World of Satellite-News Updates

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Panasonic Leases a Full Transponder of Ku-Band Capacity on Eutelsat 172A from ASC
April 9, 2013
Panasonic Avionics Corporation has announced completion of commercial agreement with Australian Satellite Communications (ASC) and is now ready to enter into service with a full transponder of capacity on the Eutelsat 172A satellite pending imminent regulatory approval. Under terms of the agreement, Panasonic will use the capacity on the satellite’s South Pacific Beam. The uplinking and downlinking of the services will come from ASC’s teleport in Adelaide.

The capacity will support Panasonic’s Global Communications Service, which includes eXConnect, a two-way broadband connectivity for passenger an crew applications; eXPhone, which allows passengers to fully use their mobile devices throughout the flight; and eXTV, a TV platform that includes live news and sports programming during the flight.

This significant increase in bandwidth requirements expands Panasonic’s previous capacity leasing agreements with ASC for airline routes over Australia and New Zealand, and for trans-Tasman flights.

 

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CET Teleport Signs Agreement for Capacity on Africasat-1a
April 9, 2013
MEASAT Satellite Systems has announced an agreement with CET Teleport GmbH for capacity on the Africasat-1a satellite. With this capacity, CET Teleport, one of the largest teleports in Europe, will support their growing presence across the African continent.

“This capacity will greatly improve our C-band coverage of Africa, complementing the existing Ku-band coverage we have in the region to enable us to provide services to the whole continent of Africa,” Ken Armstrong, CEO of CET Teleport, said in a statement.

The Africasat-1a satellite, launched on Feb. 7 into the 46 degrees east orbital slot, provides coverage across Africa and connectivity into Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

 

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LGS Innovations Appoints New CIO
April 9, 2013
LGS Innovations, an independent subsidiary of Alcatel-Lucent, has announced the appointment of Rich Martin to chief information officer. In this role, Martin will serve as the technical and personnel leader, establish strategic priorities, and manage operations for all information technology-related activities.

“He will be a critical component in our efforts to research, develop, and deploy the highest value network solutions for our government customers,” said LGS Innovations CEO Kevin Kelly in a statement.

Martin has more than 20 years of technical and managerial experience. Most recently he served six years as the chief information officer for Transaction Network Services, a provider of data communications and interoperability solutions for the payments, telecom and financial markets industries.

 

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Radarsat-1 Unlikely to Recover from Anomaly
April 9, 2013

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has announced its oldest Earth observation satellite Radarsat-1 is unlikely to recover fully from an anomaly experienced on March 29. After the incident, the satellite was put into “safe mode” while the agency investigates what happened.

Radarsat-1, launched in 1995, has already been operating for 12 years more than it expected five-year lifespan. It is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar, which allows the satellite to capture images of the Earth through clouds, smoke and haze. The data and images collected by Radarsat-1 have been used to track the effects of global climate change and for resource and disaster management by both government and commercial customers. CSA has halted all orders for new imagery, but continues to provide archived data.

The space agency assured that the problems with Radarsat-1 do not have an impact on the country’s security since its successor Radarsat-2, launched in 2007, is working properly. Unlike Radarsat-1, this satellite is not owned and operated by the Canadian government but by MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). Through an agreement with the government, MDA received partial funding for Radarsat-2’s manufacturing and launch. In exchange the company provides data to the government as long as the satellite is functional.

CSA is currently working on a new generation of Radarsat satellites set for launch in 2018.

 

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Boeing Introduces New Small Satellite Platform
April 10, 2013

Boeing is introducing a new line of small satellites through its research arm Boeing Phantom Works. The Phantom Phoenix line of satellites would weight up to 1,000 kilos and can be adapted for short-term experiments or operational missions lasting seven or more years.

The company has identified the small satellites market as a multibillion dollar one in the next few years, mostly within the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, but also from commercial ventures. Thus, Phantom Works is producing three prototypes to showcase what these can do.

The Phantom Phoenix, a 500 to 1,000 kg mid-class designed for single and dual launch; the Phantom Phoenix ESPA, a 180 kg ESPA-class that attaches to a common interstage adapter allowing for the launch of more than one satellite at a time; and the Phantom Phoenix Nano a 4 to 10 kg nanosatellite that offers opportunities for science and weather missions.

Boeing expects the spacecraft line to open up new possibilities for applications not considered in the past. It compares these small satellites to the all-electric 702SP satellite platform recently introduced by Boeing Satellite Systems, which enables missions that would traditionally require larger and heavier spacecraft. The key for this new platform is the common avionics and software package compatible with many configurations.

Phantom Works is already prospecting customers but hasn’t closed any orders yet. If the product becomes popular in the industry, it would be transferred to Boeing Satellite Systems. However, some doubt Phantom Phoenix series’ success.

 

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United Airlines Exec Talks In-Flight Connectivity Strategy
April 10, 2013

United Airlines is one of the world’s biggest airlines. In total, United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,472 flights a day to 381 airports across six continents. In 2012, both lines operated nearly two million flights carrying 140 million customers. In terms of in-flight connectivity, the company is seen as one of the blue chip contracts in this area. In January 2013, United Airlines announced it had introduced onboard satellite-based WiFi Internet connectivity on the first of its international widebody aircraft. A Boeing 747 was outfitted with Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Ku-band satellite technology, serving trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes.

Unlike some airlines, the United plans to both use Ka-band and Ku-band technology. “We strongly believe that they are both great technologies, and both with future promise and potential. We have this unique situation where on about 200 aircraft we have LiveTV installed. So, we opted to go for a Ka-band solution on the 737s and 757s that offer LiveTV today. So, for the remainder of our fleet we went with Panasonic and a long-term partnership using Ku-band. We don’t have any plans to go fully Ka-band,” said Mark Nasr, managing director, E-Commerce, United Airlines.

United customers have the choice of two speeds: “standard,” priced initially between $3.99 and $14.99 depending on the duration of flight, and “Accelerated,” priced initially between $5.99 and $19.99, and offering faster download speeds. Like most airlines, United is monitoring its early attempts in the market to try and decipher passenger usage trends. “One of the things we have been pleasantly surprised by since we launched the service is that we have had a significantly higher interest in our accelerated speed than we thought we would have. That tells us that customers are clearly looking for a better speed experience and are willing to pay for that product,” added Nasr.

In the digital edition of Via Satellite May coming out next week, read the full interview with Mark Nasr as he talks in-depth about United Airlines’ in-flight connectivity strategy.

 

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Lockheed Martin’s Fourth MUOS Satellite Enters First System Checkouts
April 10, 2013

Lockheed Martin has announced successful integration of two of the most important components onto its fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite for the U.S. Navy. Recently engineers mated the multi-beam assembly, which hosts 16 ultra-high frequency (UHF) antennas for distributed, global communications coverage. And, earlier this year, the team delivered and integrated the vehicle’s communications system module.

With bus and payload now together, the satellite is entering its first system checkouts before progressing to environmental test. The global MUOS constellation is comprised of five satellites of which the first is already providing legacy UHF communications capabilities in order. The second MUOS satellite is undergoing final preparations for its scheduled launch in July, and the third is progressing through environmental testing. The whole constellation is expected to achieve full operational capability in 2016.

Supporting UHF satellite communications, MUOS will provide mobile warfighters new communications capabilities of simultaneous voice, video and data for mobile users. The antenna and system module, designed and built by Lockheed Martin, enables communications coverage using the wideband code division multiple access standard. This provides a 16-fold increase over legacy UHF communications in the number and capacity of satellite links.

 

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Orbital Selects ITT Exelis to Provide Composite Structures for GEOStar-3
April 10, 2013

Orbital Sciences has selected ITT Exelis to manufacture, assemble, test and deliver three composite-based bus structures for its GEOStar-3 communications satellite platform. Under the contract, Exelis will also provide technical services and support.

The company has manufactured composite components for space programs such as Chandra, CrIS, IKONOS, the James Webb Space Telescope, GeoEye-1, Geoeye-2, WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3 and GOES-R. Exelis also provides composite structures and assemblies for aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter, several Boeing 7-series jets and GE engines.

 

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Eurochannel Selects Eutelsat 16A Satellite to Expand Reach in Sub-Saharan Africa
April 10, 2013

Eurochannel, an international TV channel dedicated to European films and series, has selected the Eutelsat 16A satellite to broadcast its signal across sub-Saharan Africa. This is Eurochannel’s latest move toward international expansion. The channel has already signed a new five-year contract for capacity and services with Eutelsat Communications.

By selecting Eutelsat 16A, Eurochannel joins digital platform uplinked by Eutelsat that includes more than 20 TV channels. Eurochannel broadcasts programs subtitled in English, French and Portuguese, with terrestrial headends its principal target.

 

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Norsat Introduces New Microwave Products for Airborne and Ka Multi-Band Applications
April 10, 2013
Norsat International has introduced its new Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) and custom microwave products for airborne and Ka multi-band applications. All of the newly launched microwave products, which include Block Up/Down Converters (BUCs and BDCs), and Low Noise Blockdownconverters (LNBs), are used in satellite signal transmission and reception.

The introduction of Norsat’s airborne portfolio is led with the launch of a BDC1000X-AIR compatible with current airborne service providers. The BDC may be fully customized to meet specific customer requirements for frequency, size, shape, and more. The next addition to the Norsat airborne portfolio will be an airborne LNB to be field tested later in 2013. The company is also introducing a line of multi-band LNBs, including the dual and triple Ka-band 9000 series.