E-letter: Briefs

Arqiva reached an agreement Nov. 17 to acquire the full-time service components of BT’s Satellite Broadcast Services business for 25 million British pounds ($47.2 million) in cash. The Satellite Broadcast […]

The U.S. Air Force is developing an orbital test vehicle, based on the design of a NASA X-37 technology demonstrator, to continue full-scale development and on-orbit testing of an unmanned, […]

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), within the framework of the United Nations Program on Space Applications, will hold a five-day training course on the International Satellite […]

Sirius Canada Inc. signed an exclusive multi-year strategic partnership to become the official satellite radio partners of the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the organizations announced. Under the Show Your Card […]

Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) claims it has been awarded the first governmental Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) contract designed to harness signals from all current and planned positioning satellite systems. […]

PTC and Starchaser Industries, a privately held high-technology company, have renewed their commitment to Pro/Engineer, a PTC integrated CAD/CAM/CAE system, for an additional three years, PTC announced Nov. 16. Starchaser […]

Micro-Ant Inc. has announced the development of its Blade technology, which as applied to microstrip antennas, enhances electrical performance while allowing for smaller, cheaper, and easier production and use. The […]

Stratos Global Corp. has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Seamobile Enterprises to deliver GSM and CDMA wireless voice and data to the U.S. government and military markets, Stratos announced […]

Sunoco has signed a five-year enterprise networking-services contract extension in which Spacenet will provide upgraded satellite networking and managed services at approximately 900 company-owned retail stores across the United States, […]

Lockheed Martin has finished its system requirements review for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS Block 3 system, the company announced Nov. 16. Lockheed Martin conducted the review under a […]

Arabsat has begun broadcasting a bouquet of 11 Iraqi TV channels via Arabsat’s constellation at 26 degrees East. The deal will enable the channels to be broadcast to Middle Eastern […]

Discovery Communications Inc. will use Intelsat’s PAS-12 satellite to provide Discovery HD in Europe, Intelsat announced Nov. 16. "High-definition in Europe is fast-growing, and as the leader in HD programming, […]

Helius Inc. announced Nov. 16 its has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent Office covering the integration of high-bandwidth satellite networks with corporate data networks. The technology enables […]

Racepoint Group Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based public relations and marketing consultancy, was hired Nov. 14 by Digitalglobe to serve as its agency of record. Racepoint Group will work with Digitalglobe […]

Protostar Ltd.,a Bermuda-based corporation with principal U.S. operations in San Francisco, worked closer to its Asian satellite service by successfully closing on $210 million in financing to purchase and launch […]

The Measat-3 communications satellite has been shipped to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems‘ satellite-manufacturing facility in El Segundo, California, Boeing reported Nov. 14. Measat-3 […]

The Americom-18 (AMC-18) satellite has been delivered to Kourou, French Guiana, in preparation for its Dec. 8 Ariane-5 ECA launch, SES Americom announced Nov. 15. AMC-18, an all C-band satellite, […]

The first HDTV broadcast from space, featuring crew members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 14, was received on Nov. 15 and carried by Discovery Channel‘s HD Theater and Japanese […]

Nlets, a Phoenix-based supplier of secure, interstate, justice and public-safety network systems, announced Nov. 14 a one-year contract choosing AT&T as its satellite services provider. AT&T will provide a frame […]

NASA has selected Proteus — a low-Earth orbit (LEO) multipurpose platform developed in cooperation with the French space agency CNES — as part of NASA’s Rapid Spacecraft Development Office (RSDO) […]

SES Astra and SES New Skies have inked a deal to broadcast France 24, a new French channel for international news, on an Astra satellite at 19.2 degrees East for […]

A satellite-based navigation system to facilitate seamless air travel across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans will be among improvements made through a Nov. 13 deal between the U.S. Federal […]

Satellite tracking and lie-detector tests ought be used as tools to protect children from sex offenders in the United Kingdom, according to a children’s advocate quoted in British press reports […]

The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) has joined the Wildblue Enterprise Solutions roster of value-added resellers (VARs) in the enterprise market, the company announced Nov. 13. Wildblue Enterprise Solutions offers […]

EMS Satcom signed a memorandum of understanding with Vitrociset Belgium and Creaction International to develop a new satellite communications service to offer airtime services and equipment in Europe, the Middle […]

Globalstar Inc. introduced Nov. 9 its next-generation satellite telephone handset. The GSP-1700, manufactured by Qualcomm, weighs about 7.1 ounces, approximately half the weight of the Globalstar’s current satellite handset, and […]

MSC.Software announced Nov. 13 that it will provide simulation software and services to the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French space agency. CNES engineers will use MSC.Software’s product offerings, […]

Re/Max Satellite Network (RSN), a distance-learning solution created in 1994, has surpassed 25,000 users, Re/Max announced Nov. 13. Network registrations have risen steadily since the program crossed the 10,000 barrier […]

Mary Ellen Kicza has been named assistant administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Satellite and Information Service, NOAA announced Nov. 13. Kicza, who had been serving as […]

Igor Zabolotny, deputy director general for business development for the Russian Satellite Communication Co. (RSCC), has been added to the Eutelsat board of directors, RSCC announced Nov. 7.