World of Satellite-News Updates

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
COM DEV Europe Frequently Favored For Radio Frequency Equipment

"This is particularly pleasing since it shows the confidence that my team has engendered with the customer's design and management team."

COM DEV Europe Ltd, a subsidiary of space hardware manufacturer COM DEV International (TSX: CDV), today announced that it has been granted formal Authorization to Proceed (ATP) on a contract to develop sophisticated Radio Frequency (RF) electronics equipment for a major international satellite manufacturer.

Further details will be announced when the formal contract is signed within the next month. The ATP enables advance work to begin on the contract, expected to be worth over £12 million. Work on the contract will take place at COM DEV's facility in Aylesbury UK and will last approximately 30 months.

"This contract cements COM DEV Europe's reputation for the supply of high-reliability RF Electronics and builds upon a successful Phase B program completed in 2012" said Rob Spurrett, President of COM DEV Europe. "This is particularly pleasing since it shows the confidence that my team has engendered with the customer's design and management team."

 

[Red]

May 2nd, 2013
Red River Valley Research Corridor... State Of The Industry Event (UAV | UAS)

What many thought would takes years is now upon us.
The increased use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in civil and commercial markets has increasingly garnered worldwide attention and piqued an already-growing interest in the unmanned aircraft industry. In addition, a pending announcement from the Federal Aviation Administration for six national UAS test sites has many individuals interested in what the future holds for the aviation industry.

In response to the increasing demand for information, U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, along with the Red River Valley Research Corridor, Northrop Grumman and the City of Grand Forks are co-hosting the seventh annual UAS Action Summit to educate participants about the current state of the UAS industry and the potential it has for the future. The summit is scheduled for May 30-31, 2013, at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The 2013 UAS Action Summit is the region's only event to provide updated information, demonstrations and instruction from experts of this rapidly growing industry. The event is open to the public and students can attend free of charge. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with presenters, industry experts and vendors during this fast-paced, two-day industry event. The agenda includes presentations about international airspace integration strategies; training students to learn how to operate UAVs; civil use, technologies and applications; legal, moral and ethical implications of the UAS industry; law enforcement and emergency services; and how UAS can be applied to the agriculture industry.

 

[Red]

May 2nd, 2013
Harris Corp... Financially Speaking... (Business)

Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) reported revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 of...
...$1.20 billion compared with $1.37 billion in the prior year. GAAP income from continuing operations was $125 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, compared with $155 million, or $1.38 per diluted share. Non-GAAP income from continuing operations in the prior year was $163 million, or $1.42 per diluted share. Fiscal 2012 non-GAAP amounts exclude acquisition-related costs, and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is provided in the tables. Orders in the third quarter were $1.13 billion compared with $1.48 billion in the prior year. The company generated strong free cash flow of $185 million in the third quarter compared with $152 million in the prior year.

"Third quarter results were in line with our preliminary release issued April 11 and weaker than previously expected primarily due to U.S. and international tactical radio procurement delays," said William M. Brown, president and chief executive officer. "U.S. Government funding constraints resulting from the continuing resolution were magnified when sequestration was triggered. Additionally, in the international market several key tactical radio orders have been pushed to later in the year or early next fiscal year."

"We recently announced company-wide restructuring actions that are expected to generate net annualized cost savings of approximately $40 to $50 million. These cost savings, combined with benefits from our ongoing focus on operational excellence and reduced discretionary spending, will allow us to be successful in a challenging government market environment while continuing to invest in R&D and fund strategic growth initiatives."

 

[Red]

May 2nd, 2013
Energy Markets and O3b: A Niche of a Niche

... and with millions of dollars on the line, O3b could be poised to enter the market at the right time, with the right offering.

As O3b’s first set of satellites arrives in French Guiana, there exists a small, but high-end market segment awaiting the arrival of ‘fiber speeds with satellite coverage.’ This segment (Exploration & Production, and Mining operations) is where O3b’s larger ground infrastructure requirements will find themselves deployed across the energy markets- the highest end of an already high-end market. However, actual fiber deployments are likely on the roadmap and will affect O3b’s build out in this segment.


According to NSR’s Energy Markets via Satellite, 3rd edition, which assesses the market opportunity for satellite services across the oil and gas, mining, and utility segments, O3b will generate less than 200 in-service units by 2022—out of more than 460,000 In-service MSS and VSAT in-service units in the Energy Markets by 2022. Concentrated in the Exploration & Production segment who have clear bandwidth demands and latency remains a critical concern, end-users in both the E&P and mining segments will provision their networks to a combined total over 2.75 Gbps. But, the story does not end at fiber deployments, as an O3b solution moves from the primary communications path to a full-backup redundancy solution.

With decade-long investments, and daily revenue intake from the extraction of oil, gas, or minerals upwards of tens of millions of dollars, these large operations can easily justify the expense of deploying terrestrial fiber—even to locations far offshore—and they have requirements for robust, redundant communications design. However, fiber deployments take time—five years or longer from planning to pinging depending on the location, and with millions of dollars on the line, O3b could be poised to enter the market at the right time, with the right offering. Even once fiber is deployed at the site, multi-path redundancy and network resiliency become key design features of a hybrid O3b-fiber network architecture.

Although oil prices continue a relative decline, due in-part to increased shale gas production across the globe, corporations are only further incentivized to deploy sophisticated cost-controlling workflows to the most remote corners of their operations: data-intensive logistics solutions, real-time HD video conferencing and remote diagnostics drive bandwidth demand on the enterprise side. The ever-present shortage of highly skilled workers willing to go to the corners of the earth continues to diminish, and those willing to go refuse to leave their IP-enabled devices at home. And, in a post-Macondo world, remote monitoring and oversight through company or government policy is almost a given. Together, these all drive the needs for bandwidth at the largest of E&P or mining locations beyond the capabilities of all other satellite connectivity solutions.

Also, in the age of the cloud, SCADA and near-time data transitioning to real-time data latency is increasingly a concern of the high-end O&G and mining end-users. As perhaps its real long-term competitive advantage against other satellite services, O3b’s MEO-HTS network promises to deliver low latency, high bandwidth and competitive prices to these demanding end-users. Combined, O3b’s big pipes and low latency can significantly alter the perception of satellite connectivity to the highest-end energy market segments.

The next few years will bring revolutionary changes to the amount of satellite bandwidth available to end-users across the Oil and Gas and Mining sectors. Amongst large, remote sites, O3b is likely to see good adoption rates; however, these sites remain a niche of a niche where fiber is almost a given - it is just a matter of when. Going forward, O3b will need to continue their development of smaller, compact ground infrastructure to deploy their low latency, high throughput service at smaller end-user locations and thus increase their addressable market.

 

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
Orad... Entertaining Enhancements (SatBroadcasting™—Production)

Orad has announced that RBC TV, Russia’s 24-hour news channel, enhanced its...
...studio news production workflow with Orad’s RealSet Augmented Reality and PowerWall 4K resolution graphics. The combination facilitates a stunning new on-air look with rich graphics projected across ten, 55-inch monitors. The new Orad-driven workflow allows RBC TV to display complex financial, electoral and numerical data such as 3D virtual graphs with X and Y axes. The virtual graphs are inserted onto the set, providing viewers with real-time graphic visualization of the numerical data in a format that is much easier to read and digest. RBC TV also incorporates Orad’s Interact solution, controlling graphics for the augmented reality and video wall via an iPad.

“The ability to project data using 3D graphics is very exciting for RBC. It is also far more appealing for our viewers to see the complex information in an easy-to-read, aesthetically pleasing format,” comments Gleb Shagun, RBC TV’s chief producer. “The addition of 3D graphics along with virtual walls and augmented reality gives RBC a substantial edge over other 24-hour news broadcasters and puts us on the map as technical leaders and innovators in our field.”

 

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
TE Connectivity... Wrapping It Up (Repairs)

TE Connectivity (TE) has released a new C-Wrap side entry repair sleeve, for use in aerospace, defense and marine applications, and has been issued a...
...National Stocking Number (NSN) from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). NSN's are used by U.S. military services, Department of Defense (DoD), disposition services, federal agencies (such as GSA, FAA, DHS, etc.), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and many various governments around the world. When added to a product label, the NSN indicates a review and approval for use within the military's logistics supply chain.

TE's C-Wrap device delivers a durable, environment-resistant repair to primary wire damaged with nicks, chafes and radial cracks, while providing superior long-term performance. The repair sleeve was designed specifically to meet the requests of the maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) community. The C-Wrap device consists of two pieces—the outer tubing and adhesive—and is small in diameter and short in length, providing easy installation. With its wrap-around design, the repair sleeve eliminates the need to de-pin the connector for repair, helping to save time, cost and manpower. Its environment-resistant qualities help prevent galvanic corrosion and allow use in a temperature range of -65 to +150 degrees Celsius.

Made of a meltable adhesive and radiation cross-linked modified fluoroelastomer insulation sleeve, the C-Wrap device meets the performance requirements of TE Connectivity D-6201 specification. Designed for long-term performance, the repair kit offers a long-lasting repair to chafed or cracked wire insulation. Color coding on the C-Wrap device provides proper sizing for each application, as well as ease of use.

 

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL)... Moving On Up... (Business)

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) has appointed Mr. Toru Yunoki as Business Development Manager for...
...its Telecommunications products. In his new role, Mr Yunoki is responsible for promoting SSTL’s range of telecommunications solutions, including GEO platforms, subsystems and services to the global market. Dr. John Paffett, Director of Telecommunications and Navigation at SSTL, said, “I am delighted that Toru has joined the company. He brings a wealth of experience in telecommunication satellite sales to this new role and I look forward to working with him to secure future sales of our products.”

The SSTL telecommunications product range—Geostationary Minisatellite Platform (GMP)—is designed to provide rapid, reliable, cost effective solutions to meet customer requirements for geostationary missions across a wide-variety of applications. The GMP provides a platform that envelopes a range of capabilities and requirements, both in terms of payload carrying capability and launch opportunity, with the objective to reduce the project specific non-recurrent engineering for each programme.

Mr. Yunoki has extensive technical knowledge and experience of the telecommunications market. In his previous role as Deputy General Manager of the Civil and Commercial Space Department at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO), he was responsible for bringing in orders and negotiating contracts from TURKSAT, Singapore Telecom and Superbird-7. In his 25 year career at MELCO, Mr Yunoki worked with commercial companies and space organisations across the world and is well-known and highly regarded in this field.

 

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
Space Foundation... Moving On Up + Leaving The Fold... (Business)

A number of organizational changes will take place at the Space Foundation in the coming weeks, including a...
...retirement, promotions and expansion of responsibilities. Retiring after 27 years with the Space Foundation is President Charles P. "Chuck" Zimkas, Jr. His retirement is effective July 1, 2013. Vice President—Operations Art Ratkewicz will assume many of the duties performed by Zimkas.

Vice President—Marketing & Communications Janet P. Stevens, who has been with the Space Foundation since 2009, will be leaving the organization, effective May 10, 2013.

Kevin C. Cook has been named Vice President—Marketing & Communications, effective immediately. Formerly Director—Space Awareness Programs, Cook has led the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame and Space Certification programs. Prior to joining the Space Foundation in 2003, Cook had a distinguished marketing career, leading major public relations, advertising and marketing agencies in Los Angeles, Seattle and Honolulu.

 

[Red]

May 1st, 2013
Astrotech’s Financial Reports + Shareholders’ Meeting

“...approved the compensation of our named executives ("Say-on-Pay")”...
Astrotech Corporation (Nasdaq:ASTC), a leading provider of commercial aerospace services, today announced the results of the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on April 26, 2013.


The shareholders of the Company's common stock re-elected six directors to the Company's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors now consists of Thomas B. Pickens III, Mark E. Adams, John A. Oliva, William F. Readdy, Sha-Chelle Manning and Daniel T. Russler, Jr.

In addition to electing the board of directors, Astrotech shareholders ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young, LLP as independent auditors for the Company, approved the compensation of our named executives ("Say-on-Pay") and approved the frequency of future Say-on-Pay votes to be every 3 years.

 

[Red]

May 2nd, 2013
Gilat Satellite Networks + NordNet... Faster Broadband For The French (SATCOM)

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (NASDAQ: GILT) and NordNet, a subsidiary of France Telecom, have announced the commercial deployment of...
...Gilat’s Ka-band VSATs in support of SES Broadband Services’ (SBBS) Ka-band consumer service rollout. Gilat’s SkyEdge II-c “Aries” VSAT provides up to 20Mbps HTTP on download and 2Mbps on upload, offering one of the fastest broadband-over-satellite services currently available in France. With Aries, French households who lack high-quality DSL services will be able to benefit from considerably faster Internet speeds, allowing them to take full advantage of all triple-play services.