World of Satellite-News Updates

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Nupoint Systems to Expand Globalstar’s M2M Data Communication Services
March 18, 2013
Globalstar Canada Satellite has signed a three-year manufacturing, airtime and distribution agreement with Nupoint Systems to expand its M2M data communication service offerings to exceed the reach of terrestrial communication, the mobile satellite voice and data services provider announced Mar. 18.
Globalstar aims to provide two way communications for M2M data collection and monitor customer assets by integrating its satellite data services with Nupoint products and services. Globalstar plans to be the first mobile satellite services provider to complete the deployment of a second-generation constellation of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, designed to deliver highly reliable and low priced mobile satellite services to a wide range of customers around the world.
"Companies can't always choose the location of their assets, but they can choose a reliable and cost effective satellite communications solution to connect to those assets,” Nupoint Systems President and CEO Wayne Carlson said in a statement. “With Globalstar's recently launched satellites having a design life of 15 years, Nupoint is able to provide reliable two-way connectivity with our customer's data equipment, even in the most remote locations for years to come."

 

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SingTel Reviews Optus Satellite Business
March 18, 2013
SingTel has appointed Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as financial advisors for its review of its Optus Satellite business aiming to optimize shareholder value, the parent company announced Mar. 18.
“The only possibly suggestion I have is that satellite is not core to their business, and that with specialized satellite organization and the upcoming NBN satellite service,” Optus must decide if it “will invest in new satellites to stay competitive,” Buddecomm analyst Paul Budde said in a statement
Optus is the only telecom company that owns and operates a fleet of satellites in Australia, currently operating five satellites with a sixth scheduled for launch later this year. Optus satellites are designed to provide services such as free-to-air and pay TV, mobile telephony and broadband services to customers including the NBN Co, ABC, Foxtel, and SBS.

 

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Lockheed to Provide Logistics Support for U.S. Air Force SBIRS
March 18, 2013
According to the $105,868,182 cost-plus incentive-fee and fixed-price incentive-firm contract, Lockheed Martin will provide logistics support for a U.S. Air Force missile warning and defense satellite system and will also perform legacy sustainment and combined task force support work, the Defense Department announced Mar. 15.
The Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) aims to provide the warnings for theater and strategic missile launches to the President, defense secretary and combatant commanders and to deliver infrared data to combatant and joint task force commanders.
The SBIRS is designed to receive, process and deliver the infrared information to key decision makers through its architecture of hosted sensor payloads in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), dedicated Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellites, and the associated ground infrastructure. Lockheed Martin serves as the SBIRS prime contractor, with Northrop Grumman as the payload integrator and the Air Force Space Command as the operator.

 

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Kratos’s SAT Launches Enhanced Version of sadID Solution
March 18, 2013
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions’ subsidiary SAT Corporation (SAT) has launched an updated version of its RF Interference (RFI) Geolocation product satID, the national security solutions provider announced at the Satellite 2013 Conference Mar. 18.
satID is designed to be an all-in-one solution for locating and identifying sources of interference due to equipment failure, operator error, intentional jamming or unauthorized users. Enhancements of satID aim to develop a more intuitive and streamlined user experience resulting in a new, highly flexible architecture that can scale to fit any type of customer installation.
The satID 3.0 includes a new map-driven user interface designed to provide a more efficient way of generating geolocation results. Other enhancements include streamlined data input and extensive data entry checking for erroneous or incomplete data and integration with SAT's Monics carrier monitoring solution.
"Over 15 years of customer feedback and product development has led to the advanced features in satID 3.0, making it the most powerful and intuitive geolocation solution available," SAT President Bob Potter said in a statement. "SAT offers the most comprehensive and advanced suite of RF Interference mitigation solutions available to provide an end-to-end solution for RFI mitigation."

 

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ViaSat’s Exede Internet Service Hits One-Year Anniversary
March 18, 2013
ViaSat is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Exede Internet service, reaching more than 285,000 subscribers on ViaSat-1 within the Exede residential broadband service’s first year of operation.
“Our results prove that driving down the cost of bandwidth can make satellite a better choice than slower terrestrial alternatives,” ViaSat chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg said in a statement. “The market success of ViaSat-1 strengthens our commitment to delivering a series of new satellites that push the boundaries of what’s possible in satellite broadband across a broad range of market opportunities.”
Officially recognized as the World’s Highest Capacity Communications Satellite with a Guinness World Records title, Viasat-1 powers the Exede Internet service. Exede offers a 12 Mbps baseline download speed and has now moved into the mainstream of Internet options. According to a Feb. 2013 FCC report, Exede Internet outperformed all other ISPs in delivering promised speeds to subscribers, with 90 percent of Exede subscribers receiving 140 percent or better of the advertised 12 Mbps speed during peak periods. Approximately 40 percent of new Exede subscribers are choosing this satellite service over other alternatives for fixed home use.

 

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India's IRNSS First Satellite to Launch June 2013
March 18, 2013

India aims to launch the first of the seven satellite Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) in June 2013. The IRNSS is designed to serve as India’s Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide information about the location and time in all weather conditions. The IRNSS-1 will be launched via the polar satellite launch vehicle, PSLV-C22, from the Sriharkota, Andhra Pradesh launch pad.

According to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman K Radhakrishnan, the satellite constellation aims to increase position accuracy and provide standard positioning service for common users and restricted service for authorized users.

By launching the IRNSS, India joins China and Europe in the mission to create their own version of the U.S. GPS. The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Union (EU) are working together to create the 30 satellite Galileo constellation and aim to complete it by 2020. China’s own navigation system, BeiDou has already been opened for commercial use across the Asia-Pacific region.

In the next year, the ISRO aims to launch at least 12 missions, including the launch of a Mars orbiter from October through November. This mission aims to find signs of life as well as research Mars’ loss of atmosphere.

 

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NASA Develops and Integrates First Laser Communications System
March 18, 2013

Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) components integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft.
Image credit: NASA

NASA has developed a new laser-based space communication system, aiming to enable higher rates of satellite communications with similar capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth.

NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication system Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD)’s space terminal was recently integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft. LLCD uses an infrared laser designed to demonstrate laser communications from lunar orbit to Earth at six times the rate of the best modern-day advanced radio communication systems. According to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center LLCD Manager Donald Cornwell, this is NASA’s first time having such a communication system pass all its tests and be certified flight ready.

However, the challenge of LLCD will be to point its very narrow laser beam accurately while moving to ground stations across a distance of approximately 238,900 miles. To combat this challenge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory developers have created an advanced system designed to cancel out the slightest spacecraft vibrations.

Engineers predict that space missions in the future will be able to utilize the low mass and power requirements of laser communication technology to provide increased data quantity for 3-D high-definition video and real-time communication.

The LADEE mission, on which LLCD is a hosted payload, is scheduled for an August 2013 launch.

 

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Echostar Selects Sea Launch Zenit-3SL For 2015 Mission
March 19, 2013
Satellite services provider Echostar has contracted Sea Launch to orbit a satellite on a Zenit-3SL vehicle from its Pacific Ocean-based Odyssey platform in 2015.
In a joint statement issued March 18, the companies said Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL was “ideally suited for launching heavyweight-class spacecraft, with multiple restart capability and heavy-lift performance.”
EchoStar Satellite Services President Anders Johnson added that the preliminary agreement with Sea Launch would give the operator flexibility to accommodate its launch requirements as it expands its North American fleet. “We have been pleased with Sea Launch's performance on past missions and look forward to continued success,” Johnson said in the release.
The Zenit-3SL integrated launch vehicle is a liquid-propellant rocket consisting of three stages and a payload unit. The Echostar deal is significant for Sea Launch, as it represents its first since early February, when a Zenit rocket it used to carry the Intelsat-27 telecommunications satellite crashed after lift-off. A Russian government investigation blamed the incident on Ukrainian-made components and insisted no defects were found in its equipment.

 

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Big Four FSS Panel Drops a Few Surprises at SATELLITE 2013
March 19, 2013
SATELLITE 2013’s “big four” FSS panel consisting of the world’s largest fixed satellite operators is usually an opportunity for the industry to gauge what new threats they should be mindful of heading into the future. Throughout the recession of the past few years, those expressed worries centered on financing and the diminishing ability to raise capital. This year’s panel, however, was relatively worry-free and a consensus was quickly reached that the satellite industry is currently in one of its strongest positions of the past decade.
Of course, the risks and costs of launching satellites were mentioned, specifically among growing U.S. commercial providers – but this is nothing new. Intelsat Chairman and CEO David McGlade singled out ULA’s Delta 5 rocket as an excellent, but pricey choice to launch his satellites.
Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen told the audience that the most significant moment for the satellite industry last year was the death of Apple Founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who he called “the true pioneer of mobility and an innovator that made, and will continue to make, a considerable impact on our industry.”
SES CEO Romain Bausch spent much of his time praising technological developments from O3b Systems, going so far as to call it the most significant development of the past year. It is important to note that SES has a considerable financial investment in the worldwide satellite broadband provider.
Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg gave two of the more surprising answers of the panel session. The first was when he was asked how long it would take for Ultra HD to really make an impact on the bandwidth markets. While the three other panelists said that this would most likely happen in the 2015 to 2016 timeframe, Goldberg didn’t think Ultra HD would make its presence known for at least another five years – in 2018 – despite the upcoming 2016 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games, both happening in Brazil.
Goldberg’s second surprising answer came after he praised McGlade and Intelsat for the operator’s Epic NG offering. He stated that Telesat would, “most likely emulate Intelsat’s approach with another high-throughput-style offering. The EpicNG development just makes sense for our market and that’s the direction we may take in the future.”
The panelists were split on the potential impact of in-orbit servicing and satellite re-purposing on the operator business. McGlade and de Rosen expressed excitement over the new capability, while Bausch and Goldberg said that they didn’t believe these solutions would make much of a difference.

 

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ViviSat Introduces Hosted Payload Capability on MEV Servicing Vehicles
March 19, 2013
In-orbit servicing provider ViviSat has unveiled a highly agile hosted payload capability that aims to supplement its life extension services, the company announced March 19. ViviSat uses the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), manufactured its parent company, ATK. The primary mission of the MEV is to dock with an orbiting satellite and serve as the propulsion and attitude control systems. This enables mission extension for satellites that have run out of maneuvering fuel yet still have healthy payload and power systems.
"Life extension is the founding mission for the MEV. However, we have an increasing interest by customers and the scientific community in our unique agility and the large Space, Weight and Power (SWAP) that we can accommodate," ViviSat COO Bryan McGuirk said in a statement.
ATK Chief Engineer and Director of MEV Services Joe Anderson said the MEV could host payloads greater than 200kg and accommodate power demands greater than 2kW. “The differentiating feature of the MEV capability versus most other GEO Commsat hosts is the ability to be temporarily located to any orbital slot, or multiple slots, as arranged for by the payload provider,” he said. “Furthermore, there is no constraint on pointing or slewing like most other GEO hosts.”