A GSLV in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad.
Image credit: ISRO

ISRO Cancels GSLV D5 Liftoff Due to Second Stage Leak
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has cancelled the launch of the GSAT 14 advanced communication satellite after a leak was detected in the UH25 fuel system of the liquid second stage of the GSLV D5 rocket during the pre-launch pressurisation phase on the vehicle just two hours before the scheduled lift-off.

The leak forced ISRO to drain the propellants from the indigenous cryogenic stage, liquid second stage and the four liquid Strap-ons of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
This would have been the second time in three years that the indigenous cryogenic upper state was flight-tested.

ABS Confirms New Satellite from Boeing to Launch With Satmex 9
Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) confirmed the build of ABS 2A, a multi-beam, 48-transponder Ku satellite that will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2015 to ABS’ prime location at 75 degrees east. ABS 2A follows ABS 2, a large satellite to be launched over Asia scheduled in late 2013, according to a written statement from ABS.

ABS 2A will cover the growing markets of Russia, India, Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean region. With 2.6 GHz of Ku-band spectrum, the satellite nearly doubles the available Ku-band frequencies available at 75 degrees east. Together with ABS 2, the new satellite will deliver a total of 100 x 54MHz Ku-band capacity to this orbital location to a growing list of premium DTH customers, VSAT operators and maritime and mobility customers.

With 7.5kW of payload power, ABS 2A is the second of the four Boeing 702SP all electric satellites that ABS is purchasing from Boeing in partnership with Satmex. ABS 2A, along with ABS 3A, is part of the 702SP production line, an all-electric propulsion satellite that minimizes the spacecraft’s mass and maximizes available payload.

Vishal Mathur.
Image credit: Measat

Measat Appoints Vishal Mathur as New Senior Sales Director
Measat Satellite Systems (Measat) announced the promotion of Vishal Mathur from director, South Asia, to senior director, sales and marketing. In his new role, Mathur will be responsible to build Measat’s customer base with a focus in the broadcasting and Direct-to-Home (DTH) customer segments.

Mathur joined Measat in 2006. During his seven years with Measat, he has worked in expanding the company’s position across South Asia.

C-Com Announces Asian Partnership
C-Com Satellite Systems has entered into a white label agreement with one of Asia’s largest electronic manufacturers. C-Com’s proprietary iNetVu antenna technology will be integrated with the manufacturer’s products and services and distributed worldwide under their own name.

According to C-Com, the Asian company is a global enterprise with more than 90 subsidiaries and with a presence in more than 20 countries. C-Com, expects this will accelerate the introduction of the iNetVu mobile antennas into new vertical markets, especially in Asia.

GSAT Signs New Capacity on NSS 11 and SES 9
Philippine DTH satellite TV provider Global Satellite (GSAT) has contracted its fourth transponder on SES’s NSS 11 satellite. The multi-year deal will see the transfer of current capacity usage by GSAT from NSS 11 to SES 9, scheduled to launch in 2015. SES 9 will be providing expansion capacity for DTH, enterprise, mobility and government services across the region.

GSAT, the satellite division of First United Broadcasting Corp. (FUBC), launched its DTH service in 2008 on the NSS-11 Ku-band satellite, providing subscribers with access to a mix of international programs including English, Mandarin, Korean, Tagalog, Japanese and Spanish channels.