Satellite News

Newtec, Belgium, announced a deal with Greek-Cypriot satellite operator Hellas Sat to deploy its two-way satellite multimedia broadband system, Sat3Play, to residential users throughout Greece and all remote islands, much in lack of terrestrial broadband.

Iridium Satellite LLC announced financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ending 31 December 2007.

In its most definitive statement yet on the outcome of the “shootdown” of the failed NRO-L21 (USA 193) spy satellite over the Pacific on 21 February (UTC), the U.S. Department of Defense said that based on debris analysis it is clear that the Navy missile destroyed the spacecraft’s fuel tank.

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is scheduled to launch a classified spacecraft payload, NROL-28, on 29 February during a launch period from 0800 to 1200 UTC.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries expects to win its first orders for commercial satellite launches with its H-IIA rocket from foreign companies, its president said.

Rocket: H-IIA; Payload: Kizuna (Wideband Inter-Networking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite, WINDS); Date: 23 February 2008, 0855 UTC; Site: Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. The launch vehicle flew smoothly, and at about 28 minutes and 3 seconds after lift-off the separation of the satellite into geostationary transfer orbit was confirmed.

Eutelsat Communications and SES Astra announced the appointment, with immediate effect, of Steve Maine as CEO of their jointly-owned venture offering Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) in S-Band.

Shin Satellite Public Company Limited reported its 2007 financial results. The company also said it was studying options to purchase a new satellite or forge partnerships with other Asian satellite operators.