News & Events

India-Pakistan border at night. Photo: NASA [Via Satellite 12-30-2015] The Department of Land Resources at India’s Ministry of Rural Development has accepted a proposal from the Chandigarh Administration for using satellites to map city properties, according to The Indian Express. The project is expected to start next month and has a deadline of one year.…

Sang Jin Yang, VP of KT Sat’s Satellite Service Business Unit. Photo: KT Sat [Via Satellite 12-29-2015] South Korean satellite operator KT Sat, owned by Korea Telecom, has not given up ambitions to become a global presence in the satellite industry. The operator currently fields three satellites — Koreasat 5 at 113 degrees east, Koreasat…

Newcom International teleport. Photo: Newcom [Via Satellite 12-29-2015] SpeedCast International has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of NewCom International, a satellite communications service provider specializing in the South and Central American regions. With the acquisition, SpeedCast plans to strengthen its capabilities to serve and support its customers globally, including in the growing South…

Mating of the SGDC and payload. Photo: Tales Alenia Space [Via Satellite 12-29-2015] Visiona Tecnologia Espacial, responsible for the integration of the Geostationary Satellite of Defense and Strategic Communications (SGDC) system in Brazil, announced the completion of a key program milestone. On Dec. 14, the mating between the satellite platform and the communication module was successfully performed, marking…

Rural village in the United Kingdom. Photo: Andy Rothwell [Via Satellite 12-29-2015] Avanti Communications is deploying Gilat Satellite Networks’ Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) to provide the fast broadband Internet access to rural households throughout the United Kingdom. Avanti has been contracted by the Broadband Delivery UK government initiative, which subsidizes the deployment of broadband…

[Via Satellite 12-29-2015] DataPath has appointed Carsten Drachmann has as vice president and general manager for DataPath’s portable satellite terminals business unit based in Sweden, and George Tong as DataPath’s vice president of global engineering and technology. Over the past 25 years, Drachmann has delivered large-scale revenue, profit and market share growth for companies in the telecommunications and…

STN facility. Photo: STN [Via Satellite 12-28-2015] Slovenia-based Satellite Telecommunications Network (STN) is preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), having grown significantly as a privately owned business to continue seeking new business opportunities. Founded in 2004, the Lovsin family runs the business, which has since grown in scope from European, to regional to global.…

Artist rendition of a Comsat NG satellite. Photo: Thales Alenia Space [Via Satellite 12-28-2015] The French defense procurement agency Direction Generale de l’Armement (DGA), part of the French Defense Ministry, has selected the consortium formed by Thales Alenia Space (65 percent) and Airbus Defence and Space (35 percent) to build and deliver the military satellite…

Batelco teleport in Bahrain. Photo: Ryan Lackey [Via Satellite 12-28-2015] ABS has extended its agreement for teleport services with Batelco in Bahrain. Under the agreement, signed in 2011, Batelco provided ABS with a full suite of telecom services at its teleport. Batelco’s teleport boasts a 30,000 square meter operational area with partners gaining access to…

TESS Satellite Structure in Vanguard Test Fixture. Photo: PRNews/Vanguard Space Technologies [Via Satellite 12-28-2015] Vanguard Space Technologies has delivered the first set of three primary components for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) program to Orbital ATK. Vanguard was responsible for structural engineering, fabrication, assembly and test of the High Gain Antenna (HGA), and fabrication…