April 2015

Artist’s rendition of Landsat 9. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 04-17-2015] NASA and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have started working on the Landsat 9 Earth observation satellite, with a launch planned for 2023. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. is leading the Landsat 9 flight segment. In addition to building the satellite,…

[Via Satellite 04-17-2015] DataPath, a provider of remote field communications solutions to the aerospace, government, broadcast, and infrastructure markets, announced a new partnership with Vislink, a service provider in the collection, transmission, and management of high quality video and data from the field to the point of usage. This partnership will allow DataPath to offer…

Cobham Satcom’s Explorer7100GX terminal. Photo: Cobham Satcom [Via Satellite 04-17-2015] Inmarsat has approved Cobham Satcom’s Explorer 7100GX terminal for use on its Ka-band Global Xpress network. The companies conducted terminal testing on the first GX satellite, Inmarsat 5 F1 (I5-F1), from Cobham Satcom’s Denmark facility. The Explorer 7100GX is the first vehicle mounted terminal to…

ViaLite Communication’s ViaLiteHD RF over fiber system. Photo: ViaLite Communications [Via Satellite 04-17-2015] ViaLite Communications, manufacturer of RF over fiber equipment, has announced the supply of a ViaLiteHD system for Intelsat’s high performance EpicNG satellite platform. The ViaLite equipment will be installed at Intelsat’s Hagerstown, Md. ground station. EpicNG is a fixed, High Throughput Satellite…

Samsung’s Executive Vice President for North America, Joe Stinziano, introduces UHD Alliance at CES 2015. Photo: Samsung [Via Satellite 04-16-2015] The Ultra High Definition Alliance (UHD Alliance) is coming to make sure Ultra-HD makes it to a screen near you and with lasting power. As 4K looks to take over HD and enter the mainstream…

Photo: SES [Via Satellite 04-16-2015] Six leading satellite operators and manufacturers announced the formation of the SAT>IP Alliance at the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Nev. The partnership formalizes a coalition that was initiated last year to develop compatible hardware and software for the SAT>IP technology. The SAT>IP Alliance consists of SES, Hispasat, Panasonic,…

Nathan Kundtz, Kymeta’s new CEO. Photo: Kymeta. [Via Satellite 04-16-2015] Kymeta Corporation announced that its board of directors has appointed Nathan Kundtz as CEO and Marc Stolzman as CFO. Kundtz previously held the position of president and CTO at Kymeta. Stolzman previously held the position of CFO at Zulily. After conducting award-winning, highly-cited research at…

AREWA24 installers ready to point customer dishes to Eutelsat 16A satellite. Photo: Eutelsat [Via Satellite 04-16-2015] AREWA24, a 24-hour Free-to-Air (FTA) Hausa-language entertainment and lifestyle channel, has signed a multi-year capacity lease with Eutelsat Communications on the Eutelsat 16A satellite. Leveraging the satellite’s Ku-band footprint that sweeps across sub-Saharan Africa, AREWA24 aims to extend its…

SolAero Technologies headquarters in Albuquerque, NM. Photo: Sandia Science & Technology Park [Via Satellite 04-16-2015] SolAero Technologies, a provider of space solar power solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alliance Spacesystems, a provider of high-performance composite structures for spacecraft applications. The combination of SolAero and Alliance creates a vertically integrated satellite subsystem provider…

Caption: Rocket Lab firing the Rutherford engine. Photo: Rocket Lab. [Via Satellite 04-15-2015] Small satellite launch services provider Rocket Lab has created an engine for its Electron rocket that can be manufactured in three days time. The recently unveiled 4,600 lbf Rutherford engine is primarily produced via additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, to accelerate the…