Over the next week or two, the giant satellite operators will unveil their latest numbers. The problem is that all their earlier expectations assumed that launch rockets from SpaceX and Proton could be depended on to meet contracted launch dates. That assumption is now in tatters, and is affecting the revenue pictures for SES and […]
NSR’s Global Satellite Capacity Supply & Demand, 12th Edition report, projects demand for more than 7,700 transponders of traditional C-, Ku-, and widebeam Ka-band FSS capacity globally by 2024. NSR also forecasts over 3 Terabits of GEO-HTS, MEO-HTS, and LEO-HTS bandwidth demand, across a series of applications ranging from data to broadband access to mobility. […]
German HD platform HD+, a subsidiary of SES, and German TV and satellite technology manufacturer TechniSat have unveiled the first Ultra-HD (UHD) TV with integrated HD+ decryption system (no CI+ module for HD+ required) at the IFA Innovations Media Briefing. HD+ also announced the launch of its UHD demo channel in September. With this new […]
Elon Musk, despite being busy solving problems with his SpaceX Falcon rocket’s failure, is also being ultra-cautious with his plan to build and launch 4,000 satellite system to girdle the Earth. Despite commercial pressures from the rival announcement from Greg Wyler/Richard Branson-backed scheme, Musk says he is aware that many other not dissimilar super-constellations have […]
Eutelsat has ordered a new universal communications satellite, dubbed ‘Quantum’, and which represents a major step forward for the industry in terms of flexibility in orbit. The purchase of the software-driven satellite is partly funded by the European Space Agency and the UK’s Space Agency as part of a Public-Private Partnership between the players. Airbus […]
SpeedCast, a global satellite telecommunications service provider, has acquired the assets of the teleport and satellite services business of NewSat from its receivers. The assets include the land and buildings at NewSat’s teleport facilities in Adelaide and Perth and the associated plant and equipment, as well as most of the customer and supplier contracts. SpeedCast […]
Strong praise for SpaceX, France’s arch-rival rocket launching system, was not expected at a French parliamentary hearing on July 7th. Especially when the praise came in a comment from the head of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) launcher directorate, Gaele Winters. He told the French delegates that SpaceX had been an outstanding success. “Despite the […]
It is now clear that the rumoured Axel Springer ‘merger’ with German broadcaster Pro7-Sat.1 is “credible” in the words of investment bank Exane/BNP-Paribas. A note to investors on July 8th by the bank says that while the tie-up is hypothetical at this stage, they nevertheless take a look at what any such deal might mean. […]
The catastrophic loss of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 28th has yet to have a cause determined, according to SpaceX’s founder and CEO Elon Musk. He confirmed that the loss did not appear to have a straightforward cause. “Whatever happened is clearly not a sort of simple, straightforward thing,” he said. “There’s still […]
Brazil’s Star One C4 satellite was due to launch on an Arianespace rocket on July 8th. That launch has been scrubbed for at least a week. The problem is the risk of oil contamination onto the satellite from an overhead crane at the Kourou space centre. The risk is said to be very small, but […]