August 16, 2020 – On August 15 at 22:04 UTC, Ariane 5 Flight VA253 was successfully performed from the Guiana Space Center, orbiting two satellites produced by Northrop Grumman: Galaxy 30 for Intelsat, and MEV-2 for SpaceLogistics, a 100% subsidiary of Northrop Grumman; along with BSAT-4b, built by Maxar Technologies for the Japanese operator B-SAT.…

August 11, 2020 – Intelsat has been selected to continue distributing content for ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and across the Asia Pacific region. Intelsat was chosen for its unique ability to deliver managed media services, global coverage and integrated satellite distribution and terrestrial network. VCNI delivers premium content through notable…

August 7, 2020 – Thales Alenia Space has announced that it has signed a contract with SES to build SES-22 and SES-23, geostationary communications satellites. These two new satellites are designed to provide digital broadcasting services over North America. Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the design, production, testing of the satellites and support…

August 6, 2020 – SES announced that American launch provider SpaceX will provide launch capability for up to 3 of its C-band satellites over two launches as part of the company’s accelerated C-band clearing plan. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch two C-band satellites built by Northrop Grumman as well as provide enhanced protection to…

August 6, 2020 – Nowadays, the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Industry is witnessing a new era, due to the arrival of LEO, MEO, and flat panel antennas. The new goal of the market is to look for solutions to achieve the effective use of the spectrum and provide higher bandwidth for matching the demand with reliable…

August 3, 2020 – Comtech Telecommunications Corp. reported that its pending acquisition of UHP Networks Inc. (“UHP”) continues to progress through the regulatory approval process. As previously announced, Comtech has entered into an agreement to acquire UHP, a provider of innovative and disruptive satellite ground station technology, for an aggregate purchase price of $38.0 million,…

July 27, 2020 – Optus has extended its longstanding partnership with media company Foxtel, with an extension for the provision of satellite services until 2031. Optus Satellite owns and operates Australia and New Zealands largest fleet of spacecraft with five satellites currently in geostationary orbit that service our broadcast, corporate, and government customers. The contract…

July 23, 2020 – Comtech Telecommunications Corp. announced that during its fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, its Tempe, Arizona-based subsidiary, Comtech EF Data Corp., which is part of Comtech’s Commercial Solutions segment, received $1.3 million in orders for advanced satellite modems, WAN optimization and redundancy switches. The equipment will be utilized to support cellular LTE…

July 22, 2020 – Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific) has signed a five-year agreement with the Government of Tuvalu to provide the Pacific Island nation with high-speed broadband internet connectivity via satellite. The bandwidth, supplied by Kacific’s high-throughput satellite Kacific1, will connect agencies, businesses, and communities across Tuvalu’s nine islands with high-quality internet. Under the…

July 9, 2020 – At 20:11 on the evening of July 9, APSTAR-6D satellite took off on the CZ-3B/E rocket at Xichang Satellite Launch Center. After half hour flight, APSTAR-6D separated from the rocket’s 3rd stage, completed the first deployment of the solar array, and entered into transfer orbit. In the following days, the satellite…

July 13, 2020 – COMSAT, the global satellite connectivity solutions provider, is extending the life of Inmarsat’s existing satellites through the leasing of an additional antenna at COMSAT’s Santa Paula, CA. Teleport. The newly leased 12.8m antenna is transmitting and receiving in both C-band and L-band frequencies, bolstering capacity for the Tracking, Telemetry and Command…

July 14, 2020 – The Australian Space Agency (the Agency) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have been in close cooperation on JAXA’s asteroid sample-return mission, ‘Hayabusa2’. The sample capsule is planned to land in Woomera, South Australia and the Agency and JAXA are working towards the planned safe re-entry and recovery of the…

July 16, 2020 – The EDRS-C satellite, the second node of Airbus’ SpaceDataHighway constellation, completed its commissioning tests on 15th July 2020 and is now ready to start operational services. Following its successful launch in August 2019 and manoeuvring to its geostationary orbital slot at 31 degrees east, in-orbit testing has been executed and laser…

July 20, 2020 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) successfully delivered the Emirates Mars Mission’s (EMM) HOPE spacecraft developed by the UAE Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) into orbit via the H-IIA launch vehicle F42. The launch vehicle trajectory was executed as planned, and at about 57 minutes after liftoff, separation of the HOPE spacecraft…

July 8, 2020 – The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the selection of Airbus Defence and Space for major Copernicus environment missions. Copernicus is the biggest provider of Earth observation data in the world – and while the EU is at the helm of this environmental monitoring programme, ESA develops, builds and launches the…

July 8, 2020 – Viasat Inc., a global communications company, has announced it has removed internet speed limits delivered to the aircraft across all of its business aviation Ka-band service plans. Additionally, the company has doubled its minimum committed internet speed to the aircraft for the same Ka-band service plans. The move, an industry-first, demonstrates…

July 8, 2020 – BBC Studios (BBCS) and its subsidiary UKTV have selected SES to manage the playout and distribution of over 50 linear channels, and their associated video on demand (VOD) services, SES has announced. SES will provide playout, content processing, distribution, and VOD services, delivering BBCS and UKTV content to a network of…

July 2, 2020 – Optus announced a giant leap in its satellite business, confirming a contract with Airbus Defence and Space for a brand new, OneSat software-defined satellite, Optus 11, to be deployed for Australia and New Zealand in 2023 at the current Optus D1 orbital location of 160°East. Optus has entered into a revised…