Brazilian students and Maj. Sean Hall with an A-10 Thunderbolt II.
Image Credit: U.S. Air Force/Capt. Jonathan Simmons

Raytheon’s Defense Course in Brazil Graduates its First Class
Raytheon graduated 17 Brazilian students from a 4-week course focused on the defense industry in the United States. The program, “Science to Success,” is part of the Brazilian Scientific Mobility Program or Science without borders program.

Raytheon’s effort is built around developing core engineering skillsets and is the first-ever defense technology-focused course in the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program, a large-scale, nationwide scholarship program that is primarily funded by the Brazilian federal government. The goal of the program is to qualify 100,000 Brazilian students and researchers through 2014.

SSL to Build Multi-Mission Satellite for Star One
Space Systems Loral (SSL) will build a multi-mission communications satellite for Brazilian satellite operator Star One, a subsidiary of telecommunications company Embratel. The Star One D1 satellite will be the first satellite of Star One´s fourth generation constellation.

The satellite will be equipped with C-, Ku- and Ka-band payloads and will be used for telecommunications, television broadcast, broadband, Internet access and other services such as digital inclusion in Brazil and in the Latin American region.

“The D1 will help transform the lives of many people in Latin America who currently do not have access to the high speed communications necessary for both economic and social well-being,” said Gustavo Silbert, president of Star One.

Star One D1 will also support the Olympic Games in 2016 that will take place in Rio de Janeiro. Embratel, in co-participation with Claro, has been selected as the official telecommunication sponsor for this worldwide event.

Star One D1 is the second satellite SSL has built for Star One. It will be based on the SSL 1300 satellite platform. The satellite will be located at 84 degrees west and is scheduled for launch in early 2016.

EchoStar 17 with Jupiter High-Throughput Technology, built by Space Systems Loral.
Image credit: SSL

Hughes to Power Ka-Band Service in South America
Hughes Network Systems will supply a Jupiter high-throughput system to Media Networks, a B2B unit of Telefonica Digital. The system will power a commercial Ka-band service over Latin America.
Under the deal, Hughes will supply Media Networks with its high-density Jupiter gateway stations and integrated Network Management System (NMS), including advanced OSS functionality, to effectively manage a large population of Hughes broadband satellite terminals. Delivery of the system is scheduled for late 2013.

Media Networks is the first customer of the new Jupiter system outside of North America. Expressly designed for high-capacity service networks, Jupiter features very dense and robust gateway architecture with lights-out operation, enhanced IPoS air interface for efficiency and performance, and high-throughput terminals. Media Networks facilities include its NOC in Lima, Peru, and two gateways located in Arica, Chile, and Laredo, Texas.

The Jupiter system “is helping power record growth of our HughesNet service in North America – and I’m confident will soon enable Media Networks to succeed in the southern half of our hemisphere,” said Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes.

RigNet Deploys iDirect Satellite Hub in Brazil
RigNet, a global provider of managed remote communications to the energy industry, has deployed an iDirect Series 5IF Universal Satellite Hub in Guaratiba, Brazil. This installment enables RigNet to hasten its penetration of the region’s growing oil and gas and energy maritime markets.

RigNet will offer a managed service for energy, deep-water maritime and remote applications such as VoIP, Internet, video-conferencing and video services. The network delivers Ku-band bandwidth over iDirect’s Evolution iDX 3.1 software and X5 remote.

The Brazilian deployment follows RigNet’s recent expansion of iDirect services into Asia and the Middle East.