Industry Latest

Jabiru 2 footprint. Photo: NewSat [Via Satellite 11-17-2014] Airbus Defence and Space has completed Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) operations, and in-orbit trials for the Measat 3b satellite. NewSat’s Jabiru 2 hosted payload is now also operational and is supporting its first carriers. Measat has collocated the new satellite with Measat 3 and Measat…

IDC’s Star Pro Audio. Photo: IDC [Via Satellite 11-17-2014] Australian broadcaster Super Radio Network (SRN) has chosen International Datacasting Corporation’s (IDC’s) Star Pro Audio Solution to upgrade and expand its satellite radio distribution network. Today the company broadcasts 36 AM and FM radio stations, 45 translators and five Sydney DAB+ radio stations, the majority of…

ULA President and CEO Salvatore T. “Tory” Bruno speaking at the Atlantic Council. Photo: Screen capture from Atlantic Council event. [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] United Launch Alliance (ULA) will focus first on an expendable rocket to succeed the Atlas 5 using Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine. Delivering 550,000lbs of thrust each, ULA chose the American-made engine to…

A DirecTV satellite dish. Photo: ellibertario (Flickr) [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] DirecTV has teamed up with Samsung to begin offering 4K content. Beginning today, customers with DirecTV’s Genie HD DVR and a 2014 model Samsung Ultra-High Definition television will have access to new releases, popular films and nature documentaries in 4K. DirecTV’s 4K offerings begin with…

The Astra 2G satellite being transported for launch. Photo: Yuzhny Space Center [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] International Launch Services (ILS) reports the Astra 2G satellite’s fueling has been completed at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. A joint team is now preparing for Proton’s 400th launch in late November. The Breeze-M upper stage was delivered from the Khrunichev Center…

Artist’s rendition of two WGS satellites. Photo: U.S. Air Force [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] General Dynamics Canada has received a contract worth more than $52 million for the Mercury Global Project, through which Canada will participate in the United States’ Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) constellation. The Mercury Global Project provides Canadian Armed Forces with access to…

The AMC 1 C-band North America beam. Photo: SES [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] United States-based pay-per-view provider iN Demand has renewed its agreement with SES for C-band capacity on two of AMC 1’s transponders. iN Demand will use the capacity to deliver professional sports content from the NBA, MLB and others to close to 50 million…

Photo: RCS Communications [Via Satellite 11-14-2014] RCS Communications has initiated commercial service in South Sudan using O3b Networks’ High Throughput Satellite (HTS) constellation. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) signed a long-term capacity agreement in 2013 to extend the reach of its broadband services. RCS clients received access to satellite broadband on Oct. 1, 2014. The…

The Harry S Truman building, headquarters of the U.S. State Department. Photo: Wikipedia [Via Satellite 11-13-2014] On November 10, the United States Department of State put into effect amendments to International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR) revising and clarifying the classification of spacecraft and related articles on the U.S. Munitions List (USML). The reforms, which…

ABS 3A and Eutelsat 115 West B satellites stacked for launch. Photo: Boeing [Via Satellite 11-13-2014] Boeing Network and Space Systems (N&SS) has successfully mated Asia Broadcast Satellite’s ABS 3A satellite and Eutelsat’s Eutelsat 115 West B satellite in a stacked configuration for a conjoined satellite launch. The two all-electric satellites are based on Boeing’s…