Satellite News

Rocket: Soyuz M/Briz M; Payload: Nimiq 4; Date: 19 September 2008, 2148 UTC; Site: Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The launch vehicle carried the 5-ton satellite for 9 hours and 11 minutes, releasing it into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

SkyVision, a provider of Internet services over satellite and terrestrial fibre optic systems, has renewed contracts for four transponders and contracted additional capacity on the NSS-10 satellite. Terms of the multi-year agreement remain confidential.

1worldspace announced that it has reached an agreement in principle with four debt holders to defer until 25 September 2008 the company’s obligation to pay US$19.97 million plus accrued but unpaid interest, which was payable on 15 September 2008.

The European Commission and the European Space Agency have selected 11 applicants out of the 21 applications received for the procurement procedure of the first complete constellation of the European satellite navigation system (Galileo).

According to the Aon Space Market Review Q2 2008, space insurers earned approximately US$411 million in premium for the first two quarters of 2008, putting the market in a profitable position with claims reported to be US$252 million.

NASA selected software engineering provider The Hammers Company to build the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) Mission Operations Element (MOE).

ProtoStar Ltd. and the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) and PLDT’s subsidiary, Mabuhay Satellite Corporation, announced the signing of several agreements covering multiple areas of co-operation.

Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Co and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) will jointly launch a second joint communications satellite in 2010, Chunghwa Telecom said.