E-letter: Briefs

NASA signed Space Act agreements with PlanetSpace Inc. and Transformational Space Corp. to support the companies’ development of commercial systems that could transport humans and cargo to low-Earth orbit, the […]

SpaceDev has completed a series of three hot-fire tests of its hybrid upper stage motor, the company announced Feb. 1. The tests, conducted at the company’s test site in Orange […]

Harris Corp. completed a pair of milestones for the U.S. Navy’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) program, Harris announced. Harris logged onto a Milstar satellite using an AEHF Navy Multiband […]

See World Satellites Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group Inc., expects to post an increase of 35 percent to 38 percent in year-over-year top line sales for the […]

French direct-to-home operator Canalsat ended 2006, its final year of competition with rival TPS, with nearly 3.5 million subscribers, a net increase of 272,000 compared with 2005, parent company Vivendi […]

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. has been awarded a development contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to continue work on a geostationary small satellite platform, the company announced Jan. 31. […]

MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) received two advanced technology contracts from EADS Astrium to provide a pair of data reception and transmission subsystems, MDA announced. One of the advanced […]

Telenor Satellite Services has added Inmarsat’s Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service as well as other satellite services to its offerings under its U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Technology […]

The schedule for the remainder of Sea Launch’s 2007 manifest remains uncertain following the loss of a Zenit-3SL vehicle and the SES New Skies NSS-8 satellite Jan. 30. A live […]

Arrowhead Wins $20 Million DISA Task Order Arrowhead Global Solutions Inc. received an order from the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to provide the U.S. Marine Corps with expanded […]

DigitalGlobe Names VP Of Software And Systems DigitalGlobe has appointed Steve Milton as vice president of software and systems.     Milton will direct DigitalGlobe’s software and systems business office, leading […]

Hughes Aids Broadband Schools Program In Mexico Hughes Network Systems announced the next phase of a contract with Enlaces Integra and Globalstar de México to deliver an additional 10,860 broadband […]

Audiovox Introduces portable XM Satellite Radio, GPS units Audiovox Corp. unveiled its first portable XM Satellite Radio product. The X2G100B Portable Satellite Radio and MP3 Player allows the user to […]

ProtoStar Ltd. has appointed Paul Froelich as CFO, the Bermuda-based company announced Jan. 31. Froelich previously served as CFO for WildBlue Communications and prior to that was involved in infrastructure […]

Entertainment news and picture agency Splash News and Picture has chosen Mainstream Data’s MediasFTP service to deliver the agency’s content worldwide, Mainstream Data announced Jan. 29. Splash News provides its […]

GlobeCast has struck a deal to carry North African channel Nessma, GlobeCast announced. The channel is available for direct-to-home satellite reception throughout North Africa and the Middle East via Arabsat’s […]

Cathay Pacific Airways of Hong Kong will be the first commercial airline customer to adopt an Iridium-based global satellite voice service developed by ARINC and International Communications Group (ICG), Iridium […]

General Dynamics C4 Systems will supply tactical antennas and radio support equipment to the German Armed Forces for the SATCOMBw Step 2 Program, General Dynamics announced Jan. 31. SATCOMBw Step […]

BSkyB’s reported strong subscriber growth but an increased churn rate in the company’s second quarter, which closed Dec. 31. BSkyB closed the period with nearly 8.4 million subscribers. During the […]

TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) has been awarded a 12-month contract by the U.S. Army to support the Wideband Gapfiller Satellite (WGS) system, TCS announced Jan. 31. Under the contract, valued […]

DirecTV Group will acquire Darlene Investments LLC’s share of DirecTV Latin America LLC, giving DirecTV Group full equity ownership of the Latin American satellite-TV provider, DirecTV announced Jan. 30. DirecTV […]

NDS, a supplier of conditional access (CA) and middleware to satellite pay-TV operators, has seen a double-digit increase in half-year revenues, the company announced. For the second half of 2006, […]

XM Satellite Radio has extended its exclusive relationship with American Honda Motor Co. through 2016, XM announced Jan. 30. American Honda, which markets Honda and Acura vehicles, has produced more […]

The latest Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft has been turned over to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for operational use, manufacturer Lockheed Martin announced. DMSP F-17 […]

Global Satellite Broadcasting Corp. (GSBC) was asked by Paragon International Placements Ltd. Jan. 29 to delay its listing in the United States by a few days. The request was made […]

SpaceDev Inc. will move the operations of its Starsys division from Boulder, Colo., to a new facility in Louisville, Colo., in March, SpaceDev announced Jan. 30. The 72,000- square-foot facility […]

TerreStar Networks Inc. plans to raise $450 million in funding through the sale of senior secured discount notes due in 2015, TerreStar announced Jan. 29. TerreStar, a majority-owned subsidiary of […]

Intelsat plans sell its Silver Spring, Md., teleport, which includes the land, facilities and six antennas ranging in size from 3.8 meters to 10 meters, Intelsat announced Jan. 26. Intelsat […]

Sea Launch has reset the launch of the NSS-8 communications satellite for SES New Skies for Jan. 30, Sea Launch announced. The 37-minute launch window remains set to open at […]

About 93.9 percent of households in Saudi Arabia own a satellite dish, Middle East telecoms consultancy Arab Advisors reported in “Saudi Arabia Media Survey 2007,” released earlier this month. Showtime, […]