[Satellite Today 11-06-08] Astrium’s Skynet 5 satellite design and manufacturing team has won two specialist awards from The Royal Aeronautical Society, Astrium announced Nov. 5.
    One of the awards is the Gold Team Award, given in recognition of “outstanding work, which has led to substantial advances or contributions in specialist disciplines in the aerospace industry,” according to the socieity.  
    The second is the Geoffrey Pardoe Space Award, which recognizes “significant contributions to space.”
    The three Skynet 5 satellites, based on Astrium’s Eurostar E3000 communications spacecraft and launched in March and November 2007 and June 2008, complete the space segment for the U.K. Ministry of Defense’s Skynet 5 secure communications system.