BridgeSat and Surrey Satellite Technology US jointly will work on developing a laser-based satellite communications system with secure data downlinks to a ground network at speeds faster than RF spectrum, the companies said in a news release Tuesday. They said Surrey will build the flight laser terminal units that will communicate with BridgeSat’s global ground network, with the aim of data transmissions of up to 10 Gbps per link. The Surrey terminals will be equipped with standardized interfaces, letting them be used with either Surrey satellites or as flight units for other satellite operators, they said. They said the laser communications system is expected to be operational "within the next couple of years."
Orbcomm expects to close next month on its planned buy of South Africa's Skygistics and its South Africa and Australia subsidiaries, Orbcomm said in a news release Tuesday. Orbcomm said the Skygistics deal will expand distribution for its product set in various IoT markets, including numerous African nations, and comes as Orbcomm looks to be a global IoT services provider. Skygistics already distributes satellite connectivity products from SkyWave, an Orbcomm subsidiary, it said. The deal's terms weren't announced.
Orbital ATK's first customer for its satellite life extension service is Intelsat, Orbital ATK said in a news release Tuesday. Under the service agreement, Orbital ATK said it will make, test and launch a commercial servicing vehicle (CSV), the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), with it first providing mission extension service for Intelsat in 2019. In a statement, Orbital ATK CEO David Thompson said, “There is a vital need to service fully functional but aging satellites in both commercial and government markets. Backed by our continued investment, today’s announcement signals that we are just getting started in expanding our CSV fleet to provide a diverse array of in-space services in the future.” According to Orbital ATK, MEV-1 will use a docking system to attach to a customer's satellite and take over propulsion and attitude control. The company said MEV-1 has a 15-year design life and is able to do numerous dockings and undockings during that time. The first MEV is scheduled to launch in late 2018, Orbital ATK said. The company didn't identify which Intelsat satellite it would service, but said Intelsat has the option to service multiple satellites using the same MEV.
Intelsat's 35e satellite -- a replacement for Intelsat 903 -- is expected to launch in Q2 2017, the company said in an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. In the filing, Intelsat sought permission to launch and operate the C/Ku-band satellite at 34.5 degrees west, where 903 also operates. Intelsat said 35e will operate in the 13750-14000 MHz band, along with all the frequencies used by 903.
The 465,000 new subscribers added in Q1 mean SiriusXM's subscriber base topped 30 million, it said in a news release Monday. Self-pay additions were 348,000 for the quarter, leaving its self-pay subscriber base at 24.6 million as of March 31, it said.
The postponed launch of WorldView-4 is back on, and scheduled for the September-October time frame, DigitalGlobe said in an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. It said the FCC approved the earth imaging satellite as part of the non-geostationary exploration earth satellite services constellation in 2012, but that launch was postponed after GeoEye's 2013 takeover by DigitalGlobe. The firm asked for modification of the orbit altitude, inclination and orbit period authorized for WorldView-4, with the orbit to be in the 496-770 kilometer range. DigitalGlobe also asked for an extension of the "launch and begin operations" milestone deadline by seven months, to Nov. 10, instead of the current requirement it be launched by April 10. Construction of the satellite was complete in May 2013, the company said.
Netflix's Ultra HD content is now available through Dish Network's Hopper 3 DVR, with its 4K support, decoding and outputting capabilities, Dish said in a news release Friday. The Hopper 3 also supports 4K programming from Mance Media, Sony and The Orchard, Dish said. The Netflix app was integrated into Hopper 3's universal search feature earlier this year (see 1602010019).
Intelsat 31 is scheduled to launch May 28, and Intelsat asked the FCC International Bureau for special temporary authority starting June 4 to do in-orbit testing at 76.5 degrees west and to drift it to its permanent home at 95.05 degrees west. The drift is expected to take about three weeks, Intelsat said in its IB filing Wednesday. The company said it's in coordination discussions with Arsat, DirecTV, SES, Star One and Venesat, all of which have co-frequency/co-coverage satellites within six degrees of 76.5 degrees west, and expects to have them complete before launch.
The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals failed to follow its own 2011 In re DBSD ruling on the Bankruptcy Code when it approved LightSquared's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan, former CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said in a petition (in Pacer) for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc filed Wednesday with the court. The 2nd Circuit rejected an appeal by Ahuja, who was a major stakeholder in the satellite company (see 1603230021) and who complained previously and again in the petition that majority shareholder Harbinger Capital was made more than whole. In his petition, Ahuja said, "Self-dealing and manipulation of the reorganization process by controlling shareholders ... was exactly the abuse that DBSD ... sought to curb." In a statement Thursday, LightSquared -- now Ligado -- said it's "confident the court will stand by its decision."
Airlines now can get Gogo's 2Ku in-flight connectivity system installed on new Airbus A350 aircraft by the Airbus Corporate Jet Centre through an agreement with Airbus, Gogo said in a news release Wednesday. Gogo said Delta Air Lines is a customer and will receive its first 2Ku-equipped A350 in 2017.