September 2015

Orbital ATK’s Bacchus facility in Utah. Photo: Orbital ATK [Via Satellite 09-22-2015] A third satellite deal with a U.S. manufacturer has fallen through after the lapse of Export-Import bank authorization. Orbital ATK Regional VP for Business Development and Global Communications Ted McFarland said Sept. 21 that the company had a contract underway with Azercosmos, the…

Stratolaunch assembly hangar. Photo: Vulcan Aerospace [Via Satellite 09-22-2015] Jean Floyd, former VP and general manager for Orbital ATK’s civil and defense division, has succeeded Gary Wentz as CEO of Stratolaunch Systems. Floyd has more than 30 years of industry experience; he served in the United States Air Force and worked as program manager for…

The Andean Community visit to SES. Photo: SES [Via Satellite 09-22-2015] SES has launched its annual training for the Andean Community, a customs union in South America. A total of 15 delegates representing each member state, and the general secretariat of the Andean Community, arrived at the SES headquarters in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, on Sept. 21…

The Sailor 6560 GNSS. Photo: Cobham Satcom [Via Satellite 09-22-2015] Cobham Satcom has released two new Sailor navigation receivers for the company’s “Multi-Function Universe” ecosystem: the Sailor 656X Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and the 657X Differential GNSS (DGNSS). The black-box products collect satellite data and distribute it to a variety of onboard systems such…

KVH’s TracPhone Fleet One. Photo: KVH [Via Satellite 09-22-2015] KVH Industries has introduced the TracPhoneFleet One marine satellite communications antenna system, a 28 cm (11 in) diameter unit designed for vessels needing global satellite phone service and basic satellite Internet access. The TracPhone Fleet One, using Inmarsat’s airtime service, offers satellite telephony everywhere at sea…

Astro CEO-Dato’ Rohana Rozhan. Photo: Astro [Via Satellite 09-21-2015] Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, the top pay-TV provider in Malaysia, anticipates adding 50,000 additional subscribers during fiscal year 2016. The company announced it gained 15,000 more subscribers while reporting its financial results for the first six months of fiscal year 2016, ending Jan. 31, 2016, and…

Givati soldiers at their training week. Photo: Israeli Defense Force [Via Satellite 09-21-2015] Military satellite communications needs are shifting toward a greater emphasis on mobility and on throughput, according to the latest research from NSR. The research firm projects that, despite a disputed spending environment, retail revenues from this sector will surpass $8 billion by…

Executives from Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and Lufthansa at the European Aviation Network announcement. Photo: Inmarsat [Via Satellite 09-21-2015] Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom have formed a strategic partnership to develop a hybrid terrestrial-satellite In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) system called the European Aviation Network. The system will employ 300 LTE sites across Europe combined with a new S-band…

China’s maiden flight of the Long March 6. Photo: Xinhua [Via Satellite 09-21-2015] China’s Xinhua News Agency has reported the successful launch of the Long March 6 rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China’s Shanxi Province. The new carrier rocket, designed mainly for the launch of micro-satellites, orbited 20-such spacecraft during the…

NASA Social group tours the propellant mixing facility at Orbital ATK’s promontory site in Utah. Photo: Orbital ATK [Via Satellite 09-21-2015] Orbital ATK’s wholly owned subsidiary Alliant Techsystems Operations has received a Research and Technologies for Aerospace Propulsion Systems 2 (RTAPS2) contract from NASA to provide advanced space propulsion system technologies. Under the contract, an…