Thales Alenia Space To Build Indonesian Satellite
PT Indosat Tbk awarded a contract to Thales Alenia Space to build and launch the Palapa-D communications satellite, Thales announced June 29.
Palapa-D, scheduled to be placed in orbit in 2009, will replace Palapa-C2  at 113º West and offer more capacity than its predecessor with 24 standard C-band, 11 extended C-Band and five Ku-band transponders covering Asia, the Middle East and Australia.
The contract is valued between $200 million to $300 million.

Gateway Broadcast Services Leases Capacity On Eutelsat W3A
Eutelsat Communications finalized a five-year deal with Gateway Broadcast Services for capacity on the W3A satellite, Eutelsat announced June 29.
Gateway Broadcast will use the Ku-band capacity on W3A’s African beam to launch a pay-TV platform for sub-Saharan Africa. GTV will provide 15 channels of content and be available in as many as 48 sub-Saharan African countries.

Powerstar International To Acquire Skyboard Corp. For Digital Signage
Powerstar International, a wireless and digital signage solutions provider via wireless, satellite and terrestrial platforms, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Skyboard Corp. of Calgary, Alberta, Powerstar announced June 28.
Powerstar will issue 4.8 million shares of its stock and pay 50,000 Canadian dollars ($46,900) in cash for the acquisition, which is expected to close within a week subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Skyboard, which owns six outdoor digital billboards in Alberta and holds sales contracts for an additional 22 billboards across Canada, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Powerstar.

Rockwell Collins To Provide GPS Receivers For Army Program
The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command awarded a contract to Rockwell Collins to supply GPS receivers for the Ground-Based GPS Receiver Application Module program, the company announced June 28.
The contract has a five-year base contract and an additional five-year option and could be valued at up to $300 million. The government has placed an initial $14 million order for units, Rockwell Collins said.

Russia Orbits Military Satellite
Russia placed a military satellite into orbit aboard a Zenit-M rocket, Russia’s space agency announced June 29.
The mission from Baikonur Cosmodrome had been delayed from December for technical reasons.
 
FCC Seeks Comments On Rule Preventing Sirius-XM Merger
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking public comments on the 1997 rule that would bar the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio.
The FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking June 27 that seeks comment on whether the 1997 order that prohibits a holder of a satellite digital audio radio service license from owning another license holder should be waived, modified, or repealed.
Sirius and XM claim the order is a “policy statement under the Administrative Procedure Act rather than a binding Commission rule because it was not codified in the Code of Federal Regulations.”
Comments are due within 30 days after the rule is issued.
 
STMicroelectronics Chipset To Be Used In Sirius TV Offering
STMicroelectronics , which has provided radio receiver chipsets for Sirius Satellite Radio since 2004, will provide the digital broadcasting chipset for Sirius Backseat TV, STMicroelectronics announced June 28.
The core of the video receiver, which is being manufactured by Delphi, is based on three ST chips: the STA210 RF tuner IC; the STA240 channel, service and source decoder IC; and the STA264 demodulator chip, which extracts the video stream and performs error correction.
Sirius Backseat TV service is scheduled to be launched later this year in certain Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.

Second Bigelow Experimental Spacecraft Launched
Genesis 2, the second experimental pathfinder spacecraft for Bigelow Aerospace, was placed into orbit June 28 by a Russian Dnepr rocket, the company announced.
Genesis 2 is designed to test systems intended for use in manned commercial space modules. The module has a flexible outer surface that is wrapped around a central core at launch and then expands into orbit through air inflation.

Satellite Systems Launches Satellite Communications Subsidiary
Satellite Systems Corp. has established a subsidiary, Dominion Test Instruments, to enhance satellite communications offerings, the company announced June 26.
Satellite Systems has been manufacturing satellite beacon tracking receivers for antenna control or uplink power control, frequency converters and other products for more than 20 years. The new subsidiary will specializes in the design and manufacture of a remote carrier monitor line of products scheduled to be released in summer.
“Our plan is to offer one integrated platform to control and operate our complete line of products,” Brian Richardson, design engineer for satellite Systems, said in a statement. “A customer will be able to monitor and control the complete product line remotely from anywhere in the world.”

NASA Awards Contract For Orion Pad Escape System
Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc. received a contract from NASA to design the escape system for the agency’s next generation space exploration vehicle, the company announced June 27.
In the event of an emergency on the pad, the Emergency Egress System will carry astronauts across the launch tower into tram cars that carry them to safety.
Reynolds, Smith and Hills already has designed the lightning protection system for Orion at Launch Pad 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. and is completing the design for its new Mobile Launcher.

ESA Signs Development Contract For Future Launch Vehicles
The European Space Agency (ESA) signed a pair of contracts with Italy’s NGL Prime S.p.A. to develop concepts for future launch vehicles as well as develop a reusable test vehicle under ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Program, ESA announced June 27.
The European Next Generation Launcher study will examine options that Europe could adopt for its next-generation launch vehicle. The study is being prepared for the ESA Ministerial Conference in 2008, where strategic decisions about future launcher development will be made.
The European Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle program is intended to demonstrate advanced re-entry technologies and integrated system design capabilities. The mission calls for a vehicle to be launched aboard a Vega rocket in 2010 from Kourou, French Guiana, and demonstrate automatic re-entry, descent and landing in the Pacific Ocean.
NGL Prime, a joint venture of EADS Astrium and Finmeccanica, was created in 2006 to act as the industrial prime contractor, managing the development and production of Europe’s next generation launch systems. The contracts are valued at a combined 20 million euros ($26.9 million).

MicroSat Systems To Help Design Platform For Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program
MicroSat Systems Inc. of Littleton, Colo., is participating with a student team to develop and fabricate the platform for a prototype biosatellite, the company announced June 27.
The Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology Space Systems Design Laboratory to study how Martian gravity will affect mammalian health.
A small research satellite with 15 mice on board is scheduled to be placed in orbit in 2010 for a 5-week mission to determine how mammals are affected by a reduced gravity environment.

MSV Appoints VP For Next-Gen Services
Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV) appointed Ines LeBow vice president for next-generation services programs, the company announced June 28. LeBow previously served as senior vice president of engineering and operations for Xspedius Communications.
 
CommScope To Acquire Andrew In $2.6 Billion Deal
After being rebuffed nearly a year ago, CommScope Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire Andrew Corp., including Andrew’s satellite communications group, the companies announced June 27.
“We believe that the combination of Andrew and CommScope creates a strong company with long-term advantages for our customers and employees,” said Ralph Faison, president and CEO of Andrew. “Our two companies fit together strategically with leading complementary product offerings and geographical strengths.”
CommScope, of Hickory, N.C., will acquire all outstanding shares of Winchester, Ill.-based Andrew for $15 apiece, valuing the deal at about $2.6 billion. The price is a 53 percent increase over a $1.7 billion offer Andrew rejected in August, when Andrew also terminated an agreement to merge with ADC Telecommunications Inc.
In May, Andrew unveiled new plans to sell its satellite communications business, which manufactures satellite antenna systems and electronics for home, commercial and military markets and accounted for 6 percent of the company’s revenues of $503 million in the 2007 second quarter.
“During the last two quarters,” Faison said in May, “we made meaningful progress in rationalizing and right-sizing this  business, and believe that we have positioned it for improved performance in the future.”
The combined revenues of Andrew and CommScope in fiscal year 2006 totaled about $3.8 billion, and the company expects to generate annual cost savings of about $90 million to $100 million in the second full year after completion of the transaction, pending approval by the U.S. government. The companies expect the deal to close by the end of 2007, with Andrew then operating as a wholly owned subsidiary.
 
AsiaSat, Indiasign To Launch Platform On AsiaSat 2
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) and Indian broadcast services provider and systems integrator Indiasign Pvt. Ltd. signed an agreement to jointly launch a C-band platform on AsiaSat 2, the companies announced June 27.
The platform will be operated by Indiasign’s teleport in New Delhi and will provide uplink and distribution services to Indian broadcasters for distributing television and radio services to cable and satellite networks, terrestrial stations, hotels and individual home viewers across Asia and Australasia.

Global Energy, RAMTelecom To Provide Wireless Broadband For Remote Oil And Gas Sites
Global Energy Services Ltd. will provide a communications network for an unidentified North American oil and gas exploration and production company, with RAMTelecom Inc. the exclusive provider of satellite services to the network serving remote sites in western Canada, the companies announced June 27.
Global Energy will provide on-site communications systems, including mobile satellite phones and satellite connections, while RAMTelecom will provide the satellite-based network infrastructure that will enable broadband data, voice, fax and Internet communications.
The one-year contract is valued at up to $2 million and is renewable.
 
MDA Delivers Robotic Arm For Space Station
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) delivered Dextre, a robotic arm for the International Space Station, to
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the company announced June 27.
The arm was developed under a contract from the Canadian Space Agency and is a component of the mobile servicing system, Canada’s contribution to the space station. Two other components of the system, the Mobile Base and the Canadarm2, already are operational on the space station.

GenCorp Rebounds To Post 2007 Second Quarter Profit
GenCorp Inc.’s aerospace and defense segment reported revenues of $190.7 million in the second quarter, up from revenues of $165.5 million in the same period a year ago, GenCorp announced June 27. The segment reported operating profits of $19.4 million, rebounding from a $400,000 loss in the 2006 second quarter.
GenCorp credited the revenue and operations gains to higher sales on numerous space and defense programs including Standard Missile, Orion, and Titan plus a favorable performance on the closeout of Titan program activities.
Overall, GenCorp reported a profit of $12.5 million on sales of $192.3 million in the 2007 second quarter, which closed May 31. In the 2006 second quarter, the company lost $7.3 million on revenues of $167.2 million.
 
Gilat To Supply SkyEdge Network For Russian Telecom
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. will provide a SkyEdge broadband satellite network to Russian telecom operator Sibirtelecom, Gilat announced June 26.
The network will consist of more than 1,200 VSATs and will be used to bring telephony and broadband Internet services to remote communities throughout Siberia.

SatCom Wins U.S. Government Contract
SatCom Group Holdings received a contract to supply satellite airtime to the U.S. Navy, SatCom announced June 26.
The first year’s share of a five-year deal is valued at about $10 million.

Lockheed Martin Team Completes Space Radar Review
The Lockheed Martin Space Radar team completed
an integrated baseline review with the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin announced June 27.
The system is being developed to provide global intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the military and intelligence communities.
The Lockheed Martin team, which is working under a Phase A Concept Development contract awarded in 2004, includes Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Baltimore.

NASA Sets Up Einstein Probe Office
NASA created an office to facilitate the agency’s work in medium-class science missions designed to investigate phenomena such as dark energy, black holes and cosmic microwave background radiation, NASA announced June 26.
The Einstein Probes Office will be housed in the Beyond Einstein Program Office at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Beyond Einstein Program consists of five proposed missions: two major observatories and three smaller probes.
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy have commissioned a National Research Council committee to assess which of the missions should be developed and launched first, based on scientific impact, technology readiness and budgetary considerations. The recommendations are due to be released in September.
Separately, NASA appointed John “Tip” Talone Jr. to the new position of associate program manager of the Constellation Program at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The Constellation program is NASA’s effort to develop vehicles to explore the moon, Mars and beyond.
Talone previously served as director of the Constellation Project Office since its inception in 2005. In his new position, Talone will ensure technical and operational issues are identified and resolved, represent the Constellation Program to external entities and provide program insight into NASA and contractor activities.
Philip “Pepper” Phillips will replace Talone as the director of the Constellation Project Office.
 
Ion Media Networks Extends Deal With SES Americom
Ion Media Networks, the largest TV station group in the United States, extended its distribution agreement with SES Americom, the satellite operator announced June 26.
Ion has distributed programming via AMC-1 since 1998, and the programming distribution agreement extension will keep Ion on the satellite through its expected lifetime. AMC-1, located at 103.1° West, was placed in orbit in 1996 and has an expected lifetime of 15 years.
“Ion Media Networks has grown its penetration levels across cable, broadcast and [direct-to-home] markets and added new programs and capabilities during our relationship with SES Americom,” Mark Greenlee, Ion’s vice president of operations, said in a statement. “This new agreement provides Ion Media with the flexibility we need to continue building our business with new programs and formats across multiple platforms.”
Financial details of the agreement were not announced.

NSR Report Expects MSS Market To Reach $7.1 Billion By 2012
NSR estimates the global Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) market will grow from 1.8 million in-service units in 2005 to more than 6.7 million units by the end of 2012, the company announced.
The reach and coverage of MSS has broadened and should continue to grow as about 60 satellites are slated to be placed into orbit throughout the next five years, according to “Mobile Satellite Services, 3rd Edition,” released June 26.
L-band equipment will dominate the market, which could be valued at $7.1 billion by 2012, the end of the study period. Ku-band and, to a lesser extent, C-band equipment will see incremental growth throughout this period.
Narrowband services will remain the major MSS growth area, with more than 4.5 million units projected to be in service by 2012, NSR said. Handhelds will make up nearly half of the total overall base, NSR asserts.

Comtech Receives Equipment Order For Southeast Asia
Comtech EF Data Corp. received a $1 million order to supply satellite communications equipment to an unnamed cellular service provider in Southeast Asia, the company announced June 26.
The equipment will support the expansion of cellular services into remote areas.

UDcast Expands DVB-H Mobile TV Technology Markets
UDcast signed a cooperative agreement with Zentek to provide the Japanese and Far East Asia markets with the international mobile TV standard, DVB-H, UDcast announced June 26.
Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Zentek, which provides digital TV, Internet Protocol TV, wireless broadband, mobile phone and car entertainment device solutions, will act as the reseller and integrator of UDcast’s DVB-H mobile TV products.
In June, the companies announced a deal to provide a DVB-H solution for TV2Go, a digital mobile TV broadcasting trial operated by PGK Media in Singapore. Zentek is the main system integrator, while UDcast supplied the DVB-H network equipment. UDcast equipment also is deployed in commercial mobile TV networks in Vietnam and the Philippines and in more than 10 trials in the region.

Estonia, ESA Sign Cooperation Agreement
The European Space Agency (ESA) and the government of Estonia signed a cooperative agreement, the first signed by a group of countries that recently joined the European Union, ESA announced June 26.
Estonia intends to become a European Cooperating State and make an increased financial contribution to space activities.

Spacehab Subsidiary Wins $35 Million NASA Contract
Astrotech Space Operations, a subsidiary of Spacehab, received a contract from NASA to provide payload-processing services for expendable launch vehicles, Spacehab announced June 25.
The contract, valued at up to $35 million, covers missions beginning in 2007 and running through 2009. Contract option could extend the work through 2011.

Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman TSAT Team Demonstrates Laser Communications Subsystem
Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have validated the laser communications technology developed for the U.S. Air Force’s Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) program, the companies announced June 25.
The Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman team and a competing team led by Boeing are working under separate $514 million contracts for the TSAT program’s risk reduction and system definition phase.
The Air Force expects to award a development contract valued at up to $15 billion by the end of 2007. The award will cover design, development, and fielding of up to five satellites plus a spare as well as ground-based space vehicle command and control and the high data-rate ground communications gateway.

E’Prime Aerospace Corp. Names Board Executives
E’Prime Aerospace Corp. added two members to its executive board, the company announced June 26.
June Nichols, deputy director of the U.S. Small Business Administration during the Reagan and Bush administrations, will serve as secretary/treasurer.
Barry McFarland will serve as CFO. He previously has served as CFO, vice president of finance and vice president of operations for several public and private start-ups as well as established manufacturing and marketing companies, E’Prime said.
 
Arianespace Orders 35 Launchers From Astrium
Arianespace has ordered 35 Ariane 5 launchers in a follow-on agreement with Astrium, Arianespace announced June 23.
The production order extends beyond a 2004 purchase order for 30 Ariane 5 launchers, and allows the procurement of long lead-time items to begin immediately in order to facilitate launcher continuity in 2010.
Arianespace reports a backlog of 44 satellites, or more than three years’ workload. Arianespace has also ordered four Soyuz launchers.
Separately, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), or French National Space Agency, signed two assistance contracts for the management of Ariane launch vehicles. Astrium Space Transportation was named the prime contractor for both development and production of Ariane launch vehicles, and ESA will directly manage all new ESA-funded Ariane programs while working with CNES.
The contracts run until the end of 2010.
 
ICO North America Completes Thermal Vacuum Test
ICO North America Inc. completed the thermal vacuum test milestone for its 2 gigahertz (GHz) mobile satellite service (MSS) communications satellite, ICO announced June 22.
The test, which is designed to verify performance of the satellite under the various hot and cold temperature conditions in orbit, was a requirement under ICO’s license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
In February, the FCC granted ICO milestone extensions for the construction and launch of its ICO G1 satellite after manufacturer Space Systems/Loral found technical problems with three of the satellite’s subsystems.
The spacecraft will soon undergo vibration testing final performance verification in preparation for a scheduled launch before the end of the year.

Starsys To Develop Deployable Boom For Air Force
Starsys Inc. received a subcontract from the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate to continue development of deployable boom structures for satellites, SpaceDev announced June 21.
The $750,000, 24-month contract calls for Starsys, a subsidiary of SpaceDev, to develop a large, high-stiffness boom for the deployment and positioning of instruments and sensors.

Tandberg Television Names President Of Operations In Americas
Tandberg Television, part of the Ericsson Group, appointed Al Nunez president of operations in the Americas, Tandberg announced June 25.
Nunez previously served as Tandberg’s senior vice president of sales. Before coming to the company, Nunez was managing director and partner with Definitive Solutions.

TCS Names Vice President For SwiftLink Division
TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) named Barry Dowdy vice president of its SwiftLink Deployable Communications Systems division, TCS announced June 25.
Dowdy will be responsible for TCS’ deployable communications business unit, including management of engineering, production and satellite communications services and is responsible for the unit’s project management office, partner relations and the product and services board.
Dowdy previously served as a communications officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, retiring with the rank of major.