6 January 2008
Satcoms
Globecomm Systems Awarded
Service Contract Renewal From A Major U.S. Government Prime
Contractor
Iridium Granted International
Approval to Offer Satellite Air Traffic Safety Services
Orbcomm Announces 2007 Net Additions Of More Than
126,000 Billable Subscriber Communicators
RASCOM-QAF1's Launch Early Operation Procedures
Have Been stopped
Broadcast
Sirius Exceeds 8.3 Million
Subscribers
Earth
Observation
DigitalGlobe Announces General Availability Of
Worldview-1 Imagery
Military
Space
Comtech Telecommunications Receives US$ 17.7M
Orders For Satellite Communications
Stars
White Dwarf Pulses Like A
Pulsar
Moon
Spacedev To Develop Payload For International Lunar
Observatory
Saturn
Hot Cyclones Churn At Both Ends Of
Saturn
Comets
Stardust Formed Close To Sun
U Of M Physicist Reads The History Of The Solar
System In Grains Of Comet Dust
Extra-Solar Planets
Astronomers From Heidelberg
Discover Planet In A Dusty Disk Around A Newborn Star
Red Dust in Planet-Forming Disk May Harbour
Precursors to Life
Microgravity
NASA Awards Contract For Microgravity Aircraft
Services
Zero Gravity Corporation Wins
NASA Contract To Provide Parabolic (Weightless) Flights For Research And
Personnel Training
Technology
Purdue Wind Tunnel Key For 'Hypersonic Vehicles,'
Future Space Planes
Launch
Services
Ariane 5's Automated Transfer Vehicle Payload Is
Positioned For Its Fuelling Operations
Launches
Launch
Schedule
Business
Globalstar Signs Agreement To Acquire Brazilian
Satellite Gateway Operator And Service Provider
Hughes Announces Agreement To Acquire Helius,
Inc.
Worldspace Satellite Radio Secures
US$ 40 Million Financing Facility
Products and Services
Broadcom Announces High Definition
PVR Satellite System-On-A-Chip Solution For Direct Broadcast Satellite Set-Top
Boxes
People
NASA Names Clyde Jones Chief Operating Officer At
Michoud
Norsat Appoints Eugene Syho As
Chief Financial Officer
Satcoms
Globecomm Systems
Awarded Service Contract Renewal From A Major U.S. Government Prime
Contractor
(2 January 2008) Globecomm Systems Inc., a leading
provider of satellite-based communications infrastructure solutions and
services on a global basis, today announced that the Company's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Globecomm Services Maryland (GSM), has been awarded a service
contract renewal from a major U.S. Government prime contractor valued at up to
US$ 42.4 million over four years, if all options are exercised.
Iridium Granted International Approval to Offer
Satellite Air Traffic Safety Services
(3 January 2008) The
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council approved standards and
recommended practices that will permit Iridium Satellite to provide
Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Services (AMS S) for commercial aircraft
on transoceanic flights.
Orbcomm Announces
2007 Net Additions Of More Than 126,000 Billable Subscriber
Communicators
(4 January 2008) Orbcomm Inc., a global satellite data
communications company focused on two-way Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
communications, today announced net additions of more than 126,000 billable
subscriber communicators for 2007, within the range of its full year
guidance.
RASCOM-QAF1's Launch Early
Operation Procedures Have Been stopped
(3 January 2008) Thales
Alenia Space announced today that RASCOM-QAF1's Launch Early Operation
Procedures have been stopped due to a leakage of the Helium
sub-system.
Broadcast
Sirius Exceeds 8.3 Million
Subscribers
(3 January 2008) Sirius Satellite Radio today announced
that it ended 2007 with 8,321,785 subscribers, up from the company's 2006
ending subscriber base of 6,024,555.
Earth Observation
DigitalGlobe Announces General
Availability Of Worldview-1 Imagery
(3 January 2008) DigitalGlobe,
provider of the world's highest-resolution commercial satellite imagery and
geospatial information products, today announced that WorldView-1 has reached
Full Operating Capability for all customers.
Military Space
Comtech Telecommunications Receives US$ 17.7M
Orders For Satellite Communications
(4 January 2008) Comtech
Telecommunications Corp. announced today that its Maryland-based subsidiary,
Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation, received orders totalling US$ 17.7 million
under its IDIQ contract with the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command
(CECOM).
Stars
White Dwarf Pulses Like
A Pulsar
(2 January 2008) New observations from Suzaku, a joint
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA X-ray observatory, has
challenged scientists' conventional understanding of white
dwarfs.
Moon
Spacedev To Develop
Payload For International Lunar Observatory
(2 January 2008)
SpaceDev, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract by the
International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) of Hawaii to conduct
requirements definition and preliminary design of the ILO spacecraft's
astrophysics and communications payload.
Saturn
Hot Cyclones Churn At Both Ends Of
Saturn
(3 January 2008) Despite more than a decade of winter
darkness, Saturn's north pole is home to an unexpected hot spot remarkably
similar to one at the planet's sunny south pole.
Comets
Stardust Formed Close To Sun
(4 January
2008) Samples of the material picked up during the NASA Stardust mission
indicate that parts of the comet Wild 2 actually formed in an area close to the
sun.
U Of M Physicist Reads The History Of
The Solar System In Grains Of Comet Dust
(3 January 2008) Four years
ago, NASA's Stardust spacecraft chased down a comet and collected grains of
dust blowing off its nucleus.
Extra-Solar Planets
Astronomers From Heidelberg
Discover Planet In A Dusty Disk Around A Newborn Star
(3 January
2008) Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg have
discovered the youngest known extrasolar planet.
Red Dust in Planet-Forming Disk May Harbour
Precursors to Life
(3 January 2008) Astronomers at the Carnegie
Institution have found the first indications of highly complex organic
molecules in the disk of red dust surrounding a distant
star.
Microgravity
NASA Awards Contract For Microgravity Aircraft
Services
(2 January 2008) NASA has awarded a contract to Zero
Gravity Corporation of Las Vegas to manage and operate an aircraft to perform
reduced gravity parabolic flights while carrying NASA-operated experiments and
personnel.
Zero Gravity Corporation Wins
NASA Contract To Provide Parabolic (Weightless) Flights For Research And
Personnel Training
(3 January 2008) NASA has chosen Zero Gravity
Corporation (ZERO-G ), the first and only FAA-approved provider of commercial
weightless flights, to manage and operate an aircraft to perform parabolic
flights for NASA-operated experiments and personnel.
Technology
Purdue Wind Tunnel Key For
'Hypersonic Vehicles,' Future Space Planes
(3 January 2008) By using
the only wind tunnel capable of running quietly at "hypersonic" speeds, Purdue
University engineers have conducted experiments to yield critical data for
designing an advanced aircraft called the X-51A, powered by engines called
scramjets.
Launch
Services
Ariane 5's Automated Transfer Vehicle Payload Is
Positioned For Its Fuelling Operations
(4 January 2008) The
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) - which is Ariane 5's first human-rated
spacecraft passenger - is ready for fuelling following its relocation within
the Spaceport's S5 payload preparation facility yesterday
afternoon.
Launches
Launch
Schedule
Business
Globalstar Signs Agreement To Acquire Brazilian
Satellite Gateway Operator And Service Provider
(2 January 2008)
Globalstar, Inc., a leading provider of mobile satellite voice and data
services to businesses, governments, and individuals, today announced that it
has signed an agreement with Loral Space & Communications Inc. and various
affiliated entities to purchase the Brazilian Globalstar independent gateway
operator, which owns and operates three satellite gateway ground stations in
Brazil.
Hughes Announces Agreement To
Acquire Helius, Inc.
(4 January 2008) Hughes Communications, Inc.,
the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and a leading
broadband managed network services provider, announced today that it has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Helius, Inc., a portfolio
company of Canopy Ventures.
Worldspace
Satellite Radio Secures US$ 40 Million Financing Facility
(2 January
2008) Worldspace Satellite Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based
digital radio services, today announced it has secured a financing facility for
up to US$ 40 million of subordinated financing effective immediately, from
Yenura Pte. Ltd., a company controlled by Mr. Noah Samara, chairman and CEO of
Worldspace.
Products and
Services
Broadcom Announces High Definition PVR Satellite
System-On-A-Chip Solution For Direct Broadcast Satellite Set-Top
Boxes
(3 January 2008) Broadcom Corporation, a global leader in
semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced a new
single-chip, multi-format high definition (HD) satellite set-top box solution
that enables manufacturers to develop low cost satellite set-top boxes (STBs)
with personal video recorder (PVR) functionality.
People
NASA Names Clyde Jones Chief Operating Officer At
Michoud
(3 January 2008) Clyde S. "Chip" Jones has been appointed
chief operating officer for Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
Norsat Appoints Eugene Syho As Chief Financial
Officer
(31 December 2007) Norsat International Inc., a leading
provider of intelligent satellite solutions, today announced that Eugene G.
Syho has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the company, effective
January 21, 2008.
