January 2015

Boeing tests two 702SP satellites in a stacked configuration in preparation for a conjoined satellite launch. Photo: Boeing. [Via Satellite 01-12-2015] Boeing has completed production of two all-electric propulsion satellites: the ABS 3A satellite for Asia Broadcast Satellite and the Eutelsat 115 West B satellite for Eutelsat. The Boeing 702SP (small platform) satellites have a…

General Dynamics’ PRC-155 two-channel Manpack radio keeps soldiers cyber-defended and connected to the Soldier’s Network. Photo: General Dynamics [Via Satellite 01-12-2015] General Dynamics Mission Systems and Rockwell Collins have shipped more than 1,200 AN/PRC-155 radios for a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract with the U.S. government. According to the companies, the PRC-155 is now…

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with the Dragon capsule to deliver supplies, experiments and satellites to the International Space Station (ISS) on Jan. 10. Photo: SpaceX [Via Satellite 01-12-2015] A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon capsule launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. at 4:47 a.m. EST headed to the International Space Station (ISS)…

Tata Sky 4K STB. Photo: Tata Sky. [Via Satellite 01-12-2015] Direct-To-Home (DTH) TV operator Tata Sky has launched its first 4K Set Top Box (STB) in India, in preparation for the upcoming cricket matches to be broadcast in Ultra-HD. Apart from relaying 4K content, the box will also showcase Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition…

Artist rendition of the search for exoplanetary systems. Photo: ESA/C. Carreau [Via Satellite 01-12-2015] The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Thales Alenia Space for one of the three phase B1 studies of the Planetary Transits and Oscillation of Stars (PLATO) program, part of ESA’s Cosmic Vision 2015-25. The main purpose of the PLATO mission,…

Dave Davis, CEO of Global Eagle Entertainment. Photo: Row 44 [Via Satellite 01-09-2015] In-Flight entertainment and connectivity provider Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) is not worried that burgeoning demand for In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) services will cannibalize the more established world of traditional content, Dave Davis, CEO of GEE said at the Citi Internet, Media & Telecommunications…

Cape Canaveral. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 01-09-2015] The U.S. Air Force has awarded a potential multi-billion-dollar contract to a joint venture between Raytheon and General Dynamics. Under the contract, the joint venture, called Range Generation Next (RGNext), will be required to operate, maintain, and sustain launch ranges at Florida’s Space Coast and Vandenberg Air Force…

CEA engineers working on the Cherenkov Telescope Array. Photo: CEA [Via Satellite 01-09-2015] CNES, the French space agency, and CEA, the French atomic energy and alternative energies commission, have signed a new framework research agreement to step up cooperation between the two agencies in science and technology. Under the new agreement, priority fields of research…

Photo: Ted Eytan (Flickr) [Via Satellite 01-09-2015] SiriusXM reached 27.3 million subscribers in 2014, adding more subscribers than anticipated based on the company’s guidance. In 2014 SiriusXM gained 1.75 million net subscriber additions, having originally anticipated 1.5 million. The company had 1.44 million self-pay net additions, again surpassing the expected guidance of 1.25 million and…

Com Dev HTS components. Photo: Com Dev [Via Satellite 01-09-2015] Com Dev has announced an expansion to an October 2014 contract to provide Ku-band equipment for a communications High Throughput Satellite (HTS). The expansion calls for additional multiplexers, switches and ancillary equipment orders for an approximate added value of $7 million, bringing the total contract…