August 2015

Basra Industrial Community. Photo: Al-Mi Schwob For Construction [Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Meosat has announced its O3b Networks satellite communications system is live and operational in Southern Iraq. O3b established a multi-year agreement with the company in April this year. Meosat provides network infrastructure for remote oil and gas fields in Southern Iraq. The company’s solution…

Artist rendition of the three Inmarsat GX satellites in orbit. Photo: Inmrsat [Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Inmarsat confirmed that the third satellite in its Global Xpress (GX) program, Inmarsat-5 F3 (I-5 F3), has been scheduled for launch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:44 p.m. (BST) on Friday, Aug. 28. International Launch Services (ILS) will…

The U.S. Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 4) secure communications satellite. Photo: United Launch Alliance (ULA) [Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Lockheed Martin subsidiary Astrotech Space Operations has encapsulated the U.S. Navy’s fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite in its protective launch vehicle fairing ahead of an Aug. 31 launch aboard an Atlas 5…

Pascale Ehrenfreund, new chair of the DLR executive board. Photo: DLR [Via Satellite 08-17-2015] Pascale Ehrenfreund took office as chair of the German Aerospace Center’s (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) executive board on Aug. 17. She begins her leadership role at the DLR, which has approximately 8,000 employees. Ehrenfreund was appointed to a…

Artist’s rendition of Hispasat AG1. Photo: Hispasat [Via Satellite 08-14-2015] German spacecraft manufacturer OHB Systems AG is taking fledgling steps toward greater prominence in building geostationary satellites. Hispasat AG1, the first satellite based on its SmallGEO platform, which was created through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with the European Space Agency (ESA), is nearing a long…

SES and Post Telecom executives signing the ICT agreement. Photo: SES [Via Satellite 08-14-2015] SES’ wholly owned subsidiary SES Techcom Services and Post Luxembourg’s subsidiary Post Telecom, a specialist in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions, have entered a new partnership to develop and introduce smart cloud-based ICT solutions worldwide. Post Telecom offers converged solutions,…

Apache helicopters can leverage Raytheon’s AN/ARC-231 Multi-Mode Communications System. Photo: Mrs Airwolfhound (Flickr) [Via Satellite 08-14-2015] Raytheon has received a $36 million contract from the U.S. Army to fund the certification and testing of an upgrade to the AN/ARC-231 Multi-Mode Communications System. The AN/ARC-231 is a Very High Frequency (VHF)/Ultra High Frequency (UHF) multi-band tactical…

Fly wheels, such as the NASA G2 flywheel module above, are one way to store rotational energy for use by spacecraft or machines on Earth. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 08-14-2014] NASA has selected proposals from Amprius of Sunnyvale, Calif. and the University of Maryland, College Park to study new energy storage technologies. The proposals received…

DLS’ MIDS-LVT terminal. Photo: DLS [Via Satellite 08-14-2015] Data Link Solutions (DLS), a joint venture between Rockwell Collins and BAE Systems, has received an $18.3 million award from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to deliver Multifunctional Information Distribution System Low Volume Terminals (MIDS-LVT) to the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Air…

Goonhilly Earth Station’s (GES) largest antenna, Goonhilly Six, lit up against the backdrop of the summer night sky. Photo: GES [Via Satellite 08-13-2015] The U.K.-based Goonhilly Earth Station is shifting back to prominence in the satellite industry after rebounding from an uncertain fate. The iconic facility, which beamed the very first transatlantic television signals from…