Technology

[Via Satellite 01-08-2014] Entropic announced its first fully-integrated set-top box (STB) system-on-a-chip (SoC) family, the EN7300-series, which integrates High-Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) decoding, Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) 2.0 home networking, dual DVB-S/S2 demodulators using full-band capture satellite tuning and 3D graphics acceleration. The new product family is sampling in Q1 2014 to early access...

[Via Satellite 1-07-2014] Broadcom Corporation has announced a new Outdoor Unit (ODU) satellite chipset that enables operators to deliver a wider range of services to more subscribers without additional satellite dish installations. Access to FTA channels provided by a range of satellites has stimulated demand for satellite TV among residential customers worldwide. Up to now,...

[Via Satellite 1-6-2014] ViaSat and Harris Corp. have completed demonstrations of the upgraded Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24A in combination with the Harris high-band power amplifier for extended air to ground range operation of both Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform C (ANW2C). The demonstrations were held in San Diego at the...

[Via Satellite 1-3-2014] Thomson Video Networks and MStar Semiconductor have arranged a demonstration of advanced delivery of over-the-top (OTT) content to connected TVs using the emerging High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard. The demonstration will highlight the interoperability of Thomson Video Networks’ ViBE VS7000 multi-screen encoding/transcoding platform with MStar’s 4K system-on-a-chip (SoC), which provides native HEVC...

[Via Satellite 12-31-13] Energia has completed a full cycle of ground tests, assembly and factory trials for EgyptSat 2. The satellite launch is expected to occur in April 2014 using a Soyuz U booster at the Baikonur commodore. Egyptsat 2 is an Earth observation satellite capable of both visible and infrared imaging.  

[Via Satellite 12-27-13] High Throughput Satellite (HTS) services continue to be a popular idea, which Euroconsult believes has the potential to grow rapidly in 2014 and the following years. Over the past decade, 31 HTS systems were launched, bringing higher levels of bandwidth via smaller apertures to more end users. According to the research, 33...

[Via Satellite 12-27-13] Skybox Imaging has released its first high-resolution, high-definition video of Earth taken by its first commercial remote sensing satellite SkySat 1, which captures up to 90-second video clips at 30 frames per second. The satellite’s first released videos showcase high-resolution views of Tokyo, Bangkok, Baltimore, Las Vegas, and Aleppo. The video clips...

[Via Satellite 12-24-13] Saft achieved a milestone when Inmarsat’s Inmarsat 5 F1 satellite became the 100th satellite to use the company’s Li-ion battery technology. Launched onboard a Proton M rocket in Baikonour, Kazakhstan on Dec. 8, 2013, the takeoff also marks the 75th GEO satellite in orbit using Saft batteries. Saft began supplying Li-ion batteries...

[Via Satellite 12-24-13] Orbital Sciences has selected Tom McCabe to join the company as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective Jan. 6, 2014. He will direct Orbital’s legal, ethics and compliance, and regulatory affairs functions and will be based at the company’s headquarters in Dulles, Va. McCabe is currently senior vice president and...

[Via Satellite 12-23-13] After decades of uncontested use, hydrazine is being challenged by a new upcoming fuel in the spacecraft propulsion market. Together with Aerojet Rocketdyne, NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Ball Aerospace’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) is using 15 years of work to create a competitive satellite propellant called Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate...