March 2015

Erez Antebi, CEO of Gilat Satellite Networks is stepping down. Photo: Gilat [Via Satellite 03-24-2015] Erez Antebi has decided to step down from the position of CEO of Gilat Satellite Networks. Gilat’s Chairman of the Board Dov Baharav, will assume the position of interim CEO until a new person is appointed. The transition between Baharav…

Artist’s rendition of Africasat 1a. Photo: Orbital Sciences [Via Satellite 03-24-2015] Measat Satellite Systems and iSAT Africa have struck an agreement for capacity on the Africasat 1a satellite. Under the terms of the agreement, iSAT will use the capacity for its new managed services platform launched this month. The platform uses the DVB-S2x technology which,…

Bob Roe, CEO of TrustComm. Photo: TrustComm [Via Satellite 03-13-2015] Satellite service provider TrustComm is in the middle of a number of significant investments aimed at making the company more competitive. A series of partnerships over the past few years has led TrustComm into new markets, resulting in critical infrastructure decisions to further expand in…

An offshore oil rig. Photo: Pixelbay [Via Satellite 03-23-2015] RigNet has signed a two-year contract with an ultra-deep water oil and gas Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel in the Gulf of Mexico for the delivery of managed network communications. The company is providing a fully managed end-to-end IP network solution for the facility,…

Austin, the capital city of Texas. Photo: Jims_photos (Flickr) [Via Satellite 03-23-2015] The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) has awarded Hughes Network Systems a two-year Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with two optional one-year extensions for data communications and networking equipment and related services. Hughes is contracted to provide end-to-end solutions for localized…

The ProView 7100. Photo: Harmonic [Via Satellite 03-23-2015] Harmonic has improved the ProView 7100, a single-rack, multi-format Integrated Receiver-Decoder (IRD) to support High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) for Ultra-HD video content. The device enables the decoding of HEVC compressed streams at resolutions up to 1080p, 60 fps to boost bandwidth efficiency. Using a high-density 1RU…

Photo: Skype [Via Satellite 03-23-2015] Inmarsat has certified and approved Quicklink Video Distribution Services’ solution for converting Skype calls into a professional quality video/audio signal, Quicklink TX. Through Inmarsat’s Certified Applications Program (CAP), the solution is now permitted to run over the company’s Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). Quicklink TX is a fully integrated hardware and…

An Angara rocket being transported to launch. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense [Via Satellite 03-20-2015] In a press conference at SATELLITE 2015 for International Launch Services (ILS), the U.S. subsidiary of Russia’s Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center, Andrey Vladimirovich Kalinovsky, the acting director of Khrunichev, discussed the imminent switchover from the Proton launch…

3D-printed structural bracket for Eurostar spacecraft. Photo: Airbus Defence and Space [Via Satellite 03-20-2015] 3T RPD, a pioneering U.K.-based additive manufacturing company, completed an Aluminum Additive Layer Manufactured (ALM) bracket for Airbus Defence and Space. The space-qualified 3-D printed component is the first of its kind following a two-year Research and Development (R&D) program with…

Proton carrying the Express AM7 satellite to orbit. Photo: Roscosmos [Via Satellite 03-20-2015] At 1:05 a.m. March 19 Moscow time a federal Proton Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV) carried the Russian Satellite Communications Company’s (RSCC’s) Express AM7 satellite to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). Airbus Defence and Space, manufacturer of the satellite, has control of Express AM7…