6 April 2008
Satcoms
Astrium Services Selects
iDirect Platform For Newly Established Teleport In Toulouse, France
Globecomm Systems Awarded Multiple Contracts From A
U.S. Government Agency Valued At US$ 16.9 Million
SES Astra Signs Agreement With Deutsche Telekom For
The Distribution Of Astra2connect In Germany
SkyVision Secures Capacity On Intelsat's IS-601
Satellite For African Broadband Connectivity
Broadcast
DirecTV Launches Russia's First Children's Channel In
The United States
Star-TV Selects
SintecMedia's OnAir Management System
Earth Observation
Boeing Submits GOES R Proposal To NASA
Com Dev Selected To Develop Payload Equipment For
Earth Observation Mission
ESA To Study
Forest Fires From Orbit
GeoEye Signs With
Mitsubishi Corporation As GeoEye-1 Regional Affiliate
Navigation
Com Dev Completes Successful Ground
Testing Of AIS Nanosatellite
TransCore's
Regional Network Operator In Africa Doubles GlobalWave Satellite Capacity To
Meet High Demand For Asset Tracking
U.S.
Air Force/Lockheed Martin Team Celebrates Success Of GPS IIR Program As Final
Satellite Is Readied For Shipment To Cape Canaveral For June
Launch
Military
Space
DataPath Awarded US$ 11.5 Million To Support U.S.
CENTCOM Satellite Communications Hubs
Astronomy
Northrop Grumman Awarded 5 Study Contracts For
Astronomy Missions
Revealing The
Multi-Wavelength Sky
Stars
Two New Star Systems Are First Of Their Kind Ever
Found
Galaxies
Old Galaxies Stick Together In The Young
Universe
Black
Holes
Black Hole Found In Omega Centauri
NASA Scientists Identify Smallest Known Black
Hole
Sun
'Focused' Solar Explosions
Get Hotter
Hinode: Source Of The Slow Solar
Wind And Superhot Flares
Old Solar Cycle
Returns
Venus
Venus Express Reboots The Search For Active Volcanoes
On Venus
Extra-Solar
Planets
The (Super)WASP Factory Finds 10 New Planets In The
Last 6 Months
Manned
Space
Boeing And Orion Propulsion Sign NASA
Mentor-Protégé Agreement
Canadian Space Agency Is Recruiting For New
Astronauts
NASA Updates Target Launch Date
For Next Space Shuttle Flight
The LDRA Tool
Suite Selected For Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle Space
Program
Manned Space -
ATV
Jules
Verne ATV Demonstration Day 1 Sequence Of Events
Jules Verne ATV Demonstration Day 2 Sequence Of
Events
Jules Verne ATV Given 'Go' For
Docking
Europe's Automated Ship Docks To
The ISS
GMV Plays A Leading Role In The
European Space Race
Thales Alenia Space
Technologies Participate To ATV Docking
Space Tourism
Environmental Tectonics Corporation's
NASTAR Center Sends Ninety-Six Space Cruise Participants To
Space
Technology
Data Interchange Language For Antenna
Modelling
Superconductors To Provide New
Levels Of Stability And Control In Large Structures And Satellite Formations In
Space
Launch
Services
Arianespace Takes Delivery Of Another Heavy-Lift
Ariane 5
Successful Qualification Firing
Test For Zefiro 23
The Third Ariane 5
Launcher Of 2008 Arrives In French Guiana
U.S. Air Force Awards United Launch Alliance MUOS
Satellite Launch
Vinasat-1 Is Readied For
Arianespace's Second Ariane 5 Mission Of 2008
Launches
Launch
Schedule
Reports
Maritime And Aeronautical Broadband Will Drive Growth
In Mobile Satellite Services, New Report Claims
Business
Gilat Satellite Networks Announces The Signing Of An
Agreement To Be Acquired For An Aggregate Value Of US$ 475 Million In An
All-Cash Transaction By An American And Israeli Investment Group
Orbcomm
Acquires Significant Stake In Orbcomm Japan
Products and Services
EB, TerreStar Networks Showcase
First-Ever Dual-Mode Satellite-Terrestrial HSPA Handset Reference
Design
RT Logic Announces Seamless Channel
Simulator Integration With AGI's STK Analysis Software
Training
Hawaii Pacific Teleport To launch Satellite
Communications Appreciation Courses In Paradise
People
Globecomm Systems Names Bill Raney Senior VP Sales
And Marketing
Satcoms
Astrium Services Selects
iDirect Platform For Newly Established Teleport In Toulouse,
France
(31 March 2008) iDirect, Inc. (iDirect), a company of VT
Systems Inc (VT Systems) and a world leader in satellite-based IP
communications technology, announced today that Astrium Services has selected
its satellite communications platform to meet increased service demands from
government and commercial customers.
Globecomm Systems Awarded Multiple Contracts From A
U.S. Government Agency Valued At US$ 16.9 Million
(31 March 2008)
Globecomm Systems Inc., a leading provider of satellite-based communications
infrastructure solutions and services on a global basis, today announced that
the Company has been awarded multiple contracts from a U.S. Government agency
valued at US$ 16.9 million.
SES Astra Signs
Agreement With Deutsche Telekom For The Distribution Of Astra2connect In
Germany
(1 April 2008) SES Astra, an SES company, has signed another
important framework contract for the marketing of its satellite based two-way
broadband service Astra2Connect in Germany with Deutsche Telekom.
SkyVision
Secures Capacity On Intelsat's IS-601 Satellite For African Broadband
Connectivity
(3 April 2008) Intelsat, Ltd., the world's leading
provider of commercial satellite services, and SkyVision Global Networks LLC
("SkyVision"), a leading global provider of Internet services over satellite
and terrestrial fibre optic systems, announced today that SkyVision has signed
a multi-year, multi-transponder contract for capacity on the Intelsat 601
satellite.
Broadcast
DirecTV Launches Russia's First Children's Channel In
The United States
(3 April 2008) DirecTV, the nation's leading
satellite television provider, continues to expand its WorldDirect programming
platform with the exclusive addition of TV Nanny, Russia's first children's
channel.
Star-TV Selects SintecMedia's OnAir
Management System
(31 March 2008) Star Group Inc. (Star), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of News Corporation, has selected SintecMedia's OnAir
to manage its broadcast operations.
Earth Observation
Boeing Submits GOES R Proposal To
NASA
(31 March 2008) The Boeing Company today said it has submitted
a proposal to NASA for the production of two next-generation Geostationary
Operational Environmental Satellites, known as the GOES R series, for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Com Dev Selected To Develop Payload Equipment For
Earth Observation Mission
(4 April 2008) Com Dev International Ltd.
today announced that it has been awarded an Authorisation to Proceed (ATP) from
an Asian customer for work on a major subsystem of an instrument that will fly
on a future Earth observation satellite.
ESA
To Study Forest Fires From Orbit
(3 April 2008) A new ESA study aims
to deduce better ways of characterising the devastation caused by
fires.
GeoEye Signs With Mitsubishi
Corporation As GeoEye-1 Regional Affiliate
(2 April 2008) GeoEye,
Inc., a premier provider of satellite and aerial imagery and geospatial
information, announced today that it has signed a multi-year agreement with
Mitsubishi Corporation to allow its Regional Affiliate, Japan Space Imaging
Corporation (JSI), a Mitsubishi Corporation subsidiary, to collect and sell
Earth imagery and related products from the GeoEye-1
satellite.
Navigation
Com Dev Completes Successful Ground
Testing Of AIS Nanosatellite
(31 March 2008) Com Dev International
Ltd., a leading manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, today announced that
it has successfully completed an end-to-end ground-based test of its advanced
AIS payload and nanosatellite.
TransCore's
Regional Network Operator In Africa Doubles GlobalWave Satellite Capacity To
Meet High Demand For Asset Tracking
(31 March 2008) TransCore has
recently installed and commissioned new earth station equipment to support the
addition of a second satellite communications channel by its regional partner
Skygistics, a South African company that specialises in wireless systems to
track, monitor, and, control trucks and other mobile assets throughout
Africa.
U.S. Air Force/Lockheed Martin Team
Celebrates Success Of GPS IIR Program As Final Satellite Is Readied For
Shipment To Cape Canaveral For June Launch
(3 April 2008) In a
ceremony heralding the success of the U.S. Air Force's Global Positioning
System Block IIR modernisation effort (GPS IIR-M), Lockheed Martin today
announced it has completed work on the last satellite in the program
constellation, which features a demonstration payload that will transmit the
new civil signal, known as L5.
Military Space
DataPath Awarded US$ 11.5 Million To Support U.S.
CENTCOM Satellite Communications Hubs
(3 April 2008) DataPath, Inc.,
a leading provider of satellite and wireless communications networks around the
world, has been awarded US$ 11.5 million to provide field services for a
critical network of DataPath Deployable Ku Band Earth Terminals in the U.S.
Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.
Astronomy
Northrop Grumman Awarded 5 Study Contracts For
Astronomy Missions
(4 April 2008) Northrop Grumman Corporation is a
partner on five contracts awarded by NASA to investigate concepts for
next-generation space telescopes.
Revealing
The Multi-Wavelength Sky
(2 April 2008) The multi-wavelength sky is
set to clear as the world's most powerful astronomical virtual observatory
opens.
Stars
Two New Star Systems Are
First Of Their Kind Ever Found
(1 April 2008) Astronomers have spied
a faraway star system that is so unusual, it was one of a kind -- until its
discovery helped them pinpoint a second one that was much closer to
home.
Galaxies
Old Galaxies Stick
Together In The Young Universe
(2 April 2008) Using the most
sensitive images ever obtained with the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope
(UKIRT), astronomers have found convincing evidence that galaxies which look
old early in the history of the Universe reside in enormous clouds of invisible
dark matter and will eventually evolve into the most massive galaxies that
exist in the present day.
Black
Holes
Black Hole Found In Omega Centauri
(2
April 2008) Omega Centauri has been known to be an unusual globular cluster for
a long time.
NASA Scientists Identify
Smallest Known Black Hole
(1 April 2008) Using a new technique, two
NASA scientists have identified the lightest known black
hole.
Sun
'Focused' Solar Explosions Get Hotter
(2
April 2008) A NASA-funded researcher has discovered that solar flares --
explosions in the atmosphere of the sun -- get much hotter when they stay
"focused."
Hinode: Source Of The Slow Solar
Wind And Superhot Flares
(2 April 2008) A plethora of latest results
from the Hinode solar observatory contains a wealth of new
discoveries.
Old Solar Cycle
Returns
(31 March 2008) Barely three months after forecasters
announced the beginning of the new solar cycle (cycle 24), the old solar cycle
(cycle 23) has returned.
Venus
Venus Express Reboots The Search For Active Volcanoes
On Venus
(4 April 2008) ESA's Venus Express has measured a highly
variable quantity of the volcanic gas sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere of
Venus.
Extra-Solar
Planets
The (Super)WASP Factory Finds 10 New Planets In The
Last 6 Months
(2 April 2008) An international team of astronomers
has found 10 new "extra solar" planets, planets that orbit stars other than our
sun.
Manned
Space
Boeing And Orion Propulsion Sign NASA
Mentor-Protégé Agreement
(31 March 2008) The Boeing
Company and Orion Propulsion Inc. (OPI) have signed a government-sponsored
Mentor-Protégé agreement to work together on NASA's Ares I
rocket, which will transport astronauts into space after the space shuttle
retires.
Canadian Space Agency Is Recruiting
For New Astronauts
(31 March 2008) The Honourable Jim Prentice,
Minister of Industry Canada and the Minister responsible for the Canadian Space
Agency (CSA), announced at the Agency headquarters today that the CSA will
begin a national astronaut recruitment campaign at the end of May 2008, to
select astronauts to join its Canadian Astronaut Corps.
NASA Updates Target Launch Date For Next Space
Shuttle Flight
(31 March 2008) NASA is targeting May 31 as the
launch date for shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission to deliver the large
Japanese Kibo Pressurized Module to the International Space Station.
The LDRA Tool Suite Selected For Orion Crew
Exploration Vehicle Space Program
(31 March 2008) Lockheed Martin
Corporation (LMCO) has selected the LDRA tool suite to enable developers on the
Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) program to achieve its software
development goals.
Manned Space -
ATV
Jules Verne ATV Demonstration Day 1 Sequence Of
Events
(29 March 2008) Today, mission controllers at ESA's ATV
Control Centre in Toulouse, France, will pace Jules Verne through a crucial
series of manoeuvres designed to demonstrate the vessel's navigation
capabilities.
Jules Verne ATV Demonstration
Day 2 Sequence Of Events
(31 March 2008) Today, mission controllers
at ESA's ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France, will pace Jules Verne through
a second day of crucial manoeuvres designed to demonstrate the vessel's
navigation capabilities.
Jules Verne ATV
Given 'Go' For Docking
(2 April 2008) Jules Verne was today formally
cleared to proceed with the first ISS docking attempt, scheduled for 3 April
2008 at 16:41 CEST (14:41 UT).
Europe's
Automated Ship Docks To The ISS
(3 April 2008) ATV Jules Verne, the
European Space Agency's first resupply and reboost vehicle, has successfully
performed a fully automated docking with the International Space Station
(ISS).
GMV Plays A Leading Role In The
European Space Race
(2 April 2008) The Jules Verne ATV, the biggest
cargo-carrying space vehicle ever developed in Europe, successfully launched on
March 9 from Europe's Kourou space centre in French Guiana, is programmed to
dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on April 3.
Thales Alenia Space Technologies Participate To ATV
Docking
(3 April 2008) On April 3rd, the ATV Jules Verne will dock
to the International Space Station (ISS), representing a new era in European
space activities.
Space
Tourism
Environmental Tectonics Corporation's NASTAR Center
Sends Ninety-Six Space Cruise Participants To Space
(31 March 2008)
Environmental Tectonics Corporation announced today that its NASTAR Center will
provide a 2-day space training experience in Philadelphia for 96 participants
attending Space Cruise Week in April 2009.
Technology
Data Interchange Language For
Antenna Modelling
(1 April 2008) The development and increasing use
of electromagnetic modelling in antenna design has led to a need for a common
way to exchange data between the various software tools available in this
field.
Superconductors To Provide New Levels
Of Stability And Control In Large Structures And Satellite Formations In
Space
(2 April 2008) By taking advantage of the surprising physics
of magnetic flux pinning, spacecraft components could hover a fraction of an
inch to several feet apart without electrical power.
Launch Services
Arianespace Takes Delivery Of
Another Heavy-Lift Ariane 5
(2 April 2008) The Ariane 5 for
Arianespace's next dual-satellite mission has moved to the Spaceport's Final
Assembly Building, marking delivery of the second workhorse launcher in
2008.
Successful Qualification Firing Test
For Zefiro 23
(31 March 2008) On 27 March 2008, the second stage
motor for Vega - Europe's new small launcher - successfully completed a static
firing test at the Salto Di Quirra Inter-force Test Range in Sardinia,
Italy.
The Third Ariane 5 Launcher Of 2008
Arrives In French Guiana
(4 April 2008) The Spaceport has received
another Ariane 5 as Arianespace maintains its sustained mission pace for
2008.
U.S. Air Force Awards United Launch
Alliance MUOS Satellite Launch
(3 April 2008) The U.S. Air Force
Space and Missile Systems Center awarded United Launch Alliance a contract
modification to perform the launch services for the U.S. Navy's first Mobile
User Objective System (MUOS) satellite aboard an Atlas V Evolved Expendable
Launch Vehicle.
Vinasat-1 Is Readied For
Arianespace's Second Ariane 5 Mission Of 2008
(31 March 2008) The
Vinasat-1 payload for Arianespace's upcoming dual-passenger Ariane 5 mission
has been fuelled at the Spaceport in French Guiana, marking a key milestone in
its pre-launch preparations.
Launches
Launch
Schedule
Reports
Maritime And Aeronautical Broadband Will Drive Growth
In Mobile Satellite Services, New Report Claims
(1 April 2008)
Telecom, Media and Finance Associates, Inc. (TMF Associates), the specialist
Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) consulting firm, today released its latest
research report on developments in the mobile satellite
market.
Business
Gilat Satellite Networks Announces The Signing Of An
Agreement To Be Acquired For An Aggregate Value Of US$ 475 Million In An
All-Cash Transaction By An American And Israeli Investment Group
(31
March 2008) Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. ("Gilat"), a leading global provider
of products and services for satellite-based communications networks, today
announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement for the
Company to be acquired by a consortium of private equity investors that
includes The Gores Group LLC, Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd., companies
affiliated with Roy Ben-Yami, Ami Lustig and Eytan Stibbe and DGB Investments,
Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately US$ 475 million.
Orbcomm Acquires Significant Stake In Orbcomm
Japan
(1 April 2008) Orbcomm Inc., a global satellite data
communications company focused on providing two way Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
solutions communications, today announced that it has completed the acquisition
of a 37% stake in Orbcomm Japan Ltd., Orbcomm's representative in Japan and the
owner of a gateway earth station (GES) in Japan, through its wholly owned
subsidiary, Orbcomm LLC.
Products
and Services
EB, TerreStar Networks Showcase First-Ever Dual-Mode
Satellite-Terrestrial HSPA Handset Reference Design
(2 April 2008)
EB, a technology powerhouse with more than 20 years experience in solutions for
wireless and automotive industries, and TerreStar Networks, a North American
wholesale operator of the first all-IP integrated satellite and terrestrial
communications network, are showcasing the first-ever dual-mode
satellite-terrestrial HSPA reference design handset in a PDA form
factor.
RT Logic Announces Seamless Channel
Simulator Integration With AGI's STK Analysis Software
(4 April
2008) RT Logic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Integral Systems, Inc., today
announced seamless integration between its state-of-the-art T400CS Channel
Simulator and the powerful STK analysis software from Analytical Graphics, Inc.
(AGI).
Training
Hawaii Pacific Teleport To launch Satellite
Communications Appreciation Courses In Paradise
(3 April 2008) On a
recent sunny morning a satellite news gathering truck pulled on to a beach a
few miles west of Honolulu Airport followed by a film crew.
People
Globecomm Systems Names Bill Raney Senior VP Sales
And Marketing
(1 April 2008) Globecomm Systems Inc., a leading
provider of satellite-based communications infrastructure solutions and
services on a global basis, announced today that the Company has named Bill
Raney as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, of Globecomm
Systems.
