Satellite News

Telesat Holdings Inc. announced its financial results for the three month and one year periods ending 31 December 2013.

Sea Launch AG announced the resignation of its President, Kjell Karlsen effective 28 February 2014, to pursue other opportunities outside space industry.

Rocket: Delta IV Medium-plus; Payload: GPS IIF-5; Date: 21 February 2014, 0159 UTC; Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, USA. Satellite manufacturer Boeing received the satellite’s first signals approximately three and a half hours later.

SES S.A reported financial results for the twelve months ending 31 December 2013.

DISH Network Corporation and EchoStar Corporation reported 2013 financial results. Also, DISH Network said it will transfer five satellites to EchoStar, a move that according to analysts is paving the way for DISH’s combination with competitor DirecTV.

System-level tests of the Angara Launch System continue at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. The engineering mock-up of the light-lift Angara launch vehicle was rolled out of the Integration-and-Test Facility (ITF) and installed at the Launch Complex on 17 February.

Orbital Sciences Corporation has signed a commercial launch contract with Skybox Imaging to carry six high-resolution imaging and video-capable spacecraft into low-Earth orbit (LEO) in late 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

ESA said it is forging ahead with the Neosat next-generation satcom platform, planning the first flights within five years. The goal is for European satellite builders to capture at least half of the world’s satcom market in 2018-30 through innovation and efficiency, generating EUR25 billion in sales.