January 2016

KSAT’s satellite station in Tromso, Norway. Photo: KSAT [Via Satellite 01-21-2016] Norway-based Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) is adapting its ground network to cater to the growing small satellite market. The company has launched 20 ground station sites across the globe through its KSAT Lite services, which aims to reduce cost and up utility for SmallSat…

Photo: SES [Via Satellite 01-21-2016] SES and Vivicast Media have unveiled UHD-1, a new Ultra-HD channel for cable operators and telcos in North America. UHD-1 will be delivered over the SES 3 satellite, one of three satellites (SES 1, SES 3 and AMC 18) that make up SES’s Ultra-HD distribution neighborhood over North America. This…

Snecma’s PPS5000 plasma thruster for electric propulsion. Photo: Snecma. [Via Satellite 01-21-2016] Prime contractors Thales Alenia Space and Airbus Defense and Space have jointly selected, along with the European Space Agency (ESA), Snecma‘s PPS5000 plasma thruster for their new-generation telecommunications satellite platforms now being developed through the Neosat program. ESA also authorized Thales Alenia Space…

Fireworks over SIS Live’s teleport. Photo: SIS Live [Via Satellite 01-21-2016] SIS Live has increased the amount of capacity it has from the Eutelsat 10A satellite, which offers connectivity in C and Ku band, to increase its resources in the Middle East. SIS Live is targeting customers from the major events and news sectors with…

Norsat’ Median series Ku-band 25W BUC. Photo: Norsat [Via Satellite 01-021-2016] Norsat has launched a new series of Ku-band Block Upconverters (BUCs) called Median, designed for Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), broadcast, maritime, and portable terminal applications. The Median series of Ku-band BUCs comes in 16W and 25W options and is currently available in standard…

Alice Bunn, director of policy at the UK Space Agency. Photo: U.K. Space Agency [Via Satellite 01-20-2016] In December last year the United Kingdom released its first national space policy, outlining the country’s political approach to space. Already an advanced nation in the space domain, the U.K. aims to grow its portion of the global…

AsiaSat 6 rendering. Photo: SSL [Via Satellite 01-20-2016] The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) has recently given permission for AsiaSat to serve Chinese broadcasters for video distribution to cable headends in China via its AsiaSat 6 satellite. Shanghai Interactive Television (SiTV), a subsidiary of…

USS Gonzalez participates in a passing exercise with Turkish Navy ship. Photo: U.S. Navy by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class P. Sena [Via Satellite 01-20-2016] Communications and Power Industries (CPI) Satcom Division has received an order from a U.S. military systems integrator worth more than $4.5 million to provide high-power, X-band Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers…

An O3b satellite with solar panels deployed. Photo: Ob3 [Via Satellite 01-20-2016] SpeedCast has launched service with O3b Networks, delivering satellite connectivity to Christmas Island and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The companies are working with the Christmas Island Internet Administration (CIIA) — the only Internet Service Provider (ISP) on Christmas Island — and with local…

PSLV C31 Take off. Photo: ISRO [Via Satellite 01-20-2016] The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched the fifth of seven satellites in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) today aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The satellite entered an elliptical orbit very close to its intended orbit, separated from the PSLV fourth stage and…