February 2016

Eartha, a 3-dimensional scale model of Earth at DeLorme headquarters. Photo: Jeffrey Stevenson [Via Satellite 02-11-2016] Garmin has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of DeLorme, a company that designs and markets consumer-based satellite tracking devices with two-way communication and navigational capabilities. The completion of the acquisition, which is subject to…

Lisa Pathfinder. Photo: ESA–C.Carreau [Via Satellite 02-11-2016] Satellite propulsion company Busek has confirmed the successful firing of the company’s electrospray thrusters aboard the Lisa Pathfinder spacecraft. All eight of the electric propulsion devices on board the spacecraft successfully test fired along the satellite’s journey to Lagrange Point 1, located a 1.5 million kilometers (932,000 miles)…

AM-1, Norway’s first F-35, under construction. Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 02-11-2016] Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics Division has selected Orbcomm’s turnkey iApp platform as a replacement to its existing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based data collection solution. The iApp platform will enable automated data capture, processing, traceability and analysis of assets located at global storage sites that…

Orbital ATK’s GEOStar 3 spacecraft bus. Photo: Orbital ATK [Via Satellite 02-11-2016] Orbital ATK is expanding its presence in Asia with a new regional office in Singapore. The company is following a deliberate process of increasing its availability to, and direct engagement with, customers and industry partners. Bill Rose, senior regional director of Asia Pacific at…

Projected ViaSat 3 coverage map. Photo: ViaSat [Via Satellite 02-10-2016] ViaSat projects that its next generation satellite system will have more capacity than all the other telecommunications spacecraft in the world. The company is aggressively developing ViaSat 3, a trio of geostationary high capacity satellites where each spacecraft will be capable of more than a…

Michel de Rosen, CEO of Eutelsat, has been selected as the Satellite Executive of the Year for 2015. In 2009, when Eutelsat was a regional operator looking for its place in the satellite world, Michel de Rosen became the company’s CEO. Since then, de Rosen has built Eutelsat to be a truly global powerhouse with…

Sentinel 3C and 3D contract signature. Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 02-10-2016] The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded a $505 million contract to Thales Alenia Space for the design, development, integration and testing of the Sentinel 3C and D environmental monitoring and oceanographic satellites. The satellites will each be fitted with four instruments — two…

Artists concept of satellite with a solar electric propulsion system. Photo: SSL [Via Satellite 02-10-2016] Space Systems Loral (SSL) is collaborating with Busek, manufacturer of the first U.S.-built Hall Effect thruster to ever fly in space, on advancing the capability of solar electric propulsion systems. The companies plan to build on the current collaboration specifically…

Photo: Satcom Global [Via Satellite 02-10-2016] Satcom Global has added safety and security products for the marine and offshore market, along with a range of enhanced engineering services to its portfolio, following a full rebrand of sister company AND Group. Now under the Satcom Global brand, AND Group brings its exclusive supply relationships with marine…

David Williams, CEO of Avanti. Photo: Avanti [Via Satellite 02-09-2016] Avanti Communications increased its revenue by 27.7 percent during the company’s second quarter, bringing in $17.3 million and increasing revenue for the first half of its financial year to $31 million total. The company released its Q2 earnings results Feb. 4, reaffirming the goal of…