January 2016

A boy resting in a satellite dish from NewCom International in Peru.Photo: NewCom International [Via Satellite 01-19-2016] Satellite support of remote education needs to continue even during trying economic conditions, according to Jaime Dickinson, president and COO of Newcom International. Describing education as the biggest challenge facing countries in Latin America today, Dickinson told Via…

A Long March 3B rocket launches Belintersat 1 for Belarus. Photo: China Great Wall Industry Corp. [Via Satellite 01-19-2016] Belintersat 1, the first satellite of Belarus’ new national operator Belintersat, launched Jan. 16 aboard a Long March 3B rocket from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center’s LC3 pad. The satellite’s orbital location is 51.5 degrees east,…

Cascavel, Parana, Brazil. Photo: Victor Carvalho (Flickr) [Via Satellite 01-19-2016] Advantech Wireless has received an order for Ka-Band hub facilities from Telebras, the Brazilian telecommunications infrastructure company, in support of the Programa Nacional de Banda Larga (PNBL), Brazil’s national broadband access initiative. Under the contract, Advantech will provide the hardware to build Ka-Band satellite network hub…

Ronald van der Breggen, Chief Commercial Officer of LeoSat [Via Satellite 01-19-2016] LeoSat has appointed Ronald van der Breggen as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), responsible for managing the global sales and marketing operations of the operator and its future constellation of up to 108 High Throughput Satellites (HTS) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Van der…

The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket used to orbit the Jason 3 satellite nearly completing a landing. Photo: SpaceX [Via Satellite 01-19-2016] SpaceX launched the joint U.S.-European oceanography satellite Jason 3 on Jan. 17 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, successfully delivering the satellite to Low Earth…

A view from the ISS. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 01-15-2016] NASA revealed Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and SpaceX as the winners of the long-awaited Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS 2) contract on Jan. 14. With a maximum potential value of $14 billion from now until 2024, the contract guarantees a minimum of six…

A Proton rocket. Photo: ILS [Via Satellite 01-15-2016] International Launch Services (ILS) is scheduled to launch the Eutelsat 9B satellite on Jan. 28 aboard a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Built by Airbus Defence and Space, the satellite also carries the first European Data Relay System node, EDRS-A, as a hosted payload. Eutelsat 9B…

FirstNet’s December 2015 board meeting. Photo: FirestNet [Via Satellite 01-15-2016] The United States First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) has issued its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the deployment of its nationwide public safety broadband network intended to modernize communications for first responders and other public safety personnel across the U.S. The release of the RFP…

Photo: UK Power Networks [Via Satellite 01-15-2016] Arqiva has received a contract from UK Power Networks to build a new satellite communications network that collects critical data from 700 remote sites across the electricity distribution networks in the south east and east of England. Work on the migration to a new encrypted Very Small Aperture…

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Com Dev employees remove M3MSat from chamber after thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing. Photo: Com Dev. [Via Satellite 01-15-2016] Honeywell’s acquisition of Com Dev International’s electrical and optical components and subsystems equipment businesses, announced Nov. 5, 2015, is closer to completion. Two key conditions, the receipt of all required regulatory approvals,…