Focus: Telecom

Looking toward determining and developing the payload for AlphaSat, Inmarsat submitted a bid before the March 26 deadline. If successful (a contract award is expected in July), Inmarsat would use the payload to deliver voice, broadband and data services around the globe. The company is likely to face competition from Eutelsat for the European Space...

The March 19 announcement that CIP Canada Investment Inc. would acquire Stratos Global Corp., the largest distributor of Inmarsat services, in a deal funded in part by Inmarsat, has clouded many a crystal ball as to what the deal may mean for the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) industry. The transaction, including the assumption of net...

According to a newly published study, NASA satellites have revealed that Amazon forests are neither evergreen nor dependent on constant rain, and are capable of manufacturing their seasons. A team of 27 researchers from 15 institutions used satellite images to study the amount and dynamics of green leaf area of Amazon rainforests. The study was...

When Satellite News last spoke to Thuraya CEO, Yousuf Al Sayed, it was in the immediate aftermath of the NSS-8 launch failure, and the potential impact of when its Thuraya-3 satellite may be launched. However, while that question remains, there are other issues regarding the Middle East-based mobile satellite operator. The question of whether it...

Loral Space & Communications completed a sale of $300 million of stock to MHR Fund Management LLC, Loral’s largest shareholder, Loral announced Feb. 27. The deal was announced in October and was delayed after other shareholders raised opposition. Investment firms Murray Capital Management Inc. and Highland Capital Management LP labeled it as a "sweetheart deal"...

A star-crossed start of the year for Sea Launch saw the launch provider take another hit with the March 1 announcement that Arianespace has been retained to launch the Spaceway-3 communications satellite for Hughes Network Systems LLC. An August liftoff is scheduled aboard an Ariane 5 launch from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French...

Shin Satellite had a tough year in 2006, reporting a net loss of Baht 46 million ($1.3 million). However, the operator said this was down to Thaicom 3’s write-off of Baht 675 million ($20.2 million). Without the write-off, Shin Satellite would have made a net profit of Baht 629 million ($18.8 million). While the operator...

It is, quite simply, a spectacular 18 seconds of video. The explosion that destroyed Sea Launch’s Zenit-3SL rocket and SES New Skies’ NSS-8 satellite, creating a fireball that engulfed the Odyssey Launch platform, are a stark reminder that launching a satellite remains a difficult task. The good news is that Sea Launch personnel were on...

A little more than year after completing its initial public offering, Eutelsat is undergoing significant ownership changes as the satellite operator’s private equity holders sell their stakes. Spanish industrial group Abertis and France’s state-owned financial institution Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations will become the two largest shareholders in Eutelsat. Abertis completed its acquisition of a...

Patrick DeWitt has ridden the ups and downs of the satellite manufacturing industry throughout his nearly 35 years at Space Systems/Loral (SS/L). Now he has led SS/L to the top of the manufacturing world after navigating the company through the downturn in the early part of this decade. DeWitt, CEO of SS/L, has held management...