Technology

[Via Satellite 12-09-13] The Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology’s (EIAST) DubaiSat 2 Earth observation satellite, launched on Nov. 21 2013, has successfully been deployed in orbit and all systems have been tested and verified. The satellite’s first image, taken of Seer Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, was captured 24 hours after launch....

[Via Satellite 12-05-13] The recently released 3-D map of the Great Barrier Reef created by the German company EOMAP in conjunction with James Cook University in Australia is one of the more unique projects in the Earth Observation arena. The map covers approximately 350,000 square kilometers at 30-meter horizontal resolution. With this project, EOMAP hopes...

[Via Satellite 12-05-13] Ball Aerospace has completed the primary bus structure of the first satellite in the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS 1). JPSS 1 is the follow-on in a series of next generation satellites and is scheduled for launch in early 2017. Procured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the National...

[Via Satellite 12-05-13] The Hughes 9502 integrated antenna BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) M2M (machine-to-machine) terminal, built by Hughes Network Systems and enabled by Inmarsat, has received Hazardous Locations Accreditation. The terminal, which features the modem positioned behind the antenna, is now approved for use in hazardous environments, such as in the oil and gas...

[Via Satellite 12-3-13] After suffering irreparable structural damage from an earthquake in April 2009, Thales Alenia Space has replaced its original establishment with a newly-inaugurated industrial complex in L’Aquila, Italy. The inauguration ceremony of the new Thales Alenia Space Italia site was held at the industrial center in Pile. The building project was started in...

[Via Satellite 12-03-13] Advantech Wireless’ Transcend 800 Point-to-Point Microwave Radio System has successfully operated in Sri Lanka, confirming that it can be integrated into existing networks. Since developing the first native Ethernet radio and implementing a LDPC error-correction mechanism in its split-mount microwave radio product in the early 2000’s, Advantech Wireless has improved the design...

[Via Satellite 12-2-13] After completing a battery of tests, ESA’s newest Galileo satellite was removed from the Phenix chamber at the ESA’s ESTEC test center in the Netherlands. The thermal vacuum testing was used to assure that Galileo’s two dissimilar atomic clocks, which are accurate to a few billionths of a second, will still work...

[Via Satellite 11-27-13] Following the success of the propulsion system built for NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), Space Systems/Loral (SSL) was awarded the next phase of hosted payload accommodation development for the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which recently completed the important Preliminary Design Review (PDR) process. The LADEE spacecraft depended on the...

[Via Satellite 11-26-13] Boeing’s Defense Space & Security division’s Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) development program has completed the functional qualification-testing phase for the protected wideband satellite communications system. FAB-T will be used in the command and control of U.S. nuclear forces. Boeing’s tests verified operational capabilities required for the ground and airborne...

[Via Satellite 11-26-13] A Ball Aerospace instrument needed for precipitation measurements has arrived in Japan where it will launch aboard NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. Ball’s GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) is a multi-channel, conical-scanning, microwave radiometer that is part of an international satellite mission led by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Following...