News on key developments at SupremeSAT, and general news on the Space and Satellite industry from across the web
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, one of the top new markets for satellite pay-TV according to Euroconsult. Photo: Adam Cohn [Via Satellite 12-04-2014] New research by Euroconsult pegs emerging markets as the source of the majority of satellite pay-TV growth. According to the research and consulting firm’s “Satellite Pay-TV: Key Economics & Prospects” report,…
A Thuraya XT handset user. Photo: Thuraya [Via Satellite 12-04-2014] Thuraya has donated several satellite phones to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to better equip relief workers and first responders for emergencies. The company provided Thuraya XT handsets, which are water resistant, shockproof, work with the antenna stowed away, and can be charged with a…
A Gilat SkyEdge 2-c Hub. Photo: Gilat [Via Satellite 12-04-2014] Azercosmos has signed an agreement with Gilat Satellite Networks to use the SkyEdge 2-c network to provide multi-application satellite managed services on Azerspace 1. The SkyEdge 2-c system uses enhanced forward channel technology to increase second generation Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite (DVB-S2) bandwidth efficiency,…
[Via Satellite 12-04-2014] Communications and Power Industries (CPI) Radant Technologies Division has received a $6 million follow-on order for radomes and reflectors designed for shipboard satellite communications. The radomes are for a military satcom program for which CPI Radant Technologies has received more than $45 million in orders. CPI’s military customer is using the radomes…
Council Meeting at the Ministerial Level. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 12-03-2014] Describing the move as near revolutionary, Jean Jacques Dordain, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), said the agency is changing the governance arrangements of Europe’s next generation launchers letting industry take the lead. ESA member states made several key decisions on the…
The Sikorsky S-92 helicopter. Photo: Bristow Helicopters [Via Satellite 12-03-2014] Bristow Helicopters has selected Iridium’s OpenPort service to provide satellite broadband through Thales’ LiveAero product for its Sikorsky S-92 helicopters. The rotorcraft, which are purposed for search and rescue missions, will now allow emergency responders on board to send real-time transmissions of patient vitals to…
Artist rendition of a Galileo satellite in orbit. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 12-03-2014] Broadcom has designed a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) location hub for smartphones that supports Europe’s Galileo constellation. With the inclusion of Galileo, this brings the number of GNSS constellations supported by the Broadcom BCM4774 to five: Galileo, the United States’ Global…
A HughesNet Satellite Dish. Photo: Alan Levine [Via Satellite 12-02-2014] Hughes Network Systems has begun offering broadband plans targeted to Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The new Business Internet (BI) Select and Access plans feature download speeds ranging from 5 Mbps to 15 Mbps. Hughes’ plans all offer its Express Repair Premium and ZoneAlarm services…
Liftoff of the H2A rocket. Photo: JAXA [Via Satellite 12-02-2014] The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have launched the Hayabusa 2 asteroid explorer satellite aboard an H2A rocket. Liftoff occurred on Dec. 3 from the Tanegashima Space Center, and the spacecraft separated on an Earth-escape trajectory after 47 minutes and 21…
A deployed Spectrolab-produced solar wing. Photo: Boeing. [Via Satellite 12-03-2014] Spectrolab, a solar cell company purchased by Boeing in 2000, has manufactured its 4 millionth gallium arsenide-based solar cell for space. Collectively, these cells have powered more than 380 spacecraft flights. Hundreds of spacecraft, as well as the International Space Station (ISS), have used Spectrolab…