Satellite News articles from October 1992

Satellite News archives from October 1992

Hughes Aircraft Co. garners Arabsat follow-on series contract. (contract for two second-generation Arabsat 2-series satellites awarded by Arab Space Communications Organization)
October 5, 1992... Arab Space Communications Corp. (Arabsat) last week awarded a $258 million contract to Hughes Aircraft Co. for two second-generation Arabsat 2-series satellites, beating out bids by British Aerospace Ltd. and France's Aerospatiale. Arabsat said...

Russia's Glavcosmos endorses international transport system. (Alexander Dunaev, director general of Russia's space agency, promoting formation of a world space administration to coordinate the exploration and exploitation of outer space for peaceful aims)
October 5, 1992... Alexander Dunaev, director general of Glavcosmos, Russia's space agency, recently endorsed the development of an international space transportation system (ISTS). The system, he said, should consist of a "two-stage launch vehicle with...

Satellite spotlight: STS to install Polish earth station. (Satellite Transmission Systems Inc. lands contract)
October 5, 1992... California Microwave Inc. said that its Satellite Transmissions Systems Inc. (STS) subsidiary has won and internationally competitive $4.1 million contract from Telekomunikacja Polska S.A. of Poland to supply a complete Eutelsat earth station...

DoD awards $100 million contract for telecom network. (Dept. of Defense gives contract to Signal Communications Systems and Supply Inc.)
October 5, 1992... The Defense Department has awarded a 10-year $100 million contract that will use both satellite and fiber optics technologies to provide voice, data and video encrypted communication services. The contract will give the government agency...

Intelsat suffering from a worldwide capacity shortage.
October 5, 1992... Intelsat is experiencing a shortage of capacity globally and needs to position itself so that the 124-member consortium never again finds itself in need of crucial space segment, Intelsat Director General and CEO Irving Goldstein said last...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory eyeing Pluto flyby launch in 1998.
October 5, 1992... Mission planners at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labs (JPL) are looking at an early 1998 launch date for a proposed mission to Pluto, the only planet yet to be visited by spacecraft from Earth. The Pluto Flyby mission received a strong boost from...

People's Republic of China shows spacecraft design. (first manned spacecraft)
October 5, 1992... The People's Republic of China has revealed an initial view of a design for its first manned spacecraft. Xiandong Bao of the Shanghai Astronautics Bureau, a large design bureau, showed a diagram of a spaceship that appears to be designed...

Mexican mobilesat firm tests services in Utah competition. (LeoSat Panamericana)
October 5, 1992... Mexico City-based LeoSat Panamericana, founded last year, is knocking on the door to get into the mobile satellite service (MSS) business. Although the firm currently is not pursuing the U.S. market, as are the other Little low-earth-orbit...

Federation of Economic Organization's. (Japanese business federation expresses view that commercial broadcasting firms should be able to use the BS 4 satellite system)
October 5, 1992... An influential Japanese business federation last week suggested that commercial broadcasting firms should have access to the BS 4 satellite which tentatively is scheduled to be launched in 1997. The suggestion was made by Japan's Federation of...

Hughes Information Technology Co. (awarded contract by NASA to design, build and maintain ground-based data and information system for the Earth Observing System)
October 5, 1992... NASA announced last week the selection of Hughes Information Technology Co. for negotiations to design, develop and maintain the ground-based data and information system for the Earth Orbiting System (EOS) series of earth-orbiting spacecraft...

DirecTv Inc. (Stephen Ste. Marie appointed head of sales and marketing)
October 5, 1992... DirecTv Inc. has named Stephen Ste. Marie to head up sales and marketing activities for its direct broadcast satellite entertainment distribution system, DirecTv. He will be responsible for developing and implementing the overall marketing,...

Intelsat. (contract with GE Technical Services Company Inc. for delivery of two Intelsat 8-series satellites)
October 5, 1992... Intelsat and GE Technical Services Co. Inc. (GETSCO) last week signed a $165 million contract for the delivery of two Intelsat 8-series satellites in September 1995 and January 1996 (SN, Sept. 14, pp. 1-3). The satellites, known as Intelsats...

GE American Communications Inc. (contract with Christian Network Inc. for satellite services)
October 5, 1992... GE American Communications Inc. (GE Americom) has signed a long-term agreement for transponder capacity onboard its Satcom C1 satellite with The Christian Network Inc. Worship church service programming will be transmitted daily and will...

Arrowhead Space & Telecommunications Inc. (joined up with Space Systems/Loral Inc. to land contract for the Commercial Satellite Communications Initiative project)
October 5, 1992... Germantown, Md.-based Arrowhead Space & Telecommunications Inc. has teamed with prime contractor Space Systems/Loral to win the Commercial Satellite Communications Initiative project from the Defense Information Systems Agency. Arrowhead will...

Chaparral Communications Inc. (new Corotor II-Plus Wideband feedhorn introduced) (Product Announcement)
October 5, 1992... San Jose, Calif.-based Chaparral Communications Inc. has introduced its new Corotor II-plus Wideband feedhorn. Chaparral's new feedhorn provides users with superb reception of signals from satellites broadcasting to Europe, the Middle East,...

American Mobile Satellite Corp. (contract with IDB Mobile Communications Group Inc. for provide voice and data services to aeronautical industry)
October 5, 1992... American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC) has signed a preliminary agreement with IDB Mobile Communications, whereby IDB Mobile will provide voice and data communications to the aeronautical industry using AMSC's mobile satellite service. The...

Vista Satellite Communications Inc. (contract with Cypress Leasing Corp. for remarketing services on GTE Spacenet Corp.'s GStar 1 satellite)
October 5, 1992... Vista Satellite Communications Inc. has been selected by Cypress Leasing Corp. to be their exclusive agent in the remarketing of two transponders on GTE Spacenet Corp.'s GStar 1 satellite. The spacecraft, located at 103 [degree] W, is adjacent...

Nova-Net Communications Inc. (satellite services for oil, gas, electric utility, environmental monitoring and general business industries being offered in joint effort with Public Service Co.)
October 5, 1992... Nova-Net Communications Inc. and Public Service Co. of Colorado, have opened a Ku-band satellite communications hub dedicated to providing high-availability communication networks used in oil and gas, electric utility, environmental monitoring...

Boeing Defense and Space Co. (contract increase for launch rescheduling and launch support services for Inertial Upper Stages)
October 5, 1992... The Boeing Defense and Srace Co., Missiles and Space Division, of Seattle, Wash., has received a $53.2 million face-value increase to a cost-plus, award-fee contract for launch rescheduling along with fiscal year '93 integration and launch...

TRW. (reorganizing space and defense unit)
October 5, 1992... TRW is reorganizing its space and defense unit effective Jan. 1 as part of the company's ongoing effort to reduce costs and enhance its competitiveness, the Cleveland-based company announced recently. Under the new organizational structure, the...

SBCA: defend C-band downlinks from the microwave invaders. (Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association gearing up to lobby against the FCC allowing microwave users to be able to use the C-band)
October 5, 1992... Facing the prospect of relocated microwave users moving into C-band country, the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) last week was saddling up to oppose the latest FCC spectrum reallocation plan. The association...

FCC issues rulemaking for digital audio broadcasting, scrambling. (Federal Communications Commission votes to allocate spectrum for satellite-delivered digital audio broadcasting and investigate satellite signal encryption)
October 12, 1992... Following months of intense behind-the-scenes lobbying--principally by Washington, D.C.-based Satellite CD Radio Inc.--FCC commissioners last Thursday voted unanimously to propose allocating spectrum for satellite-delivered digital audio...

Satellite spotlight: Japan to launch commercial TV satellites.
October 12, 1992... Commercial television stations using communications satellites in Japan will start operating next year for the first time, Japanese government officials said last week. The officials said an advisory panel of the Posts and...

Russian space program will fall short of 1980s launch pace.
October 12, 1992... The Russian space program showed more vitality in the third quarter than it has in the previous two quarters, launching 14 times between July and September (see chart below). But the world's most spacefaring nation will not come close to...

Special report: Satel Conseil - working with WARC, an update. (French national satellite consultancy; World Administrative Radio Conference)
October 12, 1992... PARIS--The world, said Booz-Allen & Hamilton Vice President Michael Tyler at the recent Satel Conseil: Working with WARC '92 symposium here, "is entering another round of changes in telecommunications that is more volatile and drastic than...

Eosat. (Earth Observation Satellite Co., joint venture of General Electric Co. and Hughes Aircraft Co. pays operating cost of Landsat remote sensing program)
October 12, 1992... * Eosat, the joint venture of General Electric and Hughes Aircraft Co. which runs the Landsat remote sensing program, began paying the program's operating costs Oct. 1, Eosat said. The move, under the Land Remote Sensing Act of 1984, was...

BrightStar Communications. (signs contract with ABC News to carry four television programs to European cities)
October 12, 1992... * BrightStar Communications has signed a long-term agreement with ABC NEWS to carry four programs to several European cities. The satellite carrier said it has begun transmitting "World News Tonight," "Nightline," "Good Morning America," and...

CNN International. (Cable News Network has highest weekly viewing of satellite channels according to Continental Research survey)
October 12, 1992... * A recent survey by Continental Research found CNN International (CNNI) to carry the highest weekly viewing of satellite channels by European senior managers. The Pan European 1992 Senior Management Viewing Survey found that 29 percent of the...

AT&T. (offers Skynet Transponder Service at three-month special rate)
October 12, 1992... * AT&T is offering its Skynet Transponder Service for as little as $100 per hour and $25 for each additional 15 minutes. The three-month offer makes parttime video available to new customers at the special prices. The rate for existing Skynet...

Orbital Communications Corp. (has contract with Samsung Company Ltd. to manufacture hand-held Orbcomm personal communicators)
October 12, 1992... 8 * Orbital Communications Corp. has inked deals with The Samsung Group for the manufacture of hand-held Orbcomm personal communicators and for an analysis of the market for Orbcomm services in Korea. Under the pact, Samsung will...

American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC). (has contract with Vanguard Communications Inc. as Authorized Service Provider of satellite-based data and position location services)
October 12, 1992... * American Mobile Satellite Corp. (AMSC) has announced that Vanguard Communications Inc. will become an Authorized Service Provider of AMSC's satellitebased mobile data and position location services. The Houston-based Vanguard will provide...

Chaparral Communications. (has new line of Monterey Celebrity satellite receivers)
October 12, 1992... * Chaparral Communications has issued a new family of satellite receivers called the Monterey Celebrity series. The Celebrity series includes three models: the 95, 55 and 35. The Celebrity 95 is the firm's top model, carrying several features...

Scientific-Atlanta Inc. (is providing North American Bar Network L.P. satellite equipment to launch new Tavern Television service)
October 12, 1992... * The North American Bar Network L.P. (NABN) is using Scientific-Atlanta Inc. satellite equipment to launch its new Tavern Television service. ScientificAtlanta said NABN already has ordered more than 2,000 Scientific-Atlanta B-MAC integrated...

Communications Systems Ltd. (Comsys). (awarded study contract by Directorate General 13 of European Commission)
October 12, 1992... * Directorate General 13 (DG 13) of the European Commission has awarded a study contract to Communications Systems Ltd. (Comsys). The study, which will assist in the development of one-stop shopping for SNG equipment within the European...

HongKong Telecom. (Hong Kong Telecom International Ltd. signs contract with Beijing Telecommunications Administration for international private lease circuits)
October 12, 1992... * Hongkong Telecom and the Beijing Telecommunications Administration (BTA) have signed a one-stop shopping agreement for the provision of international private leased circuits (IPLCs) between the People's Republic of China and any overseas...

Thomson Tubes Electroniques. (awarded contract by Space Systems/Loral Inc. to provide Ku- and Ka-band traveling wave tubes for NStar, telecom satellite program)
October 12, 1992... * Space Systems/Loral has awarded a contract to Thomson Tubes Electroniques to supply Ku- and Ka-band traveling wave tubes (TWTs) for NStar, the telecom satellite program ordered by Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. of Japan. The contract is...

IDB WorldCom. (IDB Communications Group Inc. wins State Department contract to provide digital transmission services for U.S. embassies in the Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia)
October 12, 1992... * IDB WorldCorn has won a contract to provide 64 Kbps digital transmission services among U.S. embassies in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Ukraine. Each circuit will terminate in the State Department's Communications Center in Washington,...

Arianespace's Bigot: level the launcher playing field. (Arianespace's CEO Charles Bigot comments about commercial satellite industry)
October 12, 1992... It is not in the best interests of either the United States or Europe to support the government-subsidized Long March-series expendable launch vehicles (ELVs), said Arianespace Chairman and CEO Charles Bigot. He made his remarks during a press...

Telesat Canada shopping Anik C1 satellite; HCI talking SBS 4 sale. (Hughes Communications Inc.; Anik C1 and SBS 4 satellite up for sale)
October 19, 1992... The after-sale market for aging in-orbit satellites appeared to be heating up again as rumors swirled throughout the industry last week that two aging birds are about to be sold off to the highest bidder. Sources told SATELLITE NEWS Senior...

Satellite spotlight: ApparelVision premiers BTV network. (service to be started via satellite-transmitted television to market clothing for the apparel and retail industries across the country)
October 19, 1992... * SATELLITE SPOTLIGHT: APPARELVISION PREMIERS BTV NETWORK * ApparelVision announced recently it will launch a new satellite-delivered business television (BTV) network created specifically for the apparel and retail industries. Using...

Special report - Europa Telecom: big business in Central Europe.
October 19, 1992... BUDAPEST--Business was the buzzword last week at the ITU Europa Telecom 92 conference and exhibition held here in Hungary's capital city on the Danube. From speculation that Eutelsat looks forward to a future of both ultimate privatization as...

MacDonald Dettwiler. (consortium of Western Canadian firms propose satellite system for assisting in control of the environment worldwide)
October 19, 1992... * Richmond, British Columbia-based MacDonald Dettwiler is leading a team of Western Canadian firms to propose the low-cost development of an international remote sensing satellite system for environmental control. The proposal, dubbed Green...

Satellite CD Radio Inc. (application accepted by FCC for building and operating digital audio broadcasting satellite for radio service in S-band region)
October 19, 1992... * The FCC officially accepted the application from Washington, D.C.-based Satellite CD Radio Inc. which has requested the authority to construct, launch and operate a digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio service in S-band (23102360 MHz)....

DirecTv Inc. (contract with Sony Corp. for setting up broadcast distribution center)
October 19, 1992... * DirecTv Inc. said last week it has reached an agreement with Sony Corp. of America to provide the design engineering services, system integration and broadcasting equipment for its first broadcast distribution center located in Castle Rock,...

Intelsat K. (trans-Atlantic service initiated in direct-to-home satellite broadcasting)
October 19, 1992... * The Intelsat K satellite has handled the first trans-Atlantic direct-tohome satellite broadcast. The encrypted service began last Monday over the Europlus satellite network with the transmission of Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI) television,...

Sensor Systems. (new antenna available for use with Global Positioning System) (Product Announcement)
October 19, 1992... * Sensor Systems is offering a new Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna. The company said its redesigned antenna offers improved protection against rain, ice and lightning. It is 3.5 inches in diameter and .4 inches high. The antenna is DC...

General Instrument Corp. (contract with Satellite Receiving Systems Ltd. for setting up new subscription service for Middle East Broadcasting Centre Ltd.)
October 19, 1992... * General Instrument Corp, (GI) and Satellite Receiving Systems Ltd. have signed an agreement to launch new subscription services via Arabsat and Eutelsat using GI's DigiCipher digital compression pay-television system for the Middle East...

Turner International. (statistics on Turner Broadcasting International Ltd.)
October 19, 1992... * Turner International has announced that the combined worldwide distribution of CNN and CNN International (CNNI) is now 114 million. The 114 million household figure is composed of CNN's 60 million households in the United States and CNNI's...

Hughes Networks Systems Inc. (contracts for services with Holiday Inns Inc., Northwestel Inc. and American Cancer Society)
October 19, 1992... * A Hughes Networks Systems Inc. (HNS)-built satellite hub has begun carrying interactive data traffic via the Intelsat 6 satellite. The hub, owned and operated by MCI, is providing global trans-Atlantic support for Holiday Inn Worldwide. The...

Washington International Teleport. (contract with American Association of Retired Persons for video program distribution capabilities)
October 19, 1992... * The Washington International Teleport (WIT), through its communications gateway, is providing new video program distribution capabilities for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). AARP, which has its own Ku-band antenna, already...

FCC grants Columbia request to provide domestic Pacific service. (Columbia Communications Corp.)
October 19, 1992... Honolulu-based Columbia Communications Corp. has won permission from the FCC to provide domestic telecommunications services between the United States and U.S. territories in the western Pacific. Columbia had sought permission to use its...

EchoStar picks GE Astro Space to supply seven DBS satellites. (EchoStar Satellite Corp. contract for direct broadcast satellite system with General Electric Co. Astro-Space Div.)
October 26, 1992... GE Astro Space has won a contract from EchoStar Satellite Corp. to build a high-power, direct broadcast satellite (DBS) system. Though terms of the deal were not disclosed, the initial contract is for 7 GE Series 7000 Ku-Band commercial...

Satellite spotlight: Orbcomm to provide services in Hungary. (Orbital Communications Corp.)
October 26, 1992... Hungary's Muszertechnika (MT) has signed an agreement with Orbital Communications Corp. (Orbcorem) to become the exclusive provider of Orbcorem services in Hungary. MT under the candidate license agreement will own and operate the...

Satcom takes center stage at Law and Order Space Symposium. (satellite communications)
October 26, 1992... Topics relating to satellite communications were the focal point of the Fourth Annual Symposium on the Law and Outer Space, held here Oct. 16-17. The emphasis on satellites was because no other sectors can "claim to be doing business in...

SES Astra negotiating with Hughes Aircraft for Astra 1E. (Societe Europeenne des Satellites)
October 26, 1992... PARIS--In Europe, direct broadcast satellite (DBS) broadcasters are coveting the orbital slot at 19.2 [degrees]E, currently claimed by the Astra system and developed by the Societe Europeanne des Satellites (SES) from Luxembourg. During a...

Special report - smallsat systems are chasing real markets. (forecasts for small satellite systems in cellular services, Global Positioning System services and in company projections)
October 26, 1992... The small satellite systems will triumph over the challenges and doubts currently facing them and may create a market exceeding $5 billion by 2001, according to new study of smallsats. "In short, the small systems of the 1990s will...

Comsat Corp. (Communications Satellite Corp. restructuring)
October 26, 1992... * Washington, D.C.-based Comsat Corp. announced a sweeping restructuring following our deadline on Friday, Oct. 23. Comsat said it will downsize and consolidate its business units and eliminate more than 300 jobs during the next year. The...

Comsat. (compressed digital television and digital radio services demonstrated by Communications Satellite Corp.)
October 26, 1992... * In other Comsat-related news, the company last week demonstrated compressed digital television and digital radio delivered via satellite. Using the company's World Systems digital television and audio services on the Intelsat-K satellite,...

IDB WorldCom. (digital data transmission services to be provided for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
October 26, 1992... * IDB WorldCom will provide digital transmission data services to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). IDB will relay weather data from Europe to Wallops Island, Va., with additional service to France. The...

Microspace Communications Corp. (satellite broadcasting service to be provided for U S West Paging Inc.)
October 26, 1992... * US West Paging Inc. has selected Microspace Communications Corp. to provide a satellite broadcast of paging data throughout the U S West operating region. U S West Paging, a subsidiary of U S West New Vector Group Inc., will use the...

Global Positioning System. (Appropriations committees in Senate and House approved funding for procurement of 20 satellites)
October 26, 1992... * Before they adjourned this month, conferees from the House and Senate Appropriations committees provided funding to sustain the multi-year procurement of 20 Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The procurement of the 20 Block 2R birds...

Codan Pty Ltd. (new C-band transceiver for rural and remote area use being offered by Codan Proprietary Ltd.) (Product Announcement)
October 26, 1992... * Codan Pry Ltd. is offering a new C-band transceiver for applications in rural and remote areas. The equipment is modular and can be supplied as either a complete system or as individual components. The complete system includes: a 70 MHz...

Spot Image Corp. (new service offered for archived imagery)
October 26, 1992... * Spot Image Corp. has begun a program to make any archired imagery from the 1980s available on CD-ROM for $1,200 per scene. Under the "Spot Album" program, clients can order any worldwide Spot imagery acquired from 1986 through 1989. The...

The American Satellite Television Alliance. (new pamphlet for satellite dish owners advises consumers of their rights)
October 26, 1992... * The American Satellite Television Alliance (ASTA) is offering a new pamphlet designed to help satellite dish owners defend their dishes against local zoning restrictions. The paper, "Satellite Dish Antenna Ownership: Rights,...

Thomson-CSF. (contract for Meteosat Transition Program to design and build satellite and mission control facility for European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites)
October 26, 1992... * Thomson-CSF has won a contract from Eumetsat to design and produce the satellite and mission control facility for the Meteosat Transition Program (MTP). The contract is worth about $18 million. The MTP program is aimed at guaranteeing...

Norsat International Inc. (new satellite receiver for private network operators) (Product Announcement)
October 26, 1992... * Norsat International Inc. has introduced a new addressable, audio, video and data satellite receiver for private network operators. The company's FMV 150 is compatible with both FM and standard video delivery systems. (Norsat International...

FCC LEO debate only the first round, Globalstar chief says. (Globalstar President Doug Dwyre sees more substantive issues ahead for low-earth-orbit satellite proponents in international issues to be dealt with for mobile satellite service providers beyond the FCC's ability to handle)
October 26, 1992... Despite all the attention, the battling among low-earth-orbit satellite (LEO) proponents at the FCC will prove only a preliminary debate along the road to implementing a system, Globalstar President Doug Dwyre told a meeting of the mid-Atlantic...