January 2015

Orbital Sciences President and CEO David Thompson on the left, and ATK President and CEO Mark DeYoung on the right. Photos: ATK and Orbital Sciences [Via Satellite 01-27-2015] In separate meetings, stockholders from Orbital Sciences and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) voted to approve the merger of Orbital Sciences with ATK’s Aerospace and Defense Group originally announced…

Official launch ceremony of RPO RMTR TV platform with Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Elvira Sarieva (left) and Eutelsat’s David Geiling. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 01-27-2015] With analogue broadcasts switching off in June this year, the Kyrgyz Republic’s public broadcaster RPO RMTR has signed onto the Eutelsat 70B satellite. The multi-year agreement ramps up the…

EDRS-A undergoing thermal vacuum testing. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 01-27-2015] The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed its intention to see the European Data Relay System (EDRS) through to completion. The decision followed meetings between the agency, the European Commission and Airbus. On Jan. 28, ESA and Airbus — the two primary partners for EDRS…

ETL System’s 64 Inputs x 128 Outputs Distributive Hot-swap Part Populated Vulcan L-band Matrix. Photo: ETL Systems [Via Satellite 01-27-2015] United Arab Emirates telecoms operator du has purchased three RF matrices from ETL Systems to add capacity to its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network. The telco has seen an increase in IPTV subscribers as new…

NetHope has set up more than 100 VSATs in West African countries affected by Ebola. Photo: NetHope [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] Gisli Olafsson, emergency response director at NetHope, a consortium of 42 top global humanitarian organizations, has been in West Africa as part of the international response to the Ebola outbreak since October 2014. He has…

SpaceX’s CRS 4 Launch for NASA. Photo: SpaceX [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] SpaceX has closed its lawsuit with the United States Air Force over its $11 billion block buy of launches from Boeing–Lockheed Martin joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA). Through an agreement between the two, the Air Force increased the number of competitive launch services…

A laptop, tablet and smartphone. Devices like these are targeted for this new OTT solution. Photo: Miniyo73 (Flickr) [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] Eutelsat has partnered with Neotion and Broadpeak on a global solution for Free-To-Air (FTA)/secured Over The Top (OTT) services for smartphones, tablets and 4K screens. The solution operates independently from IP infrastructure, making pay-TV…

Africa portion of Amos 5 Ku-band West-Central Beam [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] Spacecom has won a multi-year contract to broadcast Africa Cable TV (ACTV), the newest pay-TV platform in Nigeria, from the Amos 5 satellite. The company will transmit more than 60 channels to Nigerian viewers, including both international and local content, from the satellite’s Ku-1…

Es’hail 1 Ku-band footprint. Photo: Es’hailSat [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] Al Araby Television Network has selected the Es’hail 1 satellite owned by Qatari satellite operator Es’hailSat to broadcast its channel exclusively in HD. The broadcaster is transmitting content over the satellite as of Jan. 25 from London, U.K. to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)…

The AirTRx25 Antenna. Photo: Orbit Communications Systems [Via Satellite 01-26-2015] Orbit Communications Systems announced it has received a substantial contract from a large defense organization in eastern Asia for a satellite communications solution designed for airborne platforms. According to the company, the unnamed buyer has been a longstanding customer, and has used its tracking and telemetry…