Satellite Today articles from December 2002

Satellite Today archives from December 2002

Satellite Manufacturers Have Had A 'Difficult' Year.
December 9, 2002... PARIS - This year will go down in the record books as "much more difficult than expected," Astrium Chairman and CEO Antoine Bouvier told SATELLITE TODAY at the SATELLITE 2002 Europe conference being held here this week. "The number of sales...

Insurance Rate Hikes Worry Industry.
December 9, 2002... The Nov. 26 launch of the Astra 1K satellite into the wrong orbit may well lead to another hefty insurance claim that will put upward pressure on rates, a top engineering consultant warned. Marshall Kaplan, director of space practices at...

Broadband May Yet Prove Fruitful For Aramiska.
December 9, 2002... Aramiska, the pan-European two-way satellite broadband operator, plans to build on its success this year of growing its customer base to around 1,500. Most of its customers are based in the United Kingdom, although the operator wants to expand...

Avis To Offer XM Satellite Radio in Rental Cars Nationwide.
December 9, 2002... Avis Rent A Car System plans to offer XM Satellite Radio [XMSR], featuring 100 channels of music and talk, to its rental customers nationwide beginning in the first quarter of 2003. Service will be offered at an introductory cost of $2.99 a...

Applied Signal's DoubleTalk Cuts Satellite Bandwidth Requirements.
December 9, 2002... NSI Global Inc. and Applied Signal Technology [APSG] have announced a strategic partnership to incorporate Applied Signal's DoubleTalk Bandwidth Enhancement technology into NSI's FlexiDAMA product line. The DoubleTalk technology, which was...

Eagle Broadband Unveils LEO Satellite Communications Product.
December 9, 2002... Eagle Broadband [EAG] has completed field testing its proprietary product line based on low-Earth-orbit satellite communications, which passed its initial production design review and is ready for release to production, the company said. ...

Clarification.
December 9, 2002... The previous edition of SATELLITE TODAY that was delivered on Friday, Dec. 6, was incorrectly dated Dec. 9. We apologize for the error. [Copyright 2002 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]

EchoStar's Ergen Cries Uncle.
December 10, 2002... EchoStar Communications Corp.'s [DISH] irrepressible chief Charlie Ergen has thrown in the towel, paid a $600 million termination fee and walked away from the merger with Hughes Electronics Corp. [GMH] and its highly coveted DirecTV Inc....

Boeing's Brinkley Wants Flexibility When It Comes To Satellites.
December 10, 2002... During the opening session of SATELLITE 2002 Europe being held in Paris this week, Boeing Satellite Systems President Randy Brinkley unveiled his plan for simpler, more flexible satellites that would offer customers in-orbit versatility and new...

Broadcasters Will Continue To Use Satellites Despite Fiber's Lower Price.
December 10, 2002... Despite fiber becoming a more attractive option due to lower prices, satellites will remain the key option of choice for broadcasters in Europe. At the same time, using fiber is clearly on the agenda for a number of Europe's leading...

FCC Chairman, NTIA Head Meet To Coordinate Spectrum Policy.
December 10, 2002... Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael K. Powell and Nancy J. Victory, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), met Tuesday to coordinate their efforts in reforming U.S. spectrum policy....

Astra 1K Destroyed After Rescue Attempts Abandoned.
December 10, 2002... Attempts to salvage the Astra 1K satellite following the failed Nov. 26 launch of a Proton rocket proved unsuccessful and the spacecraft was de-orbited safely over the Pacific Ocean Tuesday, company officials said. Detailed consultations...

New Skies, Microspace Ink Deal For Europe and the Middle East.
December 10, 2002... New Skies Satellites [NSK], a Dutch-based satellite communications company, signed an agreement with U.S.-based Microspace Communications, operator of business satellite broadcasting networks, to broadcast IP-based information to Europe and the...

Space Imaging Opens Federal Office In Reston.
December 10, 2002... Space Imaging, a providing Earth imagery and related services to commercial and government markets, announced Tuesday the opening of a federal sales office in Reston, Va. Space Imaging creates mapping products from a variety of satellite and...

Galileo System Would Expand Satellite Navigation Availability.
December 11, 2002... PARIS -- Development of the 3 billion euro ($3 billion) Galileo satellite navigation system would improve the availability of signals to users throughout the world, said Olivier Colaitis, chairman of Galileo Industries, during a panel...

European Operators Worried About Regulatory Obstacles.
December 11, 2002... PARIS -- Europe is still one of the best places to do business for satellite operators, although there is much work to be done to reduce regulatory burdens. This was the main message to come from satellite operators when talking about the...

Dordain Named Director General of European Space Agency.
December 11, 2002... The Council of the European Space Agency has selected Jean-Jacques Dordain to be the agency's next director general. He will succeed Antonio Rodota, whose term of office ends June 30 of next year. Dordain will serve a four-year term. ...

Delphi and XM Introduce Portable Satellite Radio.
December 11, 2002... General Motors Corp.'s Delphi Corp. [DPH] and XM Satellite Radio [XMSR] announced that the first portable XM satellite radio will hit store shelves at Best Buy and Circuit City next week. The Delphi XM SKYFi Audio System - the boom box with...

Effnet Enters Satellite Market With Comtech EF Data Deal.
December 11, 2002... Comtech EF Data Corp., a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. [CMTL], has selected Effnet Group's CRTP (compressed real-time transport protocol) and IPHC (IP header compression) products for its broadband satellite networks. ...

BSkyB Equipment Provider Selects Conexant's STB Product.
December 11, 2002... Conexant Systems Inc.'s [CNXT] digital satellite set-top box (STB) semiconductor product has been chosen by Amstrad plc for its recently launched DRX400 Digibox STB deployed in British Sky Broadcasting's (BSkyB) network to provide digital...

Digital Angel Signs Distribution Agreement For South Korea.
December 11, 2002... Digital Angel Corp. [DOC] has signed an exclusive, five-year distribution agreement with California-based Global Integrated Technology to market Digital Angel Global Positioning System (GPS)-based personal location products and services in...

SES Global CEO Looks For Deals in 2003.
December 13, 2002... SES Global CEO Romain Bausch told SATELLITE TODAY at the Satellite 2002 Europe conference that the operator would consider deals that would enable it to expand its presence in different regions in 2003. "We will continue to take advantage of...

Hughes Unit To Close Terrestrial Broadband Operation.
December 13, 2002... Hughes Electronics Corp. [GMH] announced that its DirecTV Broadband subsidiary would close its high-speed Internet service business in approximately 90 days and work toward transitioning existing customers to alternative service providers. ...

Swedish Space Corp. Uses GPS For Ballon Communications.
December 13, 2002... Using Global Positioning System technology, the Swedish Space Corp. (SSC) announced Friday that it had transmitted information via a broadband wireless link over a distance of 310 kilometers. The link was made between a stratospheric...

Sarantel Finds U.S. Demand Rising For Its GPS Antennas.
December 13, 2002... Wellingborough, England-based antenna manufacturer Sarantel is boosting the number of its U.S. sales representatives to keep up with growing demand for its GeoHelix Global Positioning System antennas. The manufacturer has appointed eight more...

Massachusetts Man Prosecuted For Alleged Satellite TV Piracy.
December 13, 2002... A Massachusetts direct-to-home satellite TV businessman appeared in federal court Thursday on charges of possession and sale of illegal access devices used to unscramble direct-to-home satellite transmissions, according to the U.S. Attorney's...

Japanese Space Agency Launches ADEOS-II Satellite.
December 16, 2002... The National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) launched the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II [ADEOS-II] aboard its H-IIA launch vehicle at 10:31 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) on Dec. 14 from the Tanegashima Space Center. The ADEOS-II...

Arianespace Names Ariane 5 Inquiry Board.
December 16, 2002... The French launch company Arianespace has set up an independent inquiry board to determine the cause of the problem that led to aborting the Dec. 11 launch of an Ariane 5 rocket, resulting in the destruction of the rocket and the spacecraft on...

Ex-Im Bank Guarantees Financing For Thai Satellite.
December 16, 2002... The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is providing a government-based guarantee for $390 million in financing to build and launch the iPSTAR-1 broadband communications satellite, which is being developed by Thai...

Southern LINC Offers New GPS-enabled Motorola Handset.
December 16, 2002... Southern LINC, the wireless communications unit from Southern Co. [SO], is offering the new Motorola [MOT] i88s handset equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities. With the pre-loaded Java application, My Location, the i88s...

Former TRW Head Named To Lead Northrop Grumman's Space Technology Unit.
December 16, 2002... Wesley G. Bush has been named president of Northrop Grumman's [NOC] Space Technology unit. He replaces Timothy W. Hannemann, who is retiring as president of the unit, which was formerly TRW Space and Electronics, on Jan. 31, 2003. Most...

Brunswick Buys Northstar Technologies.
December 16, 2002... Brunswick Corp., [BC] of Lake Forest, Ill., has acquired marine navigation electronics supplier Northstar Technologies Inc. from CMC Electronics for an undisclosed amount. Established in 1970 as Digital Marine Electronics Corp., Northstar, of...

Arianespace CEO Speaks Out.(Jean-Yves Le Gall)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2002... Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace, is trying to remain positive after a challenging week for the launch services provider. Le Gall exclusively told SATELLITE TODAY: "This is a difficult market. A number of our competitors have also had...

AG-NAV TrackerNav Uses Satellite Technology To Monitor Crop-Duster Aircraft.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2002... AG-NAV Inc., a major supplier of aerial application control equipment and navigational products, has developed a satellite tracking and monitoring feature for crop dusters. The EMS PDT-100 Satellite Packet Data Terminal built by...

BSkyB Wins Key Regulatory Ruling.(British Sky Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2002... The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in the UK has announced today that BSkyB has not breached competition law. The OFT had been investigating whether BSkyB had been overcharging competitors such as NTL for its premium sports and movies channels....

Emergency Responders Rely On Satellite TV For Real-Time News.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2002... Middletown, R.I.-based KVH Industries [KVHI] is finding a market for delivering real-time, accurate information using satellite television to mobile emergency responders. The information can mean the difference between life and death, KVH...

L-3 Storm to provide Satellite Control Software for Astrium Mission Control Centre.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2002... Storm Control Systems Ltd. (L-3 Storm), a wholly owned subsidiary of L-3 Communications [LLL], won a contract of undisclosed value from Astrium to supply satellite command and control software to support launch and early-orbit phase (LEOP)...

GlobeCast Secures French God Channel Deal.
December 17, 2002... GlobeCast has announced a deal today to extend the reach of The God Channel into France. It will deliver The God Channel on its proprietary HOT BIRD platform to over 1.3 million TPS households in France. The HOT BIRD platform has a potential...

EchoStar To Buy Back Vivendi's Stake For $1 Billion.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... In the aftermath of its failed merger with Hughes Electronics Corp., EchoStar Communications Corp. [DISH] has agreed to repurchase Vivendi Universal's stake in EchoStar. As part of this transaction, Vivendi Universal will convert its...

Ariane 4 Blasts New Skies' NSS-6 Asian Bird Into Orbit.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... Despite the troubles with its replacement launcher, Ariane 4 successfully launched the NSS-6 satellite for New Skies Satellites N.V. [NSK] on Tuesday. The NSS-6 pan-Asian satellite was carried aboard an Ariane 44L rocket. The launch took...

Integral To Supply Control System For SPAINSAT.(Integral Systems Inc. receives contract from GMV)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... Integral Systems Inc. [ISYS] has received a contract from Madrid, Spainbased GMV to provide the primary and backup control systems for SPAINSAT satellite to be operated by HISDESAT. The satellite is being built by Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) for...

Alcatel Space Delivers High-Resolution Instrument For Helios II Satellite.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... Paris-based Alcatel Space delivered the first flight model of the Helios II High-Resolution (HR) instrument to Astrium for integration on the Helios IIA satellite in Toulous, France. The Helios satellite is slated for launch in late 2004....

CBS News Purchases Norsat NewsLink Portable Satellite Terminal.(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... Canada's Norsat International Inc. [NSAT], of Burnaby, British Columbia, signed CBS News as the latest customer for its Norsat NewsLink portable satellite terminal to support remote news broadcasting. The contract calls for delivery and...

Marsocci Named Vice President Of Communications At Hughes.(Bob Marsocci, Hughes Electronics Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 18, 2002... Hughes Electronics Corp. [GMH] named Bob Marsocci its vice president of corporate communications. He will retain his position as senior director of communications for DirecTV Inc., a subsidiary of Hughes, and continue to serve as a DirecTV...

North America DBS Databook Available.
December 18, 2002... The first edition of The Carmel Group's 2002 North America DBS Databook offers the most comprehensive review and analysis the industry has ever seen of the key issues and players in today's (and tomorrow's) DBS industry. To order your copy, go...

Boeing Delta II Launch of NASA's ICESat/CHIPSat Postponed.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... The planned launch of NASA's ICESat and CHIPSat satellites aboard a Boeing Co. [BA] Delta II 7320-10 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., has been postponed from this week due to a launch vehicle hardware issue discovered during a...

ESA Awards NovAtel Galileo Receiver Contract.(European Space Agency)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... The European Space Agency has awarded Calgary, Canada-based NovAtel Inc. [NGPS] a 220,000 euro contract, or US$225,720, for initial development of a ground reference receiver (GRR) for the European Galileo satellite navigation project. Work on...

Comsat International Will Start 2003 With New Management.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... Bethesda, Md.-based Comsat International (CI), a large independent telecommunications operator in Latin America, plans to begin the new year with key additions to its executive management team. Effective Jan. 1, H. Brian Thompson, a veteran...

COM DEV Returns To Profitability.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... COM DEV International Ltd., a Canadian-based designer and manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, has returned to profitability. It posted fourth quarter net income of US$451,850, or CN$700,000 million, compared with a net loss of US$57.45...

Northrop Grumman Acquires Rocket Guidance Firm.(Fibersense Technology Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] has acquired Fibersense Technology Corp., a designer and manufacturer of fiber optic gyroscope-based navigation systems for rockets and aircraft, from Audax Group for $44 million. The Fibersense business, which...

Telenor Satellite Services Relocates U.S. Headquarters.(Brief Article)
December 19, 2002... Telenor Satellite Services has completed the move of its U.S. headquarters from Bethesda, Md., to nearby Rockville, Md., in the heart of Maryland's "I-270 technology corridor." Telenor now occupies more than 38,000 square feet of workspace...

Telenor Upgrades Land-based Facilities.(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... Telenor Satellite Services, of Oslo, Norway, significantly enhanced the capabilities of its three earth stations that provide global communications via the Inmarsat satellite system. The upgrades were needed to accommodate the rapidly growing...

New Year's Eve Satellite Feeds From Times Square Are Available.(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... The Times Square BID and Countdown Entertainment once again are offering "live" Times Square Television (TSTV) satellite feeds of New Year's Eve in Times Square free of charge to media organizations around the world. This year's feed will...

EchoStar Expands Distribution To CompUSA.(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... Littleton, Colo.-based EchoStar Communications Corporation [DISH] has begun offering DISH Network satellite TV receivers at 229 CompUSA stores nationwide. CompUSA will carry the JVC line of satellite TV receivers and installation of the...

DirecTV 4S Readied For Local Channel Service.(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... Hughes Electronics Corp.'s [GMH] DirecTV unit has completed testing of its new spot beam satellite DirecTV 4S. All systems are performing as expected, company officials said. The satellite, a Boeing 601HP, is being maneuvered into position...

NTN To Use Mainstream Data VSAT Network.(NTN Communications)(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... NTN Communications [NTN], a provider of interactive communications and entertainment products for the hospitality industry, has partnered with Mainstream Data to transmit NTN Network programming data to customer locations via Mainstream Data's...

SAIC Team Wins Navy Navigation Systems Contract.(Science Applications International Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 20, 2002... A team led by Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) won an emerging navigation systems and technologies contract from the Global Positioning System and Navigation Systems Division of the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems...

Editor's Note.
December 20, 2002... SATELLITE TODAY will be taking a holiday break beginning Monday, Dec. 23. We will resume publishing Monday, Jan. 6. Have a safe and pleasant holiday season. [Copyright 2002 PBI Media, LLC. All rights reserved.]