News & Events

Launch of SpaceX orbital carrier rocket Falcon 1 from Omelek Island. Photo: U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) [Via Satellite 06-22-2015] The U.S. Ronald Reagan Missile Defense Test Site has installed ViaLite Communications’ ViaLite RF over fiber to link its command center with remote antennas. The antennas are located on the uninhabited islands of Illiginni and…

Thor 7 in the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR). Photo: SSL [Via Satellite 06-22-2015] Telenor Satellite Broadcasting’s newest satellite, Thor 7, has completed in-orbit testing as well as its journey from Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) to its 1 degree west orbital slot. Thor 7, built by SSL, launched April 26, 2015 aboard an Ariane 5…

Hot firing of 3-D-printed platinum chamber thruster. Photo: Airbus Defence and Space [Via Satellite 06-22-2015] The European Space Agency (ESA) reported that the agency and industry partner Airbus Defence and Space have completed a series of hot firings of a 3-D printed platinum combustion chamber and nozzle. The firings consisted of 618 ignitions, including a…

An O3b satellite. Photo: O3b [Via Satellite 06-19-2015] O3b Networks, operator of a constellation of 12 High Throughput Satellites (HTS) in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) has announced a slew of new and upgraded contracts for its Ka-band services. Many of these awards came from telcos in the Asia-Pacific, though O3B continues to branch out, expecting…

Artist’s rendition of the BSAT 4a satellite. Photo: SSL [Via Satellite 06-19-2015] Japanese satellite operator Broadcasting Satellite System Corporation (B-SAT) has selected Space Systems/Loral (SSL) to build a new satellite for Direct-to-Home (DTH) television services. The new BSAT 4a satellite will use the SSL 1300 satellite platform, supporting 24 Ku-band transponders for a range of…

Aerial view of Signalhorn’s Backnang, Germany headquarters. Photo: Signalhorn [Via Satellite 06-19-2015] An international banking institution located in Africa has entered an agreement with Signalhorn to provide a dedicated, multi-faceted turnkey telecommunications solution to support its worldwide business engagements. Signalhorn will procure equipment and develop bespoke solutions to form the backbone of the institution’s communication capability.…

Photo: Caracol Television, operator of Caracol Internacional [Via Satellite 06-19-2015] DishLATINO has grafted Caracol Television’s Caracol Internacional channel into its programming lineup, bringing a greater amount of culturally relevant news and entertainment to Colombians and other Latin Americans living in the U.S. DishLATINO subscribers will have access to popular Colombian shows including Noticias Caracol (Caracol…

Pascale Ehrenfreund, new chair of the DLR executive board. Photo: DLR [Via Satellite 06-19-2015] The Senate of the German aerospace center, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), has unanimously decided to appoint Pascale Ehrenfreund, research professor of space policy and international affairs at the Space Policy Institute in Washington D.C., as the new chair…

The Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) unit on Sentinel-1 transmits data to the ground facility via the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS). Photo: ESA [Via Satellite 06-18-2015] The European Space Agency (ESA) and partner Airbus Defence and Space are aiming to build out the European Data Relay System (EDRS) into a global laser communications network by…

An Accion Systems electric propulsion system. Photo: Accion Systems [Via Satellite 06-18-2015] Accion Systems, a satellite technology startup that originated at MIT, has received a Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) worth $3 million. The award follows a $2 million seed round in December 2014. DOD’s RIF program helps…