November 2015

SmartSky’s booth at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Convention and Exhibition 2015. The tower in the booth represents the size of the spectrum SmartSky is using, 60 MHz. It is roughly 18 feet tall. At that scale, the spectrum currently allocated for ATG in the industry would be about 1 foot tall. Helps visualize…

How a proposed constellation of satellites with thermal infrared imaging sensors would locate wildfires. Photo: Quadra Pi R2E [Via Satellite 11-24-2015] NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., is working on a concept for a network of space-based sensors called FireSat in collaboration with Quadra Pi R2E, form San Francisco, Calif. FireSat would be…

Satellite Applications Catapult Headquarters. Photo: Google Maps [Via Satellite 11-24-2015] The Satellite Applications Catapult has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with JAMSS America Inc. (JAI) to create a framework of activities between the two organizations. Under the terms of the MOU, Catapult and JAI will cooperate to stimulate further commercialization of their respective space…

The H-IIA F29 with Telstar 12 Vantage onboard lifted off at 3:50 p.m. on Nov. 24, (Japan Standard Time) from the Tanegashima Space Center. Photo: JAXA. [Via Satellite 11-24-2015] Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have successfully launched Telesat’s broadcast and telecommunication satellite, Telstar 12 Vantage. An H-IIA Launch vehicle…

[Via Satellite 11-24-2015] Intelsat General has been awarded a contract to provide satellite services to the U.S. Air Force Central Command. The one-year contract calls for 144 MHz of Ku-bandwidth to support U.S. military operations in the Central Command area of responsibility. The service, which began in September 2015, has three one-year renewal option periods and…

Front Dashboard view of the European LTE Connected Car from the ng Connect Program. Photo: ng Connect Program [Via Satellite 11-23-2015] At the Internet of Things (IoT) World Forum in London last week, a number of speakers touched upon the changing dynamics of the IoT market, and the verticals that could see explosive growth in…

Amos 5 C-band coverage map. Photo: Spacecom [Via Satellite 11-23-2015] Spacecom, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, today announced that all communications and signals from the AMOS 5 satellite at the 17 degrees east orbital position have been lost. The failure occurred Saturday, Nov. 21. The company is currently employing all of its capabilities and…

Comtech headquarters in Melville, N.Y. Photo: Comtech PST [Via Satellite 11-23-2015] Comtech Telecommunications and TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) jointly announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Comtech will purchase TCS in a cash transaction for approximately a $430.8 million enterprise value. During the 12 months ended Sep. 30, TCS reported revenue of $364.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $40.4 million, and during…

Offshore platform located in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Chad Teer [Via Satellite 11-23-2015] RigNet has signed an agreement with O3b Networks to bring high capacity, low latency connectivity to operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Under the agreement, the operator will deploy O3bEnergy, O3b’s high-performance service designed to meet the needs of offshore and…

[Via Satellite 11-23-2015] ViaSat announced the availability of its first single-port 100 Gbps encryption device designed to scale from 10 to 40 to 100 Gbps, enabling customers to migrate their security infrastructure, as the demand for more bandwidth grows. The new high-speed Ethernet encryption appliance is part of a larger product family, which includes the…