Satellite News articles from March 2005

Satellite News archives from March 2005

Inmarsat 4-F1 To Launch This Week.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... International Launch Services (ILS) revealed the details of its scheduled March 10 launch of the Inmarsat 4-F1 satellite. The spacecraft will be sent into orbit onboard an Atlas 5 rocket. The launch will take place at the Cape Canaveral Air...

Internal Politics Leave Voom's Survival In Question.(Voom HD LLC)
March 7, 2005... Watching the events unfold as the fate of Cablevision's Rainbow DBS direct-to-home satellite television business is being determined is in some ways as entertaining as the programs that are transmitted to the televisions of its subscribers...

Galileo Joint Undertaking Delays Naming Winning Concession Bid.
March 7, 2005... A winner between the two consortia in competition for the concession contract to operate the European Union's (EU) Galileo satellite-based navigation system was supposed to be announced on March 1. However, the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU),...

Spotlight: Satellite Imagery Streamlining Oil And Gas Operations.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... DigitalGlobe recently announced that Apache Corp. has joined the company's enterprise partner program, a mechanism that streamlines access to geospatial products and provides quick and easy data viewing and ordering in a desktop environment....

B-2 Looks To Interim Solution For EHF Satcom Delay.
March 7, 2005... The B-2 Spirit bomber, which is undergoing a series of upgrades as part of its overall modernization program, will need an interim solution to accommodate a delay in its EHF Satcom capabilities, according to an official involved in the program....

Program Office Established For Space-Based Radar.
March 7, 2005... ORLANDO, FL.-As part of the Pentagon's continuing plans to shore up a coherent development strategy for a new space surveillance system and launch a demonstration satellite by 2008, the Air Force is establishing a program executive office for...

European Satellite Pay-TV, Performance Update.
March 7, 2005... European direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television operators have seen some encouraging numbers in the final quarter of 2004. With all the results now in, Satellite News assesses the performances of the main satellite pay-TV operators in...

Sanborn Acquires Space Imaging Business Unit.
March 7, 2005... Sanborn, a geographic information system and photogrammetry company, said it acquired Space Imaging's Federal Civil and Commercial Solutions value-added solutions business unit. The unit's capabilities span a full range of geospatial services...

Lockheed Martin Reaches Milestone In SBIRS High Program.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Lockheed Martin said it achieved a milestone with the completion and delivery of a sophisticated, high-performance communications subsystem integral to the infrared payload of the first Space-based Infrared System High (SBIRS High)...

Eumetsat Playing Key Role in Tsunami Warning System.(European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Eumetsat, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, moved fast to support a new Tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. It announced that it has made its Meteosat-5 satellite, which flies above the Indian...

Globalstar Files For ATC Authority.(Ancillary Terrestrial Service)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Globalstar LLC said it filed March 2 an application with the Federal Communications Commission for authority to offer ancillary terrestrial service (ATC) in the United States in conjunction with its mobile satellite services. ATC allows...

XM-3 Satellite Launch Successful.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Sea Launch Co. LLC said it successfully delivered the XM-3 satellite into orbit for XM Satellite Radio. The launch occurred Feb. 28 at 7:51 p.m. PST. It was the first Sea Launch mission in 2005. The satellite was sent into orbit on a Zenit-3SL...

Modulus Unveils New MPEG-4 AVC Encoder.(Modulus Video)(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... Modulus Video introduced its new ME6000 real-time, full-resolution highdefinition (HD) MPEG-4 AVC encoder for broadcast and other quality driven video applications. According to Modulus, the new system will enable satellite, telco and cable...

NDS Wins Key Contract Renewal.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... NDS Group won a key contract renewal in Asia with leading Korean pay-TV operator SkyLife. The two parties signed a new five-year contract, which sees the operator use NDS' VideoGuard Conditional Access (CA) solution for its digital broadcast...

BSkyB Selects Thomson For HDTV Launch.(Brief Article)
March 7, 2005... BSkyB has taken another significant step toward its launch of High-Definition TV (HDTV) services in the United Kingdom. It announced that it is working with Thomson as the initial Set-Top Box (STB) manufacturer for its HDTV service. The deal is...

HNS: Satellite Needs To Be Required In Networx Mix.
March 7, 2005... In testimony be the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform, Hughes Network Systems (HNS) Senior Vice President Michael Cook urged the committed to include satellite broadband technologies in the federal government's "Networx" procurement...

Mining For Gold In The X-Band.(Xtar LLC, Xtar-Eur satellite)
March 14, 2005... With its Xtar-Eur satellite successfully launched last month by Arianespace and with in-orbit testing near completion, start-up company Xtar LLC can now focus on building business around an ambitious plan that involved targeting a specific...

Cablevision Agrees To Keep Voom Deal Alive For Now.(Cablevision Systems Corp., Thomas Dolan, Rainbow D.B.S.)
March 14, 2005... After a week of dueling press releases, conflicting Web sites, a changeover in the board of directors and a harshly worded letter (SN, March 7), the Voom saga reached an almost anti-climatic point last week when Cablevision announced it had...

Inmarsat 4-F1 Launch Rescheduled.
March 14, 2005... International Launch Services scrubbed its scheduled launch of the Inmarsat 4-F1 satellite on March 10. According to a recorded message on the company's launch hotline, the mission was aborted with minutes remaining in the countdown due to "an...

Spotlight: Using Satellite To Aid In Terrorist Act Response.
March 14, 2005... In the post Sept. 11, 2001 world, many governments are looking for ways to improve emergency response in the event of a terrorist action. Recently, the Ottawa Fire Service in Ontario, Canada, tapped C-Com Satellite Systems Inc. to provide its...

Americom Government Services Nabs Key FAA Contract.
March 14, 2005... Americom Government Services (AGS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES Americom, last week announced it was awarded a 10-year contract through Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Services to support the Federal Aviation Administration's...

Satlynx CEO Expecting "Sizeable" Revenue Increase in 2005.
March 14, 2005... Less than one year ago, Satlynx CEO Paul Heinerscheid told Satellite News talked about his Satlynx's efforts to refocus the company's satellite broadband product offering to tackle the small and medium enterprise (SME), small office/home office...

SBS Launches New Dutch Digital Channels.(SBS Broadcasting SA)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Pan-European broadcaster SBS Broadcasting is launching three new digital channels in the Dutch digital television market. The first channel is called "Klussen en Wonen" (Do-It-Yourself) and is dedicated to home improvements. The second channel,...

Foxtel Launches Integrated PVR Service In Australia.(Perosnal Video Recorder)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... NDS Group plc said Foxtel of Australia, a provider of direct-to-home satellite and cable television services, launched NDS XTV integrated personal video recorder (PVR) technology to power its iQ PVR service. Foxtel is the sixth customer of NDS...

DirecTV Unveils Exclusive NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Package.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... DirecTV Inc. said it is carrying CBS Sports' high-definition (HD) coverage of 30 of the 56 games of the first three rounds and 37 games in total of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship tournament via its exclusive Mega March...

KVH Appoints New VP Of Engineering For Satellite Products.(KVH Industries Inc)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... KVH Industries Inc. said Robert Balog joined the company and will serve as its vice president of engineering for satellite products. He comes to KVH from Automation Services Inc., where he served as president of the engineering contract...

EchoStar Settles Insurance Claim.(EchoStar Communications Corp)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... EchoStar Communications Corp. reported in a March 9 Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it settled an insurance claim related to the failure of EchoStar 4 for an aggregate amount of $240 million. The company said in...

Boeing Preps GOES-N For Shipment.(Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Boeing said it is prepping the first of three Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)-N it manufactured for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for shipment...

aeroTelesis, PT Citra Sari Makmur Partner To Develop USM Satellite Services.(Ultra Spectral Modulation)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... aeroTelesis Inc. said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia's PT Citra Sari Makmur (CSM) to develop and implement ultra spectral modulation (USM)-enabled satellite communications services for the Indonesian market. Under this...

EMS Technologies Appoints John Dunbar as CIO.(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... EMS Technologies Inc. said it appointed John Dunbar to the position of chief information officer. He will be responsible for implementing a new IT vision for EMS, including overseeing strategic planning, implementation and management of IT...

Globalstar Acquires Venezuelan Service Provider Operations.(Globalstar LLC)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Globalstar LLC said it signed, through its subsidiary company Globalstar de Venezuela CA, an agreement to acquire the Globalstar service operations, including the satellite ground station, of TE.SA.M de Venezuela. Under the agreement,...

Alltel To Offer Dish Satellite Television Service.(Alltel Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Alltel said that beginning this summer, the company would offer its telephony subscribers the option of subscribing to EchoStar Communications Corp.'s Dish Network satellite television service as part of a discounted bundled package. The...

Helius, Microspace Announced Partnership With OOH Vision Networks.(Helius Inc.)(Microspace Communications Corp.)(OOH Vision Networks LLC )(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Helius Inc. and Microspace Communications Corp. together announced a joint partnership with OOH Vision Networks LLC (OVN) to implement OVN's proprietary digital signage network in more than 100 diners in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,...

Spacenet Acquires Remaining Shares Of StarBand.( Spacenet Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. said its Spacenet Inc. subsidiary acquired all remaining shares of StarBand not already owned by Gilat and plans to merge the operations of StarBand into Spacenet. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ...

GoIP Global To Distribute Direcway.(GoIP Global Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 14, 2005... GoIP Global Inc. said it signed a contract to distribute and service Hughes Network Systems' Direcway satellite terminals in Central Asia, countries of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and North Africa. The terms of the three-year...

Air Force Lifts Boeing Rocket Suspension.
March 14, 2005... Following an over 18-month suspension that resulted from violations of federal procurement laws, the Air Force has come to an interim agreement with Boeing that will allow the company to continue military launches, the Air Force' top civilian...

Spaceway F1 Prepped For Launch.(new communications satellite for The DirecTV Group Inc. from Boeing Co.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Boeing and The DirecTV Group Inc. said the Spaceway F1 satellite arrived at Sea Launch home port in Long Beach, CA, where it will undergo final preparations for a late April launch aboard a Zenit-3SL rocket. The satellite is based on...

Galileo Joint Undertaking Denies Consortia Being Pushed Together.
March 21, 2005... "We are not pushing for the two consortia to join together, definitely not," Rainer Grohe, executive director of the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), told Satellite News when asked whether the GJU was trying to push the two consortia to join...

Panamsat Raises $900 Million, Stock Price Drops Following IPO.(initial public offerings)
March 21, 2005... Many people across the nation probably spent a good portion of March 17 clicking on various Internet sites to get the latest college basketball scores as "March Madness" officially began. But for satellite industry observers, a different...

Spotlight: Launching A New Product With Satellite TV.(Mercedes-Benz USA Inc., EchoStar Communications Corp., contract)
March 21, 2005... Advertising on satellite television took an interactive twist last week when Mercedes-Benz USA gave subscribers of Dish Network, EchoStar Communications Corp.'s direct-to-home satellite television service, an exclusive first look at the...

Commissioner Martin Named New FCC Chairman.(United States. Federal Communications Commission)
March 21, 2005... President Bush officially named Kevin Martin, a sitting Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner, to the top spot, replacing the departing Michael Powell. This method of naming a current commissioner to lead the regulatory agency...

Taking A Unique Approach To Serving Asia-Pacific DTH Market.(direct to home, ProtoStar)
March 21, 2005... Upstart company ProtoStar is looking to leave its mark on the Asia- Pacific direct-to-home (DTH) market with a unique way to serve the needs of customers across the entire region. Rather than compete nation-by-nation in the region, the...

Taking Terrestrial Thinking Into Space.(Virtual Connexions introduced a new satellite modem)
March 21, 2005... Upstart company Virtual Connexions is looking to tackle the satellite modem market with a new approach that it believes will provide the foundation for a profitable business: applying the terrestrial mindset to the development of a new...

Lockheed Martin-Led Team Passes Key MUOS Design Milestone.(mobile user objective system)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Lockheed Martin said the team it is leading in the development of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) successfully completed the system preliminary design review (PDR) with the U.S. Navy, a key milestone in the development of the new...

Telenor Inks Key Hotel Deal.(Telenor Satellite Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Telenor Satellite Broadcasting signed a key deal, which will help it provide satellite broadband solutions in hotels across Europe. The deal was signed with Otrum, a provider of interactive TV solutions to hotels, which will see Otrum use a...

SBCA Offers Online NSTP Certification Database.(National Standards and Testing Program)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) introduced an online certification database for the association's National Standards and Testing Program. This database will offer SBCA members improved ways to manage their...

Iridium Provides Communications For Round-The-World Race.(Geolink)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Geolink announced it is providing Iridium mobile satellite communications services for the Oryx Quest 2005 round-the-world sailboat race, which began in February. The Oryx Quest race pits four multi-hull sailing vessels against each other in...

ICAO Taps Americom Government Services For Satellite Network.(International Civil Aviation Organization)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Americom Government Services said it won a five-year contract from the United States, Caribbean States/Territories and Central American Organization of Air Navigation Services that are coordinated by the regional office for the North...

New Skies Secures Key Latin American Broadband Contract.(New Skies Satellites N.V.)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... New Skies Satellites BV has reached a long-term agreement with Latin American broadband service provider Impsat in Argentina to support a new two-way broadband Internet network using the NSS-7 satellite. Impsat deployed a new IP hub at...

Ekwan-X Taps Aster Images For Satellite Imagery.(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... Ekwan-X, a Toronto-based mineral exploration company, said it entered into an agreement to purchase 100,000 square kilometers of satellite images from Aster Images Inc. The images cover a vast area of southwest Nevada stretching from Las...

Intelsat Carries March Madness In HD.(high definition)(Brief Article)
March 21, 2005... CBS selected Intelsat to carry the high-definition broadcasts of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness, which begins March 17. The tournament will be carried over the IA-5 and IA-6 satellites....

Recent ATC Affirmation Could Mean More Consumer MSS.(ancillary terrestrial components, mobile satellite service)
March 21, 2005... With the recent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission reaffirming its decision to allow satellite operators to integrate ancillary terrestrial components (ATC) to existing Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) systems (SN, Feb. 14), the...

AMC-18 Details Revealed.(Americom, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, contract)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... SES Global said it awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Commercial Satellite Systems to build the latest addition to the SES Americom fleet. The satellite, named Americom-18 (AMC-18) will be operated from 105 degrees West and will deliver...

Satellite CEOs Laud, Question Benefits of Private Equity Ownership.
March 28, 2005... Will private equity ownership of satellite carriers save the industry, or strangle it? Six of the industry's top CEOs thrashed out this question before a standing-room-only crowd at SATELLITE 2005's Global Satellite Operators Roundtable on...

Private Investment 'Rationalizing' Satellite Industry.
March 28, 2005... "Rationality" was the unlikely buzzword during "State of the Industry: An Overview of 2005 & Beyond," the opening session of Satellite Finance 2005 on March 22 at SATELLITE 2005. Unlikely, in that satellite companies have traditionally...

Spotlight: Creativity Key For Building Business In Developing Markets.(management of Globecomm Systems Inc.)
March 28, 2005... The developing markets such as Africa and certain areas in the Asia- Pacific region present a unique opportunity for satellite companies to not only strengthen their revenues, but to help build up the economies of those regions. But building...

Consumer Services Continue To Dominate On Wall Street.
March 28, 2005... "Satellite radio was clearly the success story of 2004 [and] the story of 2005 will be Fixed Satellite Services (FSS)," said David Kestenbaum, senior analyst of satellite, cable and broadcasting at IRG Research, to kick off the "Wall Street...

Big Aerospace Firms Push Pentagon For More Project Stability.(Northrop Grumman Space Technology, contract)
March 28, 2005... As they strive to improve profitability and as they work to meet the U.S. Defense Department's often complex requirements for space-based technology, aerospace companies want the government to continue working to introduce greater levels of...

Canal+ Ready For Rural Area Push in Poland.(marketing)
March 28, 2005... Poland satellite pay-TV operator in Canal+ CYFROWY is targeting a major subscriber push in the rural areas of the country. It operates the CYFRA+ digital direct-to-home (DTH) platform and hopes an aggressive push for DTH services in rural...

Loral Files Reorganization Plan.(Loral Space and Communications Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Loral Space and Communications Ltd. filed a revised plan of reorganization with the Bankruptcy Court. The plan revises terms of a previous plan filed Dec. 5, 2004, reflects an agreement between the company, the creditors' committee and the...

Russian Express-AM2 To Be Launched On March 30.(Russian Satellite Communications Co.)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... The Russian Satellite Communication Co. has scheduled the launch of the Russian Express-AM2 communications satellite for March 30. The satellite will be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Proton-K launch vehicle. The satellite will...

Launch Services Alliance Announces Paradigm Contract.(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... The Launch Services Alliance--an alliance between Boeing Launch Services, Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries--announced a new contract employing Alliance launch systems to deliver satellites to orbit on time. The new contract will...

SES Astra Creates New Subsidiary.(ES Astra TechCom)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... SES Astra aims to boost its position in terms of generating revenues from technical services to satellite customers with the creation of a new subsidiary, SES Astra TechCom. The subsidiary aims to provide technical services and products to...

Iridium To Deploy Push-To-Talk Service.(Iridium Satellite L.L.C.)
March 28, 2005... Iridium Satellite LLC announced plans to deploy a group call push-to-talk voice and data service. The new service will allow for deployment of multi-user communication "nets" from Iridium mobile satphones from anywhere worldwide. The service...

Atlas 5 Stacked Vertically On New West Coast Launch Pad.(Lockheed Martin Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 28, 2005... Lockheed Martin's first West Coast Atlas 5 rocket has successfully completed "booster on stand" (BOS) operations at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket, which will carry a national security payload, is scheduled to launch...

Thomson Hopes To Build On BSkyB HD Link-Up.(high definition, British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC)
March 28, 2005... As direct-to-home (DTH) operators look to offer new services such as PVRs (Personal Video Recorders) and High-Definition TV (HDTV), there are potential rich pickings for set-top box (STB) manufacturers such as Thomson. In fact, Thomson...