October 2014

Intelsat’s new McLean, Va. headquarters. Photo: Intelsat [Via Satellite 10-30-2014] Intelsat reported its total revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2014 at $608.6 million. The company’s Earnings Before net Interest, Taxes and Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $477.8 million, or 79 percent of revenue, and adjusted EBITDA was $485.3 million, or 80 percent…

An ATM machine in India. Photo: chocogato (Flickr) [Via Satellite 10-30-2014] Hughes Network Systems subsidiary Hughes Communications India Limited (HCIL) has now connected more than 12,000 off-site ATMs and rural bank branches in India. The company received contracts totaling close to $5 million from eight different banks throughout the country. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi…

Screen capture of the Oct. 28 Antares explosion. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] An Orbital Sciences Antares rocket suffered a launch failure at 6:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Oct. 28. The mission, the third of eight in the company’s $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply (CRS) contract with NASA, was carrying 2215 kg of cargo,…

Arianespace’s Vega rocket. Photo: Arianespace [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Arianespace has signed a contract with Italian manufacturer European Launch Vehicle (ELV) for 10 Vega rockets. The order will supply enough of the light-lift launcher to fulfill Arianespace’s small- to medium-sized satellite missions for more than three years. The first of the new orders is set to…

Digital rendering of the Amazonas 2 satellite. Photo: Hispasat [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Satcom Digital Networks has reached a multi-year agreement with Hispamar, the Brazilian arm of the Hispasat Group, to extend services on the Amazonas 2 spacecraft located at 61 degrees west. Satcom Digital will use capacity on the satellite to serve customers in the…

a 3-D printed antenna support. Photo: RUAG Space [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Using additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, RUAG Space, in collaboration with Altair, has produced an antenna support. EOS, a German specialist for industrial 3-D printing, finished the product, which was designed using Altair software. The 3-D printed antenna support is similar to the one…

The ELSAT 2100 SOTM. Photo: Elbit Systems [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Rheinmetall Canada has awarded Elbit Systems a contract for ELSAT 2100 Satellite-on-the-Move (SOTM) systems that will be provided to the Canadian Armed Forces. The ELSAT 2100 SOTM system is used for high data rate broadband communications and is ruggedized for harsh environments. Elbit Systems said…

Orbcomm’s GT1100 asset tracking device. Photo: Orbcomm [Via Satellite 10-29-2014] Orbcomm, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions provider, has received an order for 16,000 GT 1100 trailer tracking and monitoring devices. The order came from one of the largest retail fleets in the United States. The customer will use the dual-mode GT 1100 solution to track dry…

High Definition content is driving pay-TV worldwide. Photo: a Sony HDTV [Via Satellite 10-26-2014] The number of pay-TV subscribers is expected to reach 1.1 billion worldwide by 2019, according to ABI Research. Growth in this sector has not been easy as competition from online services increasingly chips away would-be subscribers. Alternative viewing options such as…

O3b Networks’ satellites being moved for the VS08 launch. Photo: O3b Networks [Via Satellite 10-28-2014] O3b Networks’ next four satellites have been fast tracked from a 2015 launch date to Dec. 18, 2014. The earlier launch date follows the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) decision to delay the launch of the next two Galileo navigation satellites.…