December 2015

An Arqiva satellite dish. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 12-09-2015] U.K.-based Arqiva has entered a multi-year commitment with Eutelsat Communications for a 15th transponder at the 28 degrees east video neighborhood to serve the country’s Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting market. The additional transponder will support the significant growth in HD channels operating on the Sky and Freesat…

Pekka Laurila, CFO (left), and Rafal Modrzewski, CEO (right), co-founders of Iceye. Photo: Iceye [Via Satellite 12-08-2015] Iceye, a Finland-based satellite startup, is designing a constellation of radar microsatellites that it anticipates will be more than 100 times less costly to produce than comparable larger spacecraft. The company recently raised $2.8 million in Series A…

An onshore oil rig. Photo: jbdodane (Flickr) [Via Satellite 12-08-2015] RigNet has been awarded a new master services agreement to deliver communications systems and infrastructure for multiple land drilling and well completion sites in the continental United States and Western Canada. The scope of work includes the installation and management of mission-critical communications and data infrastructure…

A satellite dish. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 12-08-2015] Eutelsat Americas has received a multiyear contract from StarTV, the commercial platform of Stargroup, for capacity on Eutelsat 117 West A and Eutelsat 117 West B. Stargroup purchased the capacity to support the launch of its new Direct-to-Home (DTH) pay-TV service in Mexico. The new platform will…

NSSLGlobal headquarters. Photo: NSSLGlobal [Via Satellite 12-08-2015] Inmarsat has signed an agreement with NSSLGlobal, appointing the company as a Global Xpress (GX) Value Added Reseller (VAR) for enterprise customers. Already appointed as a GX VAR for the maritime and government markets, NSSLGlobal will now also be offering GX services to its customers in media, mining,…

Michael Herrera, the 4,000th Spot rescue, and his wife. Photo: Globalstar [Via Satellite 12-08-2015] Globalstar subsidiary Spot has initiated 4,000 rescues around the world through its Spot family of products since launching in 2007. Spot devices provide location-based messaging and life-saving emergency notification technology to hundreds of thousands of users independent of cellular coverage, and…

Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of Export-Import Bank. Photo: Ex-Im Bank. [Via Satellite 12-07-2015] The United States government has restored the Export Import Bank of America (Ex-Im Bank) with the recent passage of the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act,” which President Obama signed on Dec. 4. The legislation, focused primarily on transportation infrastructure such…

The BT Tower. Photo: Graham C99 (Flickr) [Via Satellite 12-07-2015] BT has signed a new contract with Avanti Communications to include the operator’s satellite communications as part of BT’s supply of wholesale consumer broadband services. These services will be sold to consumers in the U.K. through a network of satellite resellers under the auspices of…

RSCC’s Express AM8 satellite. Photo: ISS-Reshetnev [Via Satellite 12-07-2015] The Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC) has signed a new contract on its latest satellite, Express AM8, from European service provider Castor Networks. The company plans to use the new satellite capacity to expand its business in the maritime industry and support existing contracts with private…

Digital rendering of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft. Photo: Thales Alenia Space [Via Satellite 12-07-2015] Orbital ATK competed its fourth Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA Dec. 6 using an upgraded Cygnus spacecraft launched by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket. Carrying 3,500 kilograms of cargo for the crew aboard the International Space…