News & Events

A DirecTV satellite dish. Photo: ellibertario (Flickr) [Via Satellite 01-28-2016] AT&T is planning to incorporate video capabilities from the recent acquisition of DirecTV into more service offerings, finding that satellite, when bundled with other services, is drawing the attention of more customers. AT&T closed the acquisition of DirecTV during the summer of 2015, and is…

Arianespace’s VA228 Ariane 5 mission carrying the Intelsat 29e satellite. Photo: Arianespace [Via Satellite 01-28-2016] Intelsat 29e, the first of Intelsat’s EpicNG High Throughput Satellite (HTS) series, launched Jan. 27 from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. With C- and Ku-band coverage over the Americas and North Atlantic region, the satellite will be placed…

An Atlas 5 rocket with the RD-180 engine. Photo: U.S. Air Force [Via Satellite 01-28-2016] The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) released the last award notice Jan. 27 under the Booster Propulsion Technology Maturation Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitation. The purpose of the BAA is to support technology maturation and risk…

Photo: Access Intelligence [Via Satellite 01-28-2016] The Global Connected Aircraft Summit and The Airline Passenger Experience Association Technology Educational Conference (APEX TEC) will co-locate events this June in Los Angeles, Calif. The Global Connected Aircraft Summit, hosted by Avionics Magazine and Via Satellite, will take place June 6 to 8, while the APEX TEC Conference will take place June…

NSSLGlobal headquarters. Photo: NSSLGlobal [Via Satellite 01-28-2016] NSSLGlobal has upgraded its VSAT network by activating two new satellite beams, one from Gazprom Space Systems, and one from Intelsat, for maritime and land connectivity. From Gazprom, NSSLGlobal added a Ku-band beam from the Yamal 402 satellite at 55 degrees east, which covers Sub-Saharan Africa and waters around Madagascar…

NovaWorks Hyper-Integrated Satlet, rendering. Photo: NovaWurks [Via Satellite 01-27-2016] NovaWurks, a U.S. company that provides high-tech space products and services, is embarking on the demonstration phase of its new modular satellite design set to aid the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Phoenix program, which aims to scavenge and reuse parts from obsolete spacecraft already…

Artist’s rendition of a OneWeb satellite. Photo: OneWeb [Via Satellite 01-27-2016] OneWeb and Airbus Defence and Space, in preparation for OneWeb’s constellation of 648 small telecommunications satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), have created a joint venture named OneWeb Satellites to handle spacecraft manufacturing. OneWeb Satellites is equally owned between both companies, and will design…

SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: SpaceX [Via Satellite 01-27-2016] The U.S. Air Force has certified the baseline configuration of SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 launch system to Falcon 9 Upgrade, for use in National Security Space (NSS) missions. The new certification letter, approved Jan. 25, makes SpaceX eligible for award of NSS launch missions using this…

Tom Choi, CEO of ABS (left) and Adolfo Montenegro CEO of Bluesky Pacific Group (right). Photo: ABS. [Via Satellite 01-27-2016] ABS has signed a multi-transponder contract with Bluesky Pacific Group for satellite services on ABS 6. The multi-year capacity deal will offer expanded satellite connectivity services across the Samoan islands and the Pacific. ABS is…

[Via Satellite 01-27-2016] Orbcomm’s new OGi core modem is now commercially available, having demonstrated compliance with Inmarsat’s requirements for RF communication on the Inmarsat I-4 L-band satellites along with the IsatData Pro (IDP) network protocol. The modem is a software-defined radio based on Orbcomm’s satellite modem platform. With a footprint nearly 50 percent smaller than…