Focus: Ground Systems

UK-based terminal developer Isotropic Systems received an investment of more than 18.5 million euros ($22.5 million) from the UK Space Agency to co-fund the company’s activity in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) C&G program. The ARTES program gives European satcom companies the resources they need to turn concepts into...

Hughes Network Systems‘ 4510 satellite/cellular hybrid S-band terminal is now available for customers in Europe, the satellite technology company announced Tuesday. Hughes describes the 4510 model as the global market’s first dual-transport S-band terminal with included software that enables both failover and dual-WAN features. The terminal can be operated and updated remotely and delivers data...

While there is always huge excitement around new satellites and new capabilities in space, the drive to create improved and more efficient ground infrastructure is also coming sharply into focus. On Wednesday, SES announced agreements with key infrastructure service providers around the world to build its eight initial O3b mPOWER satellite ground stations. Construction has...

Inmarsat and Honeywell are teaming up to deliver a new set of solutions to the U.S. government, the two companies announced April 27. The solutions will be focused on fixed-wing and non-fixed wing aeronautical platforms operating worldwide, including in Arctic regions. The agreement extends the companies’ comsatcom services to U.S. defense customers. Inmarsat and Honeywell...

Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) is expanding its offerings with four new polar antennas, the company announced Monday. The first is a new 7.3 m tri-band antenna at the Inuvik Satellite Station Facility (ISSF) in Canada. One more antenna at the ISSF, and two at the Esrange Space Center in Sweden, will be introduced later this...

Gilat Satellite Networks reported April 19 that it’s Wavestream subsidiary received orders of more than $20 million for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation gateways. Wavestream was chosen as the vendor of choice to supply its PowerStream 160Ka gateway Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) to an unnamed LEO constellation operator. While Gilat did not name the operator,...

Satcom Global is forming a partnership with software company AnsuR Technologies (AnsuR) to support to its maritime and remote land-based communications customers. Satcom Global announced the partnership April 14. The partnership is based on giving customers access to better visual technologies. AnsuR develops software solutions for use in challenging environments, supporting optimized and cost-effective transmission...

MDA has contracted Analog Devices for the Beamforming Integrated Circuit (BFIC) that will be used in MDA’s phased array antenna for the Telesat Lightspeed constellation, the companies announced April 7. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.   Telesat selected MDA in February to manufacture the phased array antennas that will be incorporated into the...

The Orbit Communication Systems Orbit GX46 multi-purpose terminal has been approved for use over Inmarsat‘s Global Xpress (GX) network, the companies announced April 6. This high-throughput aviation terminal supports military, government and commercial users on the GX mobile wideband service.  GX46 is a modular, multi-role terminal that operates in the GX commercial and military Ka-bands...

Some of the most important and disruptive changes that the wave of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations will bring to the satellite business will be on the ground, rather than in orbit, experts said at the LEO Digital Forum on Wednesday. “To light up all the [FCC-approved Non-Geostationary Orbit] satellites … you will need a lot...