Satellite News

“This is my first launch as president. My knees are still shaking.” — Kjell Karlsen, newly appointed president and general manager of Sea Launch, after the EchoStar XI launch

SES Astra has signed a long-term agreement with a company representing the independent German cable operators to transmit digital Free-to-Air TV to their networks.

DISH Network Corporation said in a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that its EchoStar 2 satellite has failed.

Rocket: Zenit 3SL/Block DM-SL; Payload: EchoStar XI; Date: 16 July 2008, 0521 UTC; Site: Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned on the equator at 154 degrees West longitude in the Pacific Ocean. One hour after lift-off, the Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Saab AB said it divests 100 percent of the shares in Saab Space AB, including its subsidiary Austrian Aerospace, to Swiss company RUAG Holding AG. The divestment requires approval of competition authorities before completion.

Only shortly after Russia denied last April that its Kosmos 2421 military satellite had disintegrated, the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN) detected two fragmentation events that created a total of about 200 large, new parts of debris.

Raytheon Company said it is leading a team to complete the final phase of India’s Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System, or GAGAN.

Russia has taken ownership of the Okno space tracking station in Tajikistan. In exchange, it has forgiven the former Soviet republic’s debt.