News & Events

Ali Al Kuwari. Photo: Es’hailSat [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Last month Es’hailSat celebrated the one-year anniversary of its first satellite, Es’hail 1. After entering service on Dec. 18, 2013, the Es’hailSat satellite saw extensive use from beIN Sports for transmitting the 2014 FIFA World Cup from Brazil. Es’hailSat supported the only Free-to-Air (FTA) broadcasting in the…

Ariane 5 on launch pad. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] SES has selected Arianespace to launch the all-electric SES 12 satellite aboard an Ariane 5 rocket in late 2017. The mission will be the 40th SES satellite to launch aboard an Ariane vehicle. Currently under construction by Airbus Defence and Space, SES 12 is a…

Docks on the coast of Port Moresby. Photo: Kahunapule Michael Johnson [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] SpeedCast International has entered an agreement with O3b Networks to use its satellites to provide high throughput, low latency services to Papua New Guinea. O3b’s network of Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites will support voice and data services with latency of…

Photo: Gasprom Space Systems. [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Monaco-based telecom services integrator and operator Sonema is leasing capacity from Gazprom Space System’s Yamal 402 satellite for telecommunications services in Africa. The company is using satellite capacity to serve banking and oil and gas customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Burkina Faso. Sonema owns…

A Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) truck. Photo: Michael Meinhardt [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Advantech Wireless has received orders for its redundant/phase 250W/500W Extended Ku-Band SapphireBlu Gallium Nitride (GaN) based Solid State Power Amplifier (SSPA) solution totaling more than $1 million. The orders are for customers in the Satellite News-Gathering (SNG) industry. The extended Ku-band SapphireBlu GaN based…

DataMiner Network Management.Photo: Skyline Communications [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Mobile Telesystems (MTS) has selected Skyline Communications’ DataMiner end-to-end, multi-vendor network management platform to monitor and control the equipment at the company’s Moscow, Russia-based satellite Earth station. The DataMiner solution for MTS provides fully unified remote monitoring and control of all system components, as well as fault…

SpaceX haedquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. Photo: SpaceX [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Google and Fidelity have confirmed an investment of approximately $1 billion in SpaceX, powering the second large-scale Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications constellation announced in a mere five days. Together the two new investors own slightly less than 10 percent of SpaceX — a…

Global XpressPhoto: Inmarsat [Via Satellite 01-20-2015] Inmarsat Government has executed a service provider agreement with Globecomm Systems to supply Inmarsat Global Xpress service in support of U.S. government customers. Under the deal, Globecomm will offer comprehensive solutions involving network services, system integration, and end-user products and applications enabling a complete end-to-end solution for these customers. Inmarsat’s…

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket carrying the third Mobile User Objective System satellite. Photo: ULA [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched the third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS 3) satellite for the U.S. Navy on Jan. 20 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. The next-gen narrowband tactical communications satellite weighed…

Two Planet Labs satellites, known as Doves, deployed from the ISS. Photo: NanoRacks [Via Satellite 01-21-2015] Planet Labs, operator of a constellation of 73 small Earth observation satellites, has completed the first closing of the majority of its $70 million Series C round which, led by Data Collective, garnered support from both new and existing…