General news on the satellite and space industry from around the web
Panelists David Anhalt, VP and general manager, Iridium Prime, Iridium Communications; Jim Armor, VP of ATK Space Systems Division; Curt Blake, president, Spaceflight Inc; Kirk Woellert, external payloads manager, NanoRacks. Photo: Access Intelligence [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] ViviSat will soon begin orbiting a constellation of Mission Extension Vehicles (MEVs) with room to carry hosted payloads into…
Passengers using Wi-Fi in-flight. Photo: SmartSky [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] SmartSky Networks, an In Flight Connectivity (IFC) startup with intentions of launching a high-bandwidth Air-to-Ground (ATG) service in the United States has announced partnerships with Textron Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Satcom Direct, ICG, and Harris Corporation. Together, SmartSky and its partners intend to launch an aviation-focused broadband…
Photo: Greg Bishop (Flickr) [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] ViaSat is expanding its Exede satellite Internet service to the general aviation market. The new Exede In The Air for general aviation is faster than ViaSat Yonder, and employs the same broadband technology used for residential Exede Internet in the United States. ViaSat conducted flight tests of the…
DLR solar study ground equipment. Photo: DLR [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] The World Bank has reached out to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to map Pakistan’s potential for solar energy. The agency will use 15 years of satellite imagery data, complemented by ground measurements to identify the optimum locations for solar power generation. DLR will lead…
TrustComm VP, Global Sales Joe Apa (right) and Chief Commercial Officer Michael Abad-Santos (left). Photo: TrustComm [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] Continuing with the momentum from Global Secure Network’s acquisition, TrustComm has expanded its sales team with two new members. Michael Abad-Santos has been appointed as Chief Commercial Officer and Joe Apa is the new Vice President…
QuickSkid. Photo: EMC [Via Satellite 10-21-2014] Emerging Markets Communications (EMC) has released QuickSkid, a new connectivity solution designed for the oil and gas sector. QuickSkid uses EMC’s global Ku-band coverage to provide voice, video, remote vehicle operation and other services. The new solution can be used as a primary or secondary connection for high bandwidth…
Doug Sicker, Chief Strategy Officer for CMMB USA, Charles Wong chairman and CEO of CMMB Vision and Hui Liu, CTO of CMB Vision. Photo: CMMB Vision. [Via Satellite 10-20-2014] CMMB Vision is getting ready to offer satellite based mobile multimedia services in China. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics China began using the China Mobile Multimedia…
From left to right: Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister of defense; Pascale Sourisse, SEVP international development for Thales; Major General Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah, Qatar minister of state for defense affairs; Eng. Abdulaziz Falah Al-Dosari assistant for technology to the minister of state for defense affairs. Photo: Thales [Via Satellite 10-20-2014] The Qatari Armed…
China’s Oct. 20 Long March 4C mission. Photo: Xinhua [Via Satellite 10-20-2014] China has launched Yaogan 22, a new remote sensing satellite using a Long March 4C rocket according to Xinhua, China’s state-run media agency. The launch — the 195th for the Long March family — occurred on Oct. 20 from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch…
Kacific seeks to connect the Pacific islands with high speed satellite broadband. Photo: Kacific [Via Satellite 10-20-2014] Kacific has signed a five-year multimillion-dollar agreement to provide broadband services to the island nation of Kiribati on the Kacific 1 High Throughput Satellite (HTS) when it launches in early 2017. To cover the 100,000 citizens dotted on…