Satellite News

“[I]t is obvious that an overcapacity situation already exists in the launch services market. When I hear certain operators say the contrary, what they really want is additional cheap launch services on the market – but this is something they won’t admit out loud. … The system of commercial launch service providers is working very well, offering capacity to cover all of the market needs for prices that are globally affordable – so if the telecommunications operators want to destabilise this system, I think they will face the consequences from the resulting damage.” — Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall

“We resolve problems more quickly than our European partners. For example, when assemblies for the installation of the tower were brought to the construction site, there was no assembly crane. The French needed two months to install one. It is not for the first time that we have encountered such delays, for which European partners are to blame.” — Vladimir Gnezdilov, director general of Mir Company, regarding the delays in the construction of the Soyuz-ST service tower in French Guiana.
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“The last 50 years of space have been fantastic while the next 50 years will be spectacular.” — Prof. U. R. Rao, former chairman of ISRO, delivering his lecture on “Challenges in Space” in the 97th Indian Science Congress.
Other Posts:Multichoice Africa takes new capacity on Eutelsat SESAT 1TASI to build two NEO spy satellites for 4C ControlsMore Intelsat capacity for Telenor Satellite ServicesThales (Aerospace/Space) results H1 2009Sirius Appoints ControllerSpacehab to focus on space based manufacturingHughesNet Adds 325,000 SubscribersBoeing SBSS system progressing toward first launch

“When foreigners observe [Soyuz] launches, they are surprised that we carry out lift-offs at exactly the designated time. In recent years the Americans have only once carried out a shuttle launch at exactly the designated time. This was a surprising event. The whole world was talking about it. They postpone launches up to six times. It is due to the spacecraft’s features. Our system is more reliable.” — Anatoly Perminov, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency, according to Interfax.
Other Posts:IAI to indemnify Elbit SystemsJoint ESA/NASA Ulysses mission to endShuttle first, Atlas V laterHerschel & Planck pre-launch detailsLockheed to build, Arianespace to launch new Japanese satelliteU.S. clears ALSAT launch on PSLVNorthrop Grumman delivers cryocooler for Advanced Baseline ImagerSatamatics Connects 100,000th Satellite-Tracking Subscriber

“Last Thursday I heard about the [LCROSS] probe the National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent to the moon in hopes of detecting a water source there. … It didn’t land nicely — the newscaster said it was the equivalent of an SUV hitting the moon at more than 5,000 miles per hour. … What if someone or something fired back? What if the moon has something comparable to the San Andreas fault? If the next probe hits such a fault, maybe half the moon will break off and all those pieces will be headed our way.” – Cindy Toopes (who apparently never asked herself why the moon is plastered with craters) in The Ottumwa Courier. This doesn’t seem to be a spoof like The Onion but a real newspaper in a real town in Iowa, USA.