Mission To The Space Station
(7 February
2008) Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven-member crew lifted off at 2:45 p.m.
EST on Thursday, Feb. 7 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center to begin the STS-122
mission to the International Space Station.
Boeing And NASA Start New Year With Space Shuttle
Atlantis Lift-off
(7 February 2008) With today's successful lift-off
of Space Shuttle Atlantis, The Boeing Company and NASA are starting off 2008
with renewed focus following three successful missions last year for the
shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) programs.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle
Main Engines Propel European Laboratory To International Space
Station
(7 February 2008) Three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Space
Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) powered the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis from
NASA's Kennedy Space Center today on Mission STS-122 to the International Space
Station (ISS).
Europe's Columbus
Laboratory Leaves Earth
(7 February 2008) Columbus, ESA's advanced
science laboratory in space, has just been launched into orbit and is now on
its way to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
The European Laboratory Columbus Is In-orbit: A
New Success For Thales Alenia Space
(8 February 2008) ESA's Columbus
laboratory, developed with Thales Alenia Space as main contributor, has been
successfully launched today from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida (USA) to
the International Space Station (ISS).
STS-122 MCC Status Report #01
(7
February 2008) Seven years to the day after the first laboratory was launched
to the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle Atlantis roared into
space this afternoon with the second, the European Space Agency's Columbus
lab.
STS-122 MCC Status Report
#02
(8 February 2008) The seven member crew of Space Shuttle
Atlantis has begun its first full day in space on an 11-day mission that
delivers the newest research module, the European Space Agency's Columbus
laboratory, to the International Space Station.
STS-122 MCC Status Report #03
(8
February 2008) The seven-member crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis is ready for
tomorrow's rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station, planned
for 11:25 a.m. CST.
STS-122 MCC Status
Report #04
(9 February 2008) The International Space Station's
newest scientific laboratory, the European Space Agency's Columbus research
module, is just hours from completing its journey to the station.
STS-122
MCC Status Report #05
(9 February 2008) Space shuttle Atlantis
delivered the European Space Agency's Columbus science laboratory to the
International Space Station today, but the actual installation of the module
will be delayed by one day.
Technology
Colorado Engineering Firms Win
NASA Grant To Develop Innovative Insulation For Next Generation
Spacecraft
(5 February 2008) Quest Product Development, teaming with
Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., has completed a NASA research program
and successfully demonstrated a new thermal insulation.
Launch Services
Another Ariane 5 Is Delivered
For Arianespace's Busy 2008 Launch Schedule
(8 February 2008)
Arianespace is keeping up its pace of launch activity with this week's arrival
of another Ariane 5 at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
Bigelow Aerospace And Lockheed Martin Converging
On Terms For Launch Services
(5 February 2008) Bigelow Aerospace and
Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services are engaged in discussions and
converging on terms to supply Atlas V launch vehicles to provide crew and cargo
transportation services to a Bigelow-built space complex.
U.S. Air Force Awards United Launch Alliance
Three Delta IV Missions
(5 February 2008) The U.S. Air Force
recently awarded United Launch Alliance a US$ 505 million contract to provide
launch services for three National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellites
aboard Delta IV rockets under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
program.
Launches
Progress M-63 (ISS 28P)
Space Shuttle Atlantis ISS-24-1E
Launch
Schedule
Business
Intelsat Announces Completion of Acquisition By
Serafina Holdings
(4 February 2008) Intelsat, Ltd., the world's
leading provider of fixed satellite services, today announced the successful
closing of the acquisition of all of the primary equity ownership of its
parent, Intelsat Holdings, Ltd. ("Intelsat Holdings") by Serafina Holdings,
Limited ("Serafina Holdings"), an entity formed by funds advised by BC
Partners, Silver Lake and certain other equity investors.
NASA Unveils $17.6 Billion Budget
(4
February 2008) NASA announced a $17.6 billion budget for fiscal year 2009 to
continue exploring the solar system, building the International Space Station,
studying Earth from space and conducting aeronautics research.
Spacehab Announces US$ 6 Million Financing
Facility
(8 February 2008) Spacehab, Incorporated, a provider of
commercial space services, today announced that the Company has established a
US$ 6 million credit facility with Green Bank, N.A.
Products and Services
Avionica Releases Iridium
Portal Technology Under Open Source License
(7 February 2008) At the
recent ARINC Datalink (DLK) Users Forum in San Diego, California, Avionica
announced the release of its Iridium Portal product source code to the aviation
community.
People
Mars Exploration Leader Joins Astrobotic's Lunar
Expedition
(4 February 2008) A distinguished leader of planetary
exploration is joining the Astrobotic Technology team to accelerate its pursuit
of the US$ 30 million Google Lunar X Prize, the company announced
today.
Michael Larkin Appointed
Executive Vice President Of Orbital's Satellite Business Unit
(7
February 2008) Orbital Sciences Corporation announced today that Mr. Michael E.
Larkin has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President and
General Manager of its Space Systems Group (SSG).
NASA Appoints Interim Lunar Science Institute
Director
(4 February 2008) David Morrison has been appointed interim
director of the NASA Lunar Science Institute, based at the Ames Research
Center, Moffett Field, Calif., effective immediately.
Thales Alenia Space Appointments
(4
February 2008) Christophe Wilhelm, 47, joins Thales Alenia Space Executive
Committee as Senior Vice President Strategy & Marketing on January
2008.
ViaSat Appoints Tom Moore As
Senior Vice President And President Of ViaSat-1 Satellite
Initiative
(8 February 2008) ViaSat Inc. announced today that it has
appointed Tom Moore as Senior Vice President of the company and President of
the recently announced ViaSat-1 Ka-band broadband satellite initiative,
effective immediately.