Advanced Television

Boeing

Astra wants 13,620 broadband satellites

Last week it was aerospace giant Boeing which received permission from the FCC to launch a broadband constellation of 147 satellites. California-based Astra Space has gone much better. It applied to the FCC on November 4th to “ultimately” launch 13,620 satellites. But Astra and Boeing are not alone. The FCC has received fresh requests from […]

November 8, 2021By Chris Forrester

FCC licenses new LEO constellation from Boeing

Boeing’s plans for a 147-fleet of V-band low Earth orbiting satellites have been given approval by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC says its licence covers Boeing’s plans for a broadband and communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, governmental, and professional users in the US and globally. “Advanced satellite broadband services have an important […]

November 5, 2021By Chris Forrester

Boeing revives LEO satellite plan

Back in 2017 aerospace company Boeing applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to build and launch between1396 and 2956 low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. They are thinking again of resurrecting their plan. The FCC revealed on October 8th that Boeing had applied for authorisation to launch 147 satellites, and sought comments from […]

October 12, 2021By Chris Forrester

Virgin Orbit wants its own satellite constellation

Following the announcement of its merger with a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) in the form of NextGen Acquisition Corp, Virgin Orbit now says it wants its own in-orbit satellite system. Backed by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit wants to transition from launching small satellites to building its own satellite constellation for Internet-of-Things (IoT) and […]

August 25, 2021

Measat-3 ‘ran out of fuel’

The decision to place failed satellite Measat-3 into a graveyard orbit seems inevitable given that sources suggest the spacecraft ran out of its essential station-keeping fuel. Insurance experts say the in-orbit failure will result in an insurance claim of some $45 million.  Measat, and the satellite’s builder Boeing, are still investigating the failure which first […]

August 13, 2021By Chris Forrester

IBC announces shortlist for IBC2021 Innovation Awards

IBC has announced the shortlist for the highly coveted IBC2021 Innovation Awards. This year, the awards will celebrate the spirit of collaboration within the content and technology industry, where organisations identified a market challenge and worked together to create a solution. Winners and their technology partners will be honoured at an awards ceremony at IBC2021 […]

July 29, 2021

Astro’s Measat-3 still suffering

Measat is still experiencing issues with its Measat-3 craft according to local reports. Even though core DTH services were restored on June 24th (having gone dark on June 21st), Measat said it needed more time to fully stabilise the satellite’s signals. The Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC) says the problem was understood to be […]

June 29, 2021By Chris Forrester

SES, Boeing invest in Isotropic

UK-based Isotropic Systems designs and manufacturers antennas for high-throughput satellites including low Earth orbiting satellite constellations. It has just raised a further $40 million (€33m) in funding from a series of investors including SES and Boeing. What’s key, however, is that Isotropic’s equipment can handle signals from a variety of satellites. It is also suitable […]

February 9, 2021

SES orders 6 new satellites

SES has confirmed new orders for a total of six craft. Two are from Thales Alenia Space for the FCC C-band scheme, which means SES has now ordered six satellites overall for its C-band geostationary services. Adding to the flurry of orders, SES confirmed it wanted four additional satellites from Boeing for its expanded mPower […]

August 10, 2020By Chris Forrester

C-Band: 10 new US satellites

The C-band replacement satellite orders for US coverage are being confirmed. Intelsat has ordered up at least six satellites. Four are to come from Maxar Technologies and will be built at Maxar’s Palo Alto plant (the former Space Systems/Loral facility). Two others will be supplied by Northrop Grumman. There will also be an additional seventh […]

June 16, 2020By Chris Forrester