Really Rocket Science blogs

WBMSAT Satellite Industry News Bits for November 13, 2009

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:46:57 -0800

Dutch Space signs contract with Orbital Sciences for development of solar arrays for NASA's new cargo missions to the International Space Station to be carried out under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service project.
[SatNews - 11/13/2009]

Iridium reports increased EBITDA of 28.4% for third quarter, and decrease of 11.2% in net income due to acquisition related expenses - net income would otherwise have increased 36%.
[SatNews - 11/13/2009]

GlobeCast opens fibre POP in Moscow, expanding its nexgen global fibre network.
[SatNews - 11/13/2009]

General Dynamics is awarded $22.2M contract from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to support the Naval Integrated Tactical Environmental System Next Generation program.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

GeoEye revenue surges 123%, while profits drop due to loss of tax break.
[Satellite Today - 11/12/2009]

Fastwave Communications receives contract from Chevron Australia Pty Ltd to supply water quality monitoring system for Gorgon offshore gas project using Iridium satellite data links.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

Intelsat signs multi-year agreement with Corporate Satellite Communications for Intelsat's Network Broadband Global Maritime service.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

Stratos Global deploys the Inmarsat FleetBroadband mobile broadband satellite service for MPC Steamship, a fast-growing commercial shipping company.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

MYtv contracts with Intelsat for capacity it owns on Telenor Satellite Broadcasting's Thor 6 satellite to deliver DTH content to Ukrainian audiences.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

International Launch Services and SIRIUS XM contract for launch of XM-5 satellite on the ILS Proton in 2010.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

Sea Launch seeks financing following approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Court, and plans for launch of Intelsat 15 from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan later this month.
[SatNews - 11/12/2009]

Lockheed readies Intelsat 14 for launch on Saturday, November 14.
[CNN Money - 11/11/2009]

Italian company Carlo Gavazzi Space denies Iranian government's claim that it would use Italy to launch a satellite partially built by the company.
[Google Hosted Associated Press - 11/11/2009]

Gilat issues statement labeling lawsuit against it by Israeli shareholders over failure of March 2008 planned merger outlandish and without merit.
[CNN Money - 11/12/2009]

Broadband stimulus program to be streamlined by USDA's Rural Utilities Service and National Telecommunications and Information Administration to allocate remaining funding of about $3.2B of loans and grants in just one round.
[CED Magazine - 11/11/2009]

Norway will invest $214M in Spanish satellite in plan to improve communications with Norwegian defense forces deployed in Afghanistan and Chad as well as naval units on international missions.
[Satellite Today - 11/11/2009]

Globecomm Systems is awarded $17.7M contract from U.S. Government Agency to provide global SATCOM On-The-Move communications program management and services, integrating Soldier Node Extension Prophet Satellite Terminals in a hub-spoke and mesh architecture.
[RFP Connect - 11/11/2009]

Iridium is awarded $9.7M contract from U.S. Department of Defense to supply tactical communications radio-only devices to U.S. military.
[Satellite Today - 11/11/2009]

Gilat Satcom signs multiple renewal, expansion agreements with Intelsat in Africa to increase and enhance domestic networks and broadband services there.
[Satellite Today - 11/11/2009]

Soyuz rocket blasts off from Kazakhstan with Poisk module, a docking port and astronaut airlock for International Space Station.
[Spaceflight Now - 11/10/2009]

Satellite operators Qualcomm and Skyterra lobby FCC for more spectrum to support mobile data services utilizing ancillary terrestrial component (ATC).
[Business Week - 11/10/2009]

Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications data showing that Verizon added 81,000 FIOS subscribers in that state last year demonstrates how it takes share from cable and satellite providers, according to a senior analyst at Bernstein Research.
[Telephony OnLine - 11/10/2009]

Asian government defense agency selects Gilat Satellite Networks to deliver turnkey broadband communications solution.
[TMCnet - 11/10/2009]

Comtech receives $1.2M order for satellite modems to support cellular backhaul in Africa.
[CNN Money - 11/10/2009]

Intelsat reports net loss of $94.3M for three months ended September 30, 2009.
[SatNews - 11/10/2009]

Loral Space & Communications announces third quarter Adjusted EBITDA more than double that of a year ago.
[SatNews - 11/10/2009]

NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Project offers real-time HDTV movies of the Atlantic and Pacific "hurricane alley" regions.
[Eurekalert - 11/09/2009]

Satlynx and Arabsat team up to deliver fully redundant satellite network for Central Bank of Iraq.
[SatNews - 11/09/2009]

Space War With China; Northrop to Sell TASC; Iran to Launch Spy Satellite.
[got geoint? - 11/09/2009]

Harris completes milestone review for GOES-R satellite ground segment contract in a NOAA program that will process 40 times more data than possible today, and serve 10,000 direct users.
[CNN Money - 11/09/2009]

Inmarsat 3Q net profit is up 34%.
[Wall Street Journal - 11/09/2009]

Vimicro International Corporation, a leading multimedia semiconductor and solution provider, announces strategic development partnership with China Satellite Mobile Broadcasting Corporation to develop new technology for mobile TV.
[CNN Money - 11/09/2009]

The US and European space agencies have signed the "letter of intent" that ties together their Mars programmes.
[BBC - 11/08/2009]

China will launch a French-made communications satellite, APSTAR-7, for the Hong Kong-based APT Satellite Holding Limited in the first half of 2012.
[China Daily - 11/08/2009]

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. sells its subsidiary Mabuhay Satellite Corp to Asia Broadcast Holdings Litd, a Bermuda company engaged in the satellite business.
[Business Mirror - 11/08/2009]

A pan-European student built mission to the Moon will be managed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. following its selection by the European Space Agency.
[Space Ref - 11/07/2009]

South Korea will launch its first weather-communications satellite in March 2010.
[The Korea Times - 11/07/2009]

German service provider atrexx offers solution to customers locked into long term capacity leases and customers who are unable to find satellite capacity.
[PRLog - 11/06/2009]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Cisco Space Router Launch Update

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:25:51 -0800

Yes, rocket scientists, the moment we've been waiting for is almost upon us. Cisco's on-board router, a USAF payload hosted by the Intelsat 14 spacecraft, is scheduled to launch on Friday:

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, on behalf of Lockheed Martin Space Launch Services, will launch the commercial Intelsat-14 satellite from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Nov. 14 with a launch window of 12:48 - 2:18 a.m. EST. If the launch scrubs a day, the window for Nov. 15 will remain the same.

With the launch of Intelsat-14, nearly half of the Atlas V launches in program history will have been commercial missions, with nine commercial missions and 10 government missions. The Intelsat-14 spacecraft will provide high-powered video and data services through its 40 C-band and 22 Ku-band payload to customers throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. Additionally, Intelsat-14. Additionally, Intlesat-14 hosts a payload for the Internet Router in Space, or IRIS program, for the Department of Defense.

The launch will be broadcast live via Galaxy 16, after midnight from Cape Canaveral:

Satellite: Galaxy-16
Transponder: 08 C
Band: C-Band Analog
Orbital Location: 99° W;
Uplink Frequency: 6085 MHz Horizontal;
Downlink Frequency: 3860 MHz Vertical;
Bandwidth: 36 MHz
Audio Subcarrier: 6.2 and 6.8

TEST TRANSMISSION
Service start: 13 Nov 2009 14:00 ET / 13 Nov 2009 19:00 GMT
Service end: 13 Nov 2009 17:00 ET / 13 Nov 2009 22:00 GMT

LAUNCH BROADCAST TRANSMISSION
Service start: 14 Nov 2009 00:01 ET / 14 Nov 2009 05:01 GMT
Service end: 14 Nov 2009 02:45 ET / 14 Nov 2009 07:45 GMT

The IRIS payload will get the attention, but the 40 C-band transponders will make some money for Intelsat, as IS-14 will replace the old PAS-1R at 45° West (315° East for you old-timers). Lots of full-time video customers located at 45° West.

IRIS coverage is substantial and what we'll learn will advance Internet communications via space assets. We hope.

Technorati Tags: cisco iris intelsat intelsat-14 iris+jctd usaf jctd is-14 internet+router+in+space atlas+v

11-11 Campaign

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:34:12 -0800

Hey, got $11 to spare? Sure you do.

Technorati Tags: eleven+eleven 11+11 veterans+day

A Toast to Prof. Einstein

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:46:00 -0800

George Bernard Shaw, in 1930...

Read most of the toast via Google Books...

Technorati Tags: george+bernard+shaw albert+einstein

Giant Cosmic Kite

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:27:29 -0800

Travelling through space using waves of light -- or photons.

Sir Arthur supported this concept, which is noted in tomorrow's New York Times Science Section :

There is a long line of visionaries, stretching back to the Russian rocket pioneers Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Fridrich Tsander and the author Arthur C. Clarke, who have supported this idea. “Sails are just a marvelous way of getting around the universe,” said Freeman Dyson, of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., and a longtime student of the future, “but it takes a long time to imagine them becoming practical.”

The solar sail receives its driving force from the simple fact that light carries not just energy but also momentum — a story told by every comet tail, which consists of dust blown by sunlight from a comet’s core. The force on a solar sail is gentle, if not feeble, but unlike a rocket, which fires for a few minutes at most, it is constant. Over days and years a big enough sail, say a mile on a side, could reach speeds of hundreds of thousands of miles an hour, fast enough to traverse the solar system in 5 years. Riding the beam from a powerful laser, a sail could even make the journey to another star system in 100 years, that is to say, a human lifespan.

Excellent graphic to go with this piece, which is typical for the NYT.

The Planetary Society is behind this project, funded my an anonymous donor.

Artists rendition of LightSail-1 by Rick Sternbach. Credit: Planetary Society

Technorati Tags: planetary+society carl+sagan lightsail arthur+clarke

Two-Buck Chuck

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:42:54 -0800

Dish Network announced good results today, including a special $2 dividend:

Dish Network Corp. (DISH) Chief Executive Charles Ergen said Monday that dividends are "always on the table" for the satellite-TV provider.

The comments come on the heels of Dish's $2-per-share dividend payout, which took Wall Street by surprise because the company tends to avoid returning cash to shareholders.

Dish did attempt to use the cash to make an acquisition or reinvest in the business, but couldn't find a good use for the funds, Ergen told analysts Monday. He was reluctant to spend on the business with the overhang of TiVo Inc. (TIVO) litigation still lingering.

Although the opinion at Barron's is to take the money, I think the prospects remain good for satellite TV.

Cheers!

Technorati Tags: satellite+tv dividend ergen dish+network dish

WBMSAT News Bits for November 6, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:03 -0800

GlobeCast will provide its Content Exchange solution to the French multihull yacht Crepes Whaou for the 9th annnual Transat Jacques Vabre transatlantic sailing competition.
[SatNews - 11/06/2009]

Microsoft Corp. selects partners Akamai Technologies and iStreamPlanet work with Microsoft to provide integrated end-to-end solution to deliver live and on-demand video of Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.
[SatNews - 11/06/2009]

Avanti's HYLAS arrives at ISRO facility in India where it will be integrated into the platform and prepared for launch, on schedule for 2Q launch in 2010.
SatNews - 11/05/2009]

Globalstar opens new gateway expanding coverage into oil rich Nigeria and Western Africa.
[CNNMoney - 11/05/2009]

ViaSat announces new contract awards of $225.7M in second quarter, and discusses plans to utilize compelling capacity on upcoming ViaSat-1 satellite for recently acquired WildBlue's resources and distribution.
[SatNews - 11/05/2009]

DirecTV's third-quarter profit up slightly, although customer cancellation rate may signal a coming end to the insulation from the competitive fray DirecTV has enjoyed the past several quarters.
[Wall Street Journal - 11/05/2009]

RapidEye announces frame contract with European Space Agency to provide satellite imagery for monitoring and change detection in areas prone to natural disasters.
[SatNews - 11/05/2009]

Eutelsat reports record revenue growth of 11.6% in first quarter 2009-2010.
[Reuters - 11/05/2009]

Sirius XM announces positive adjusted income for fourth quarter in a row, with increased subscribers and reduced satellite costs.
[Reuters - 11/05/2009]

Harris Corp will build satellite broadband system for U.S. Navy.
[Orlando Business Journal - 11/04/2009]

SES WORLD SKIES announces agreement with Solomon Telekom for satellite capacity on NSS-9 to provide satellite broadband across the Solomon Islands.
[SatNews - 11/04/2009]

Cypress state-of-the-art CMOS image sensors specially designed for high accuracy star tracking used on European Space Agency's Proba-2 satellite launched on November 2.
[Reuters - 11/04/2009]

Hughes Communications reports record subscriber growth for its satellite broadband business, with broadband services revenue up 16% and total revenue up 12%.
[Reuters - 11/04/2009]

Vizada receives award from Inmarsat for highest revenue growth of all Inmarsat mobile satellite distribution partners, with 9% growth since 2008.
[Reuters - 11/04/2009]

Globecomm Systems revenue for first quarter increases 12.6% based on a 52.0% increase in revenues from services, offsetting decreasing revenues from infrastructure solutions.
[Reuters - 11/04/2009]

Orbital super-sensor launched by U.S. Air Force Weather Agency October 18 can analyze molecules and ions over wide slice of upper atmosphere - up to 700 km deep.
[R&D Magazine - 11/04/2009]

Pentagon reports that the U.S. military is now tracking 800 maneuverable satellites for possible collisions and expects to add 500 non-maneuverable satellites by year's end.
[Reuters - 11/03/2009]

CapRock Government Solutions signs agreement with UK based Paradigm Secure Communications allowing Caprock to offer X-band capacity and network services to U.S. military and intelligence communities.
[SatNews - 11/03/2009]

Comtech receives $1M order for frequency converters from U.S. military.
[Reuters - 11/03/2009]

Telstar 18 to be used by HBO Asia to deliver HDTV to millions of subscribers in Asia under agreement with Telesat.
[SatNews - 11/03/2009]

L-3 contracts with Lockheed Martin to supply command, control, communications, and monitor system used in factory testing for GPS III satellite manufacturing program.
[Test & Measurement World - 11/03/2009]

Eutelsat W7 satellite in Baikonour and on track for Proton launch on November 23.
[Reuters - 11/03/2009]

SES WORLD SKIES announces multi-year agreement with MediaScape for additional capacity on NSS-11 to deliver HDTV in the Phillipines.
[SatNews - 11/03/2009]

Eutelsat reaches 100 HD channels.
[Satellite Today - 11/03/2009]

Integral Systems opens facility in UK to provide turnkey Earth Station System Integration capability.
[Reuters - 11/03/2009]

European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite launched aboard modified Russian ballistic missile.
[Spaceflight Now - 11/02/2009]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Technorati Tags: satnews satellite+today satellite+week satellite+news satcom

Colliding Galaxies

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:11:58 -0800

Well done...

Technorati Tags: felicia+day galaxies

It Is Balloon!!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:27:17 -0800

DARPA is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Internet with a "Network Challenge."

The challenge is to locate ten moored red weather balloons located at ten fixed locations in the continental United States. Balloons will be in readily accessible locations, visible from nearby roadways and accompanied by DARPA representatives. All balloons are scheduled to go on display at all locations at 10:00AM (ET) until approximately 4:00 PM (local time) on Saturday, December 5, 2009. Should weather or technical difficulties arise with the launch, the display will be delayed until Sunday, December 6 or later, depending on conditions. If, for any reason, the balloon is displayed in one location then moved to a second location, either location will be accepted. Entrants are required to register and submit entries on the event website. Latitudes and longitudes are entered in degree-minute-second (DDD-MM-SS) format as explained on the website Coordinates must be entered with an error of less than one arc-minute to be accepted.

I like this.

When will we celebrate some kind of F Troop tribute? Those rocket scientists who grew up in the 60's will remember Chief Wild Eagle's "it is balloon!!" cry.

Technorati Tags: internet arpanet darpa network+challenge

WBMSAT News Bits for October 30, 2009

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:03:57 -0800

Hughes Network Systems sell 10% of Jupiter satellite capacity to Canadian broadband provider Barrett Xplore for $100m.
[Satellite Today -10/30/2009]

Arianespace successfully launches NSS-12 ad THOR 6 satellites aboard single Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Spaceport in French Guiana.
[SatNews - 10/29/2009]

Kazakhtelecom JSC of Kazakhstan adds Gilat's cellular backhaul solution to its satellite communications network.
[Reuters - 10/29/2009]

SkyTrac obtains supplemental type certificate for installation of its automated flight following and satellite communications equipment on several helicopters; will exhibit at Aerial Firefighting Conference in Italy.
[SatNews - 10/29/2009]

Eutelsat's Tooway satellite broadband service to help deliver Ireland's national broadband scheme.
[Reuter's - 10/29/2009]

KVH introduces TracVision HD7 using 24 inch diameter antenna and patent pending technology to simultaneously receive two Ka and one Ku-band satellites, delivering HDTV to boaters exactly as they receive it at home.
[SatNews - 10/29/2007]

On-demand intelligent asset management company Axeda Corporation enters into Alliance Partner Agreement with ORBCOM to integrate ORBCOMM's satellite network with Axeda's global two-way M2M data communications capabilities.
[Reuters - 10/29/2009]

Frost &Sullivan's report "European First Responders C3I Market Assessment" concludes that greater focus on Civil security makes the European C3I market lucrative.
[Reuters- 10/29/2009]

Raymarine introduces 33STV, a 13" satellite dish inside a 14" radome weighing less than 10 pounds, to bring satellite TV reception to powerboats and sailboats under 25 feet in length.
[Reuters 10/29/2009]

AGIS LifeRing, operating simultaneously on cellular, mesh networks, satellite, Military and First Responder radios, successfully passes U.S. Joint Forces Command limited operational assessment of PDA broadband communications.
[Reuters - 10/29/2009]

Stratos provides Government of Canada with first-ever BGAN lease service.
[IT News Online - 10/28/2009]

Lockheed Martin completes preliminary design review for U.S. Navy's Communications at Speed and Depth program using Iridium satellite and UHF to communicate to underway submarines from surface ships, aircraft, and land-based assets.
[Satellite Today - 10/27/2009]

Attendance results for SATCON 2009 indicate continuing high demand for media and communications technology solutions in spite of economic impact of recession.
[Reuters - 10/27/2009]

KVH mini-SAT marks 2-year anniversary for Maritime service with over 500 TracPhone V7 systems shipped, providing broadband service on the move to maritime, aeronautical, and other mobile customers.
[Reuters - 10/26/2009]

NSR report - Ku-Band in-flight satellite connectivity: are we there yet? - discusses state of commercial airline broadband access market utilizing Ku-band satellite capacity.
[NSR Report October 2009]

NSR Report - Government and Military Satellite Communications, 6th Edition, discusses state of the government and Military satellite communications market.
[NSR Report - November 2009]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Technorati Tags: satcom+news space+news satellite+news satnews

The Conquest of 1° West

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:57:57 -0700

The 1° West orbital location (359° East for you Intelsat old-timers) is about to get hot in the European market. Astra and Eutelsat are the incumbents -- primarily using 19.2° East and 13° East, respectively. In Eastern Europe, the growing satellite TV markets have their antennae pointed at 1° West, where Intelsat and Telenor are betting they came fill their capacity quickly. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts over the next year or so.

Thor-6 launches tomorrow, along with NSS-12, via an Ariane 5 from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana (watch it live here).

Technorati Tags: ariane+5 arianespace nss-12 thor-6 intelsat telenor ses thales+alenia+space loral

Nice App, NASA

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:11:54 -0700

Great work by NASA in getting a useful iPhone App out last week:

The NASA App collects, customizes and delivers an extensive selection of dynamically updated information, images and videos from various online NASA sources. Users can access NASA countdown clocks, the NASA Image of the Day, Astronomy Image of the Day, online videos, NASA's many Twitter feeds and other information in a convenient mobile package. It delivers NASA content in a clear and intuitive way by making full use of the iPhone and iPod touch features, including the Multi-Touch user interface. The New Media Team at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., developed the application.

The NASA App also allows users to track the current positions of the International Space Station and other spacecraft currently orbiting Earth in three views: a map with borders and labels, visible satellite imagery, or satellite overlaid with country borders and labels.

Yeah, it's free and very good.

Even better: Akamai is letting us watch NASA TV -- LIVE -- on your iPhone. That's cool.

Technorati Tags: nasa iphone iphone+app akamai

WBMSAT News Bits for October 23, 2009

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:46:30 -0700

Ariane 5 prepared for double-duty launch October 29 with installation of second payload NSS-12 satellite for SES WORLD SKIES now complete, following earlier installation of Telenor Satellite Broadcasting's THOR 6 relay platform.
[SatNews - 10/22/2009]

Rockwell Collins is selected to provide Extended Data Rate International Partners Variant Single Channel Anti-jam Manportable terminals to the Canadian Department of National Defense for use with the U.S. Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites.
[SatNews - 10/22/2009

Iridium Communications subsidiary Iridium Communicaciones de Mexico SAPI de CV receives all authorizations and licenses to offer services in Mexico.
[Reuters - 10/21/2009]

The Indian Navy will get a dedicated communications satellite next year, built by ISRO, to boost its network-centric operations and connectivity at sea.
[domain-b - 10/22/2009]

Newtec announces that InSat GmbH will use Newtec's Elevation modulators and demodulators, using 32 APSK modulation, for IP trunking for a new project in the Middle East and Central Asia.
[PRESSEMITTEILUNGEN - 10/21/2009]

SAT Corporation partners with ViaSat to provide signal monitoring and interference detection; Monics system will support eight gateway earth stations planned throughout Europe for Tooway consumer broadband.
[Reuters - 10/21/2009]

U.S. Army Communications-electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center at Fort Monmouth will host briefing to industry on innovative military satellite communications technologies on November 17 - 18.
[Military & Aerospace Electronics - 10/21/2009]

Newtec will sign a major Memorandum of Agreement with Arabsat October 25th for jointly developing new markets and satellite technologies throughout the Middle East.
[SatNews - 10/20/2009]

Comtech receives $1.6M of orders for high power amplifiers from a leading provider of aviation electronics and communications systems to be used in airborne-to-satellite-to-ground communications systems.
[Reuters - 10/20/2009]

Viasat and Innotech Aviation successfully completed the first installation of ViaSat's high-speed broadband terminal on a Bombardier Global Express XRS aircraft; Satcom Direct then commissioned the terminal into the Viasat Yonder satellite airborne broadband network.
[SatNews - 10/20/2009]

Harris Corporation researchers will present eight technical papers discussing methods to improve communications networking and security including improving utilization of satellite resources at MILCOM 2009.
[Reuters - 10/19/2009]

Lockheed Martin team demonstrates interface compatibility of firs Mobile User Objective System satellite's dual legacy and UHF communications payloads with ground terminals; design to provide improved and assured communications, delivering simultaneous voice, data and video services for U.S. mobile warfighters.
[Reuters - 10/19/2009]

The Indian Space Research Organisation plans to launch two dedicated satellites to study climate change in 2021 and 2011.
[SatNews - 10/19/2009]

AeroMechanical Services announces completion of flight testing of technology to stream data from aircraft to ground anywhere, anytime, using Iridium satellite network and ground-based server; streaming can be triggered by flight crew or ground staff; voice communications also supported.
[Reuters - 10/19/2009]

YahClick online services based on Microsoft Live may be offered in Middle East, Africa, and South-West Asia by Yahsat following signing of Memorandum of Understanding.
[SatNews - 10/19/2009]

U.S. Coast Guard approves Collecte Localisation Satellites Thorium terminal for Long-Range Identification and Tracking using Iridium satellite network.
[SatNews - 10/19/2009]

GeoEye contracts with Gibraltar Associates to serve as its public relations agency of record.
[SatNews - 10/19/2009]

The U.S.A.F.'s Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F-18 Block 5D-3 satellite built by Lockheed Martin is launched from Vandenberg AFB.
[Reuters - 10/18/2009]

Mars missions boosted by communication breakthrough - engineers find way to communicate continuously with Mars taking advantage of Lagrange points, five points in space where satellite can stay fixed in same location relative to Earth and Sun, and a spacecraft with a continuous thrusting propulsion system.
[Telegraph - 10/17/209]

NSR free webinar to discuss absence of effect on commercial satellite supply and demand by the current recession and High Throughput Satellite technology and applications.
[NSR webinar scheduled November 10 2009]

WBMSAT PS - Satellite Communications Consulting Services

Technorati Tags: satellite+today satellite+week satellite+news satcom satnews via+satellite

Halley's Tail

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:31:04 -0700

The Orionids meteor showers peaked this morning as we're passing through the tail of Halley's Comet, via MeteorShowersOnline.com:

The Orionids were frequently observed during the latter years of the 19th century and became the focus of debate during the first quarter of the 20th century. The British amateur astronomer W. F. Denning and the American astronomer C. P. Olivier began using the pages of two astronomical periodicals to debate whether the Orionid radiant, the point from which the meteors seemed to radiate in the sky, moved from one day to the next: Denning argued that it did not, while Olivier argued that it did. Each astronomer had supporters that chimed in, but the argument remained essentially theirs. The problem was that the Orionid radiant was more diffuse than the other well-observed annual meteor showers. Thanks to the use of photography and the very precise plotting of meteors by several amateur and professional astronomers, Oliver was eventually proven correct.

One very unusual feature the Orionids tend to display is an unpredictable maximum. In 1981, observers reported very low rates of less than 10 meteors per hour during the period of October 18 to 21 (maximum predicted for October 21), but high rates of near 20 per hour were noted on the morning of October 23. Interestingly, a study published in Czechoslovakia during 1982, revealed the Orionids generally exhibited a double maximum. The finding was based on observations made during the period spanning 1944 to 1950. Shortly thereafter, several visual studies indicated the presence of a "plateau effect" or a long period of maximum devoid of any sharp decline of activity, instead of a double peak. Most notably, the 1984 observations of the Western Australia Meteor Section, show a nearly flat maximum lasting from October 21 to 24, while N. W. McLeod, III (Florida, USA), has frequently noted it to stretch up to 6 days.

The Leonids, due next month, are more frightening to satellite operators. Especially this year.

Technorati Tags: meteor+showers orionids leonids meteors halley's+comet

NanoFET Propulsion

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:04:38 -0700

NanoFET is an electric rocket thruster being developed at the University of Michigan. Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, it's now fundamentally feasible...

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research is funding Professor Alec D. Gallimore's research because particle electric propulsion, with its half-inch thruster, increases velocity by several hundred or thousand miles an hour and is expected to have a dramatic impact on nanosatellites and larger spacecraft. These electric fields help to create thrust when the particles are charged, accelerated and propelled into space.

"Particles used in this technology are initially 10 to 50 nanometers in size (approximately a thousand times smaller than a human hair in diameter), and we scale them up to between one and ten microns (1/20th to about half the size of a human hair) because at that size, we can see and use them for advanced propulsion research," said Gallimore.

Even with the modifications there are still challenges in doing NanoFET research.

"There are material science aspects of designing the right materials that can withstand high voltages and close proximity to each other," Gallimore said. "There's also a challenge of making certain that all materials are in a form that fits on a satellite that's not much larger than a baseball." Currently the materials are more functional than form-fitting.
"We're hoping that we can actually resolve a lot of these issues in the next three to four years," said Gallimore.

In the meantime, the researchers have tested the nanoparticle, electric-based propulsion in air and in a vacuum chamber on an aircraft that replicates conditions of limited gravity.

"It has the potential to be a revolutionary propulsion concept, especially regarding nanosatellites and larger satellites, but there's also a possibility of applying the technology to non-space vehicle applications as well," he said.

AFOSR Program Manager, Dr. Mitat Birkan who oversees the research, agrees. "Electrostatic acceleration of charged nanoparticles has many potential applications besides space propulsion, including manufacturing and biomedical technologies."

This scientific presentation is worth reading, if you're into that kind of stuff, concluding...

The advantages offered by nanoFET’s potential for high efficiencies, lower thruster specific mass, and longer operational lifetimes are both mission enhancing and enabling.

Very cool rocket science, but still a few years off.

Technorati Tags: nanofet thrusters spacecraft deep+space nasa michigan