Satellite News

ONDAS Media announced that it has entered into a commercial volume agreement to install satellite radio receivers in Nissan and Infiniti vehicles across Europe. The launch date of the system, the space segment of which is likely to be built by SS/L, has meanwhile further slipped.

SES Astra has signed further contracts to roll-out its satellite broadband service Astra2Connect also in France and Italy. Nine months after the product launch in April 2007, SES Astra has now closed distribution agreements in seven European countries.

Eutelsat Communications announced a contract for its new Tooway satellite broadband Ka-band service with Swisscom.

Alliant Techsystems said the constellation of five micro satellites it built for NASA’s THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) mission successfully completed its initial Coast Phase science operations.

Harris Corporation has been selected by the U.S. Air Force for the Network and Space Operations and Maintenance (NSOM) programme.

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) has completed the first of three planned Mercury flybys.

The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has officially taken over the control of SES Sirius’s telecommunication satellite Sirius 4.

Boeing has been awarded a contract to build (or refurbish?) a commercial satellite for ProtoStar Ltd.