Satellite News

Inmarsat PLC reported a profit of $31.3 million in the first half of 2006, down from a profit of $42.8 in the first half of 2005, the company reported Aug. 4. Revenues fell from $253.6 million in the first half of 2005 to $245.9 million in the most recent six months. Maritime sector revenue improved 5…

Rocket: Proton M/Briz M; Payload: Hotbird 8; Date: 4 August 2006, 2148 UTC; Launch Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The successful mission lasted 9 hours and 11 minutes before Hotbird 8 was released into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The launch was delayed more than two months because of the previous Briz M failure that caused the loss of Arabsat 4A.

Electro Energy Inc. , a developer and manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, announced that the Super NiCd battery produced by its subsidiary, Mobile Energy Products Inc. (MEP), was successfully launched on board the KOMPSAT 2 (Arirang-2) satellite by the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) on 28 July 2006.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility has been selected by the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Detachment 12 as the launch site for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat 2 satellite. The launch is scheduled for 13 November 2006.

Russia plans to launch the European MetOp-1 weather satellite in early autumn 2006, according to Roskosmos.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) selected Telenor Satellite Services to supply global satellite…

Near Earth LLC announced Aug. 2 the launch of its online library in which the…

Globalstar Inc. unveiled a modem to provide satellite connectivity for laptop computers and other data-only applications, the…