Technology

[Via Satellite 11-04-2014] Communications & Power Industries (CPI) Malibu Division has received an award worth more than $5 million for additional Ku-band Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) antenna ground terminals. The United States military uses the ground data terminals to facilitate communications for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Applications include providing video and radar...

[Via Satellite 11-04-2014] NanoRacks has opened a new office at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The West Coast location will help the company meet customer needs and develop new business around deep space opportunities. Ronald Goedendorp, VP of space station opportunities, will lead the new office. He brings 20 years of experience...

[Via Satellite 10-31-2014] Canadian satellite operator Telesat is planning a replacement satellite for Telstar 18 that might include a high throughput component. Telesat 18 entered service in August 2004 and has a 13 year lifespan. The successor satellite, to be decided upon soon, would be more powerful. The new satellite still has many details that...

[Via Satellite 10-31-2014] Euroconsult predicts the growth of High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems will see use climb from 107 Gbps in 2014 to just above 1,300 Gbps in 2023. This equates to a Calculated Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of more than 30 percent during the years between, according to the research group’s latest report: “High...

[Via Satellite 10-30-2014] Harris Corporation has delivered Aireon’s first flight payload for integration into Iridium NEXT satellites. This is the first of 81 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver payloads that will be launched and deployed on Iridium NEXT to provide Aireon’s real-time aircraft monitoring system, which aims to optimize global Air Traffic Management. The Aireon...

[Via Satellite 10-31-2014] SSL has been selected by an undisclosed customer to manufacture a communications satellite on the SSL 1300 satellite platform. SSL is also tasked with procuring a launch vehicle. The satellite will carry C-band and Ku-band payloads. Its purposes are voice and data communications, broadband connectivity and video distribution.  

They may not be sexy or anything that consumers pay much attention to, but recent changes to satellite antennas are helping the industry expand its services, lower prices, improve efficiency, and open doors

SSPA versus TWTA: Is There Room for Both?RF amplifiers are the pulmonary systems of satellite networks pumping out RF energy, the electromagnetic lifeblood that allows earth stations to communicate with

In the six months to May 2014, more than 90 small satellites were launched, representing investment by 18 countries. We are seeing a huge growth in the use of and demand for SmallSats. A recent success story is the UKube 1, the U.K. Space Agency’s (UKSA) first CubeSat mission, which was launched on July,9. The UKube...

[Via Satellite 10-30-2014] The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has some big decisions to make at the World Radio Telecommunication Conference 2015 regarding the allocation of spectrum resources. A top concern of the satellite industry is that C band might be given to terrestrial mobile and wireless operators. LS Telcom Director of Spectrum Consulting Richard Womersley...