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Boeing Co. received a $299.8 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for production of the fourth Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS), Boeing announced Nov. 9. The award is the first option exercised under the $1.1 billion WGS Block 2 contract finalized in October. The spacecraft, dubbed WGS-4, will be similar to the three Block 1...

The Badr-4 satellite was launched from Kazakhstan Nov. 8 aboard a Russian Proton rocket, International Launch Services (ILS) announced Built by Astrium and owned by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat), Badr-4 will be located at 26 degrees East and provide direct-to-home TV as well as voice and broadband services across the Middle East, North...

Space Systems/Loral announced Nov. 9 that it has delivered the Wildblue-1 satellite to Arianespace in preparation for its scheduled launch in early December. Wildblue-1, built for Wildblue Communications Inc., is among the first commercial all Ka-band satellites, and is expected to help the company triple its customer capacity in the United States.

Arianespace and Terrestar Networks Inc., a mobile communications operator and subsidiary of Motient Corp., signed Nov. 8 a launch-on-demand contract for Terrestar 1, touted as the largest-ever commercial communications satellite launched into geostationary orbit. The contract provides for up to three dedicated launch vehicles and entitles Terrestar to a launch window for Terrestar-1 on an...

DirecTV Group Inc. reported Nov. 8 that its third-quarter revenues increased 13 percent to $3.67 billion, and its operating profit before depreciation and amortization more than doubled, to $894 million, compared to the same period last year. The company reported that meantime, operating profit quadrupled and net income more than tripled, to $628 million and...

In its numbers report for the third quarter of 2006, Iridium Satellite LLC saw subscriptions increase by 22.9 percent over the same period last year, the company announced Nov. 8. Worldwide subscribers increased to approximately 169,000 from 137,500 in last year’s third quarter. Iridium reported its total revenue in the third quarter as $54.7 million;...

Microsat Systems Inc. announced Nov. 8 the completion of spacecraft system testing and the delivery of the responsive satellite bus, Tacsat-2, scheduled for a Dec. 11 launch. The micro satellite features 11 onboard experiments to be conducted during the spacecraft’s planned six- to 12-month mission, including high-resolution visible imagery, direct theater payload tasking and high-speed...

The market for very small aperture terminals (VSAT) in the Asia Pacific region has grown steadily even as markets in other regions have begun to slow, reports Frost & Sullivan, in announcing its new "Asia Pacific VSAT Markets Study from Singapore" research. Among information released Nov. 8, the company reported that total installed sites for...

Commercial satellite operators, service providers, resellers, ground equipment suppliers, and manufacturers will meet with leaders from Department of Defense (DoD) combatant commands, services and agencies during the Satellite Industry Association (SIA)’s DoD Commercial Satcom Users Workshop. Scheduled for Dec. 5-7 in the Tyson’s Corner (Va.) Marriott, the event provides three days of panel sessions, working...

Echostar Communications Corp. posted a profit of $140 million on revenues of $2.5 billion in the 2006 third quarter, the company announced Nov. 7. In 2005’s third quarter, the satellite-TV provider recorded a profit of $209 million on revenues of $2.1 billion. The company posted a non-cash gain of $73 million in the quarter to...