Technology

[Via Satellite 09-02-2014] Erwin Kayser-Threde, located in Munich, Germany has merged with OHB System AG in Bremen, Germany. The combined company will use the name OHB System AG, but will continue to use the Kayser-Threde logo for process control technology activities. Both companies were subsidiaries of OHB AG. Recruitment, personnel development activities and select management...

[Via Satellite 08-29-2014] Commercial weather company GeoMetWatch is reevaluating its original plan to orbit six geo-hyperspectral sounders as hosted payloads. Instead, the company hopes a new approach that includes separate satellites will help to bring the constellation online by 2020. “We are looking at some free-flyer opportunities which, for some of our potential investors, are much...

[Via Satellite 08-28-2014] Russian satellite manufacturer ISS-Reshetnev has completed building the Yamal 401 telecommunications satellite. Fabricated for Gazprom Space Systems, the satellite is slated to launch on a Proton rocket. Yamal 401 is the third satellite ISS-Reshetnev has built on its heavy-class Express-2000 bus. The 2976-kilogram spacecraft can provide 11 kW of power and has...

[Via Satellite 08-28-2014] Airbus Defence and Space has completed a nonstop 11-day flight test of its Zephyr 7 High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS). The Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) runs on solar power, making the shorter winter days a much more challenging test. The vehicles were also controlled and monitored through satellite communications for the first time....

[Via Satellite 08-26-2014] Delta-V, a new space industry accelerator, hopes to create a $1 billion commercial space industry in Australia. Ranked by the World Bank as a high-income country with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.561 trillion in 2013, Australia has high potential to be one of the world’s next satellite industry hubs. Delta-V...

[Via Satellite 08-27-2014] DigitalGlobe has released the first images from its high-resolution satellite WorldView 3, launched on Aug. 13 aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket. The satellite carries an Exelis super-spectral imaging system comprised of a sensor, a telescope and a Shortwave Infrared System (SWIR), which enables observations through interference such as...

[Via Satellite 08-27-2014] Iridium has completed its Launch and Early Operations (LEOP) control center for Iridium NEXT. Located next to the Iridium Mission Control Center, the LEOP facility will be used to manage the NEXT constellation, test on-orbit functionality, and maneuver and monitor satellites as they are transferred into the mission constellation. Iridium also completed...

[Via Satellite 08-27-2014] ViaSat reports it has received 3,150 orders for fixed-site Machine to Machine (M2M) and airborne terminals for its upcoming L-band network. The company is also selling vehicular, maritime and asset tracking terminals in advance of the network. ViaSat announced its new L-band network in May 2014, predicated on agreements reached with LightSquared...

[Via Satellite 08-26-2014] Lockheed Martin and Electro Optics Systems have agreed to build a space object tracking facility in Western Australia. Through the use of both lasers and sensitive, telescope-like optical systems, the companies plan to use the site for a combination of government and commercial customers. Lockheed Martin anticipates electro-optical technologies will effectively complement...

[Via Satellite 08-26-2014] Comtech Telecommunications Corporation has confirmed rumors that it is considering a possible merger or sale in order to increase shareholder value. The company reports that there is no definitive timetable for completing this evaluation, nor will it disclose any further information except if required by law. Comtech has seen declining revenue in...