March 2015

Ariane 5 with ATV Edoardo Amaldi. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 03-09-2015] Arianespace won a launch contract from SES to orbit the recently announced all-electric satellite SES 15. Under construction by Boeing on the company’s Boeing 702SP bus, the satellite is scheduled to launch during the second quarter of 2017 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Once…

Representatives from EIAST and MHI. Photo: EIAST [Via Satellite 03-09-2015] The Emirati Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) has selected the H2A rocket from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to launch its third large satellite, KhalifaSat. The satellite will launch with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) GOSAT 2 environmental research satellite. KhalifaSat is nearly complete,…

A Nilesat facility. Photo: Nilesat [Via Satellite 03-09-2015] Egyptian satellite operator Nilesat plans to launch its smart digital broadcasting system this April, which will bolster the company’s broadcasting services. The regional initiative will enable the compression and multiplexing of 360 television services and 120 radio services through 24 digital transport beams. The upgrade provides room…

Gogo is seeking spectrum opportunities to enhance its ATG offering alongside Delta. Photo: Delta [Via Satellite 03-06-2015] Gogo is gearing up for the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to authorize the sale of Air-to-Ground (ATG) mobile broadband in the 14 – 14.5 Ghz range on a secondary license basis, an auction that could ultimately…

Huancavelica city, one of the regions the Gilat-backed project will benefit. Photo: David Alexis, Wikimedia Commons [Via Satellite 03-06-2015] Peru’s telecommunications investment fund Fitel has awarded a $285 million regional telecommunications infrastructure project to Gilat Satellite Networks. This is the largest contract ever won by the company since its inception. Fitel’s regional initiative represents the…

Four RWA-1000 reaction wheels. Photo: PRNewsFoto/Millennium Space Systems [Via Satellite 03-06-2015] Millennium Space Systems has shipped out their first set of RWA-1000 small satellite reaction wheels to commercial customer Space Systems/Loral (SSL) in Palo Alto, Calif. This first delivery — under a contract from SSL inked four months ago — establishes Millennium’s entry into the…

Ginza district in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Francisco Diez, Wikimedia Commons [Via Satellite 03-06-2015] Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation has established a new subsidiary to expand delivery of Japanese content to overseas audiences. Cool Japan Fund and Sky Perfect JSAT will invest in the new WakuWaku Japan Company. WakuWaku Japan was formerly a business product from Sky…

UK spaceport artist rendition. Photo: Gov.UK [Via Satellite 03-06-2015] Publishing the outcome of a 3-month spaceport consultation with a range of interested parties, the U.K. government confirmed widespread support for its plans. This paves the way toward making commercial spaceflight operations in the U.K. a reality. The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had shortlisted a…

Small Sats Deployed from the ISS. Photo: NanoRacks [Via Satellite 03-05-2015] Euroconsult’s newly released small satellite research report projects a total of 510 smallsats to be launched in the next five years — a two-thirds pick up from the average number of these spacecraft orbited in the last decade. The report, entitled “Prospects for the…

Arabsat 5C before launch. Photo: Arianespace [Via Satellite 03-04-2015] Arabsat and CETel, a global solutions provider for satellite- and fiber-enabled communications and networks, are starting a partnership with their jointly built Earth station, offering business expansion possibilities with the launch of CETel services over Arabsat’s extended C-band. The collaboration will include CETel’s teleport facilities, network…