News on key developments at SupremeSAT, and general news on the Space and Satellite industry from across the web
Swiftbroadband coverage chart. Photo: Satcom Direct [Via Satellite 05-20-2015] Inmarsat announced flight and lab tests of High Data Rate (HDR) capabilities for SwiftBroadband have been successfully completed. The new service, developed by Inmarsat, Honeywell Aerospace and Eclipse, will double the in-flight Wi-Fi speeds for commercial, government and helicopter SwiftBroadband users through a software upgrade, according…
An Iridium 9555 satellite phone being used in Haiti. Photo: Iridium [Via Satellite 05-20-2015] Iridium Communications has donated 25 satellite phones along with batteries to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to support the agency’s disaster response capabilities. The ITU recently deployed 35 satellite phones as well as 10 Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminals, which…
A Kymeta laboratory. Photo: Kymeta [Via Satellite 05-19-2015] Kymeta is enhancing the ecosystem for its unique metamaterials-based mTenna series ahead of the commercial release of the company’s 70-centimeter Ku-band apertures in 2016. The company has signed partnerships with Airbus Defence and Space on maritime connectivity, Intellian on maritime, Intelsat on next generation capabilities, and Honeywell…
From left: Kent Ho, group CEO of TSGN; T. Dhrmarajah Dhashna, group managing director of TSGN; Cheng Guangren, director and president of APT; Lo Kin Hang, VP and company secretary of APT.Photo: APT [Via Satellite 05-19-2015] TS Global Network (TSGN), a top Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) connectivity provider in Malaysia, has entered an agreement…
HMAS Harman communications facility. Photo: Wikipedia [Via Satellite 05-19-2015] BAE Systems Australia, the largest defense contractor in the country, has selected customized amplifier units from ETL Systems for use in a Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) ground station. The amplifiers have been designed for X- and Ka-band antennas to receive military signals. BAE Systems Australia is…
X2nSat staff. Photo: X2nSat [Via Satellite 05-19-2015] X2nSat has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the long-term lease of land and access to infrastructure for Spaceport America‘s new satellite gateway ground station development. The MOA lays the foundation for a long-term lease agreement with an anticipated finalization this summer. The station’s groundbreaking is planned…
DigitalGlobe’s IKONOS satellite prior to launch. Photo: Lockheed Martin [Via Satellite 05-19-2015] DigitalGlobe retired its IKONOS commercial imaging satellite on March 31 after a service life that exceeded 15 years. The satellite launched on September 24, 1999 and performed for more than double its original design life. Built by Lockheed Martin, IKONOS captured more than…
The Proton Breeze M rocket that suffered an anomaly on May 16, 2015. Photo: Khrunichev. [Via Satellite 05-18-2015] Following the May 16 Proton Breeze M launch failure that claimed Mexico’s Centenario satellite, all involved parties have begun efforts to identify the cause of the incident and understand its effects. The mission, conducted by International Launch…
The Zenith Deck on JPSS 1 during integration. Photo: Ball Aerospace [Via Satellite 05-18-2015] Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) won a competitive selection process by Exelis Geospatial Systems to manufacture the Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) Azimuth Rotation Module (ARM) for the Joint Polar Satellite System 2 (JPSS 2) mission. ARM will function as a rotational stage…
The Winnipeg Area Control Center. Photo: Aireon [Via Satellite 05-18-2015] Exelis has confirmed that the data processing and distribution ground system for Aireon’s space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance — Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance technology achieved factory acceptance testing. The company conducted factory testing in a lab environment with both hardware and software that will be operationally deployed.…