Technology

In a video interview at SATELLITE 2014, David Gelerman, CEO of Advantech Wireless told Mark Holmes, editorial director of Via Satellite, that he expects Gallium Nitride (GaN) to be the technology of choice over Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTAs) and Klystrons. “In my mind, in the next several years, most RF applications in the satellite...

[Via Satellite 04-15-2014] With the number of Earth observation (EO) satellites planned on the rise, the planet is nearing a point of regular photographic coverage. A powerful application for such imagery is in disaster planning and relief efforts. However, David Hodgson, Managing Director and CEO of DMC International Imaging (DMCii), the company that manages the...

[Via Satellite 04-14-2014] With an impending gap in meteorological satellite coverage looming over the United States, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is being pushed to make greater use of commercial data sources. On April 2, 2014 the House of Representatives passed the Weather Forecasting Improvement Act, which strongly encouraged the agency to make...

[Via Satellite 04-14-2014] NTT Plala, a major Japanese IPTV service provider, has chosen the ViXS XCode 6400 System on Chip (SoC) to power the company’s new Ultra-HD set-top box (STB). Sumitomo Electric Networks developed the STB, which will launch with the ViXS-powered Sumitomo Stream Cruiser Smart-TV ST4100 Series STB. According to ViXS, the XCode 6400...

Greg Quiggle, vice president of product management at iDirect said his company sees a lot of potential in High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and they will soon have more products to prove it. “We’re going to introduce a new product line branded Velocity,” Quiggle told Mark Holmes, editorial director of Via Satellite, during a video interview...

[Via Satellite 04-11-2014] IZT developed and sent two Satellite Channel Emulators (SCEs) to Space Systems/Loral (SSL) to be used to test overall system performance by SSL’s end customers. The SCEs will test the effects of uplink, payload and downlink on the signal before the system deployment. IZT’s SCEs are able to test the complete bidirectional...

In a video interview at SATELLITE 2014, Teledyne Microwave Solutions President Russell Shaller discussed how the company’s acquisition of Paradise Datacom fits Teledyne’s larger plans. “For about the last half dozen years we’ve had this vision of creating a complete end-to-end capability to provide microwave communications and microwave products,” said Shaller. “Paradise Datacom was kind...

[Via Satellite 04-10-2014] Ball Aerospace completed a series of environmental tests on its commercial remote-sensing satellite, WorldView 3. The satellite, being built for DigitalGlobe, successfully passed thermal vacuum, acoustic, vibration and pyro-separation testing. Electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility will be complete on April 23. An atmospheric instrument named CAVIS (Cloud, Aerosol, water Vapor, Ice, Snow)...

[Via Satellite 04-10-2014] Embrionix has selected MACOM 12G- Serial Digital Interface (SDI) devices for the company’s new 12G-SDI coaxial Video Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) family. 12G-SDI is required to support 4K resolutions at 60 frames per second over a single optical fiber. With dual links, 4K resolutions at 120 frames per second can be supported....

[Via Satellite 04-09-2014] Norsat launched the Atom series of Ku-band Block Up Converters (BUCs) and Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs). The Atom series BUCs and SSPAs are designed to enable applications such as portable VSAT, Satcom on the Move, Radar, Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTA) replacement and airborne terminals. Off the shelf options for the...