Satellite News

“We anticipated what would happen. We knew it was going to crash. We knew it was a risky business before we went into it, so, we decided to call for insurance, that is why we allowed the China Great Wall Insurance Company to be part of the project.” – Former Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun, commenting the NigComSat 1 failure according to Vanguard.

NASA has again postponed the launch of the space shuttle Discoveryon the STS-119 mission, saying it will not occur before 27 February.
Other Posts:

New Dnepr launch date
New storm forecast: Shuttle rollback stopped, back to pad
NASA’s new moon probe completes environmental tests
Companies Introduce Iridium-Based Communications Systems
Satellite industry had US$106.1 billion in global revenues 2006
Boeing’s first Wideband Global SATCOM satellite operational
General Atomics Awards Jadoo Contract For Advanced Fuel Canister Design
L-3 Communications Wins Multimillion-Dollar Deal

Maido No. 1, a small satellite launched along with the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite Ibuki in January, has succeeded in observing electromagnetic waves emitted by thunderstorms, Osaka University officials said.
Other Posts:

RSCC orders two more AAS payloads
DCC Uses SkyEdge To Extend Nigerian Network
UK-DMC satellite first to transfer sensor data using ‘bundle’ protocol
Next try to launch Falcon 1 later today
Northrop Grumman Space Revenues Slip
Tandberg TV Releases Numbers; Board Accepts Ericsson Offer
Update: Avanti books Falcon 9 launch for HYLAS
NewCom adds Americom’s REDiSat to solutions portfolio

According to an unconfirmed Russian report the collision between Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 was not as critical as initially feared. The accuracy of that report was unknown at the time of writing this. Also: a blame game has started involving U.S. and Russian officials, while ESA is working on a programme that is to provide more precise tracking data.
Other Posts:

Gilat terminates merger agreement; buyers fire back
Proton M lifts off with latest Astra satellite (Part II)
Sirius Satellite Radio results Q1 2007
Motient, Skyterra Close MSS Consolidation Moves
Wired in space
Gilat CEO Examines Spacenet Prospects
Raytheon may track astronauts, robots on the moon
ITT wins NASA strategic missions concept study awards

Alliant Techsystems has started to assemble the Primary Mirror Backplane Support Structure, or spine, of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at its Magna, Utah/USA, facility.
Other Posts:

Arianespace ‘once again’ breaks even
EMS Technologies, Inc. results Q3 2007
COMS launch planned for 2008
JCSAT-10, Syracuse 3B pre-launch details
Ball Aerospace supports NASA astrophysics mission concepts
GLAST arrives in Florida to prepare for launch
AEHF is out, TSAT is in — report
ATV gets go-ahead for docking attempt

Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: Hotbird 10, NSS-9, two Spirale satellites; Date: 12 February 2009, 2209 UTC; Site: Kourou, French Guiana. After an on-time lift-off, the launcher deployed Hotbird 10 for Eutelsat, followed by NSS-9 for SES New Skies. Two small Spirale auxiliary payloads for the French DGA defence procurement agency were then injected into orbit to complete the 34-minute mission.
Other Posts:Alcatel-Lucent Begins DVB-SH TrialRussian ISS segment behind schedule and out of moneyEchoStar received insurance for AMC-14ICO Signs Deal With ILSThrust controller failed aboard GSLV-F02Loss of both solar arrays knocked out NigComSat 1COM DEV selected by Orbital to supply payload equipmentPolsat Claims HD Industry First In Poland

The Advanced High Resolution Picture Transmission (AHRPT) system on EUMETSAT’s Metop-A polar-orbiting satellite is operational again following a successful two-month trial in October-November.
Other Posts:Boeing Network & Space Systems Reports 4 Percent GrowthU.K. GPS Company Unveils GPS For BlackberryReshetnev wins satellite order from IndonesiaArianespace Chosen To Launch Thor-6 For Telenor Satellite Broadcasting ASBentley Walker Buys Hughes European Satellite SystemCrawford launched record number of networks in Q1Eutelsat Begins Service At New Orbital SlotAsiaSat To Delist From NYSE?

As expected, the number of detected objects from the Kosmos 2251/Iridium 33 collision is rising. Apart from that, it’s still unclear what the consequences will be – and why the crash wasn’t avoided anyway.
Other Posts:Lockheed Martin To Provide Control Centers For InmarsatChina tested ‘optical jamming’ — reportOfcom To Investigate Pay-TV MarketIndian-Israeli spy satellite launch further delayedC/NOFS starts providing scintillation forecast dataBoeing completes first WGS satelliteFourth Yaogan satellite launchedKawasaki delivers payload fairing for SELENE launch